Advanced vehicle dynamics through active aerodynamics and active body control

In this paper, the development procedure of an innovative control algorithm is shown, with the aim of improving handling performance of a high-end sport vehicle by actively controlling aerodynamic forces acting on the vehicle itself. The proposed control algorithm operates indirectly by modifying ride-heights of the vehicle through an active suspensions system. The vehicle dynamics analysis is conducted in parallel to the aerodynamics analysis performed in a concurrent engineering operation. The software used for control algorithms development is VICarRealTime, in co-simulation with Matlab-Simulink, with an extended use of the MaxPerformance package. Specific tracks have been implemented ad hoc to highlight the effects of the control systems operation in development phase. To better explore the potential of the technique, a fuzzy logic system was developed.