DETERMINATION OF THE CENTER OF MASS OF A VEHICLE OF CATEGORY M1
The installation of additional equipment on a car often leads to a change in the mass of the axle and a shift in the center of mass, which negatively affects active safety systems. The article provides a comparative analysis of existing methods for determining the center of mass of a car and presents a new approach, the key advantage of which is the absence of the need to use expensive equipment. The center of mass is calculated according to the following pattern: the lifting height of one of the axes of the car from the reference plane leads to a change in the center of mass in the plane of the car. The method is based on the use of equipment available in any car service - a hydraulic jack with a load capacity equivalent to the weight of the car. The algorithm for determining the center of mass, consisting of ten points, as well as the calculation sequence is presented. All data for the calculation can be obtained from the reference literature on the vehicle or directly as a result of measurements. The proposed method has been tested on a Volvo C30 car, the design of which has not been modified. This made it possible to compare the results of the experiment with the nominal position of the center of mass. The error of the proposed method did not exceed 5%, which makes it promising for implementation at enterprises in the case of automation of calculations in the form of a computer program.