Automatic usage modeling for automotive applications

Many loads acting on a vehicle depend on the condition and quality of roads traveled as well as on the driving style of the motorist. Thus, during vehicle development, good knowledge on these further operations conditions is advantageous. For that purpose, usage models for different kinds of vehicles are considered. Based on these mathematical descriptions, representative routes for multiple user types can be simulated in a predefined geographical region. The obtained individual driving schedules consist of coordinates of starting and target points and can thus be routed on the true road network. Additionally, different factors, like the to pography, can be evaluated along the track. Available statistics resulting from travel survey are integrated to guarantee reason able trip length. Population figures are used to estimate the number of vehicles in
contained administrative units. The creation of thousands of those geo-referenced trips then allows the determination of realistic measures of the durability loads. Private as well as commercial use of vehicles is modeled. For the former, com muters are modeled as the main user group conducting daily drives to work and additional leisure time a shopping trip during workweek. For the latter, taxis as example for users of passenger cars are considered. The model of light-duty com mercial vehicles is split into two types of driving patterns, stars and tours, and in the common traffic classes of long-distance, local and city traffic. Algorithms to simulate reasonable target points based on geographical and sta tistical data are presented in detail. Examples for the evaluation of routes based on topographical factors and speed profiles comparing the influence of the driving style are included.