Porpoising Effect on Racecars: Preliminary Vehicle Dynamics Virtual Simulation

The aim of this work is to provide a preliminary method for the analysis of the vehicle dynamics effect of the porpoising behaviour in a virtual environment. This phenomenon affects mainly wing-cars under specific running conditions, representing a dangerous condition for drivers’ health and vehicle stability, due to the magnitude of the vertical accelerations acting on the car and the oscillations induced on vertical tire forces. The article provides a description of the porpoising effect historical background and dynamical explanation of the phenomenon, followed by the first results of the full-vehicle simulations using an aero map strategy.