Lateral Steering Dynamics Model for the Dallas/Fort Worth Airtrans

A lateral dynamic steering model of the automatically steered AIRTRANS vehicle at the Dallas/Fort Worth Airport is developed. The general nonlinear model is linearized and presented in a form suitable for ride quality investigation. A set of independent, non-dimensional vehicle parameters is identified. Basic system natural frequencies and modes are identified, and the sensitivity of system response to basic system design parameters is presented. It was found that vehicle steering gain and speed have a greater effect upon vehicle ride quality than other vehicle parametes.