In the 2022 season, NASCAR will undergo the largest technological change the sport has seen in decades. Gone will be hallmark items such as live axle “truck arm” rear suspensions, split spring damper double wishbone front suspensions, Pitman arm steering systems, Detroit locker differentials and H-pattern gearboxes. Winds of change blow through the sport bringing independent front and rear double wishbone suspension, rack and pinion steering, sequential gearboxes and limited slip differentials.
Due to the ongoing COVID-19 global pandemic, the Next Generation (Next Gen) debut, which was originally slated for competition in 2021, has been postponed to 2022. Nevertheless, Claytex are including support for the Next Gen vehicle in both the 2020.1 Motorsports and Kinematics libraries.
VeSyMA – Motorsports 2020.1
Featuring multibody vehicle and experiment models designed to facilitate simulation of racing vehicles, the VeSyMA – Motorsports library is the Motorsport focused element of the VeSyMA simulation solution. Support for the Next Gen NASCAR vehicle has been added to the library through 3 elements: modeling of the new front suspension, modeling of the new rear suspension and modeling of the whole vehicle model.
Compared to standard double wishbone arrangements, the Next Gen vehicle features some slightly unorthodox design elements, requiring specific upgrades to library linkages and components. One such example is the front suspension, where the anti-roll bar drop link mounts to the upper control arm/wishbone. Additional mounting frames have been added to the upper control arm models, enabling the anti-roll bar to be connected to the linkage correctly.
Similarly, the rear suspension linkage employed in the Next Gen vehicle also features a departure from what can be described as standard practice, mounting the rear toe link to the upper control arm (in a similar fashion to front anti-roll bar). Traditional multibody attempts at modeling such an arrangement can prove futile, as a kinematic loop is created. Claytex has deployed a twin double-aggregated joint approach to modeling this layout, enabling the kinematic characteristics of the linkage to be reproduced while retaining the simulation performance and adjustability hallmarks of other VeSyMA – Motorsports linkages.
As with all VeSyMA – Motorsports linkages, they feature inbuilt setup adjusters and shim adjustments at all mounting locations. Such adjustments enable the linkage to adopt any design condition required. Traditional compliance locations (hub, damper/strut top, control arm mount) have been retained. Both front and rear linkages are mounted to the subFrame mount, enabling flexible or compliant sub-frames to be deployed at the full vehicle level. Additionally, both front and rear linkages have been optimized for simulation performance, each having zero non-linear systems formed nor dynamic states selected within them. Full kinematic rig experiments at both quarter car and half car level are also available.
As a complete vehicle approach to modeling, VeSyMA – Motorsports also features the other required sub models to accurately reproduce the Next Gen vehicle model, either within the Motorsports library itself or the VeSyMA – Suspensions library. Various implementations of power steering, both rack and column mounted plus all frictional effects, are available from the VeSyMA – Suspensions library. Simplified torque transfer limited slip differential models and idealized gearbox models are available from the Suspensions library, although both components can be swapped out for more detailed versions originating from the VeSyMA – Powertrain library due to the modular nature of VeSyMA based vehicle models.
Default gearbox models retain the H-pattern shift actuation modules, although these can be swapped out for more sequential type designs of the user’s choice. Internally, the gearbox functions as a sequential would, with a vector of gears which can be shifted through one after the other. Various full vehicle experiments are available as default featuring the NASCAR Next Gen vehicle, including 7-post shaker rig experiments, dynamic setup experiments and mass check experiments. As the Next Gen vehicle model is built from the VeSyMA family of vehicle templates, the model will work with any existing vehicle experiment or driver model.
VeSyMA – Kinematics 2020.1
VeSyMA – Kinematics from Claytex is a library featuring kinematic assembly models for various race car types. Designed to take input data for each individual component (in the component’s local coordinate system), the VeSyMA – Kinematics library will then generate assembled hard-point data for use in VeSyMA – Suspensions or Motorsports models. The kinematics library also enables the user to input various desired alignment targets for a vehicle suspension and then request the adjusted dimensions of certain components which are needed to achieve the target alignment. Support for the Next Gen vehicle has been added to the kinematics library alongside the VeSyMA – Motorsports library.
Sales and Ordering
VeSyMA – Motorsports and VeSyMA – Kinematics both come fully tested and ready for Dymola 2021. For all inquiries regarding VeSyMA – Motorsport or VeSyMA – Kinematics, including purchasing or further information, please contact sales@claytex.com. Expected release date is early-May 2020; pre-release beta versions are available, please contact support@claytex.com.
Nate Horn – Vice President
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