Step 3: Procedure
You can determine Cd and Crr from the same set of test data by measuring velocity with respect to time as your vehicle coasts in neutral. Note that Crr will not be pure rolling resistance but will include some drive-train resistance as well.
1. Drive to a flat road with little traffic or wind.
2. Have the passenger ready with stopwatch and paper to record data.
3. Have the driver accelerate up to above 70 km/h or so, and shift into neutral.
4. Record data as follows. The driver should indicate when the speed drops to exactly 70 km/h. At this time (t=0) the passenger should start the clock. The passenger should indicate every 10 seconds after that and the driver should call out the current speed to the nearest whole km. The passenger should record this value next to each time.
Aside: If you have a digital camera capable of recording several minutes of low resolution video (as most people seem to have these days), the process is much easier and more accurate. You don't need any equipment except the digital camera. Simply have your passenger record a video of your speedometer during the coast down tests, or find some way of mounting the camera so you can do the recording without an assistant. Using a free program such as Avidemux (http://fixounet.free.fr/avidemux/) you can play the video back on your computer frame by frame and view the timestamp at desired speeds.
5. Repeat the test in the opposite direction.
6. Repeat the test in both directions twice more (6 trials in all, 3 in each direction). All these values will be averaged for a more accurate analysis.
7. Download the spreadsheet I created Drag_Coefficient.xls and enter all your data following the instructions included. The spreadsheet averages data from all 6 trials to create a single data set representing velocity (V actual) as a function of time. It then generates it's own model for velocity (V model) based on entered constants and initial guesses for Cd and Crr. Excel's "Solver" function can be used to adjust Cd and Crr in order to minimize the error between the model and actual data. If you are using OpenOffice Calc (which I highly recommend and which you can download for free from http://www.openoffice.org), unfortunately, the solver function currently only handles linear systems, so you will have to adjust the input values manually to minimize the error between the model and the data. Once the error is minimized and the model data matches the actual data as best it can, then Cd and Crr are correct.
1. Drive to a flat road with little traffic or wind.
2. Have the passenger ready with stopwatch and paper to record data.
3. Have the driver accelerate up to above 70 km/h or so, and shift into neutral.
4. Record data as follows. The driver should indicate when the speed drops to exactly 70 km/h. At this time (t=0) the passenger should start the clock. The passenger should indicate every 10 seconds after that and the driver should call out the current speed to the nearest whole km. The passenger should record this value next to each time.
Aside: If you have a digital camera capable of recording several minutes of low resolution video (as most people seem to have these days), the process is much easier and more accurate. You don't need any equipment except the digital camera. Simply have your passenger record a video of your speedometer during the coast down tests, or find some way of mounting the camera so you can do the recording without an assistant. Using a free program such as Avidemux (http://fixounet.free.fr/avidemux/) you can play the video back on your computer frame by frame and view the timestamp at desired speeds.
5. Repeat the test in the opposite direction.
6. Repeat the test in both directions twice more (6 trials in all, 3 in each direction). All these values will be averaged for a more accurate analysis.
7. Download the spreadsheet I created Drag_Coefficient.xls and enter all your data following the instructions included. The spreadsheet averages data from all 6 trials to create a single data set representing velocity (V actual) as a function of time. It then generates it's own model for velocity (V model) based on entered constants and initial guesses for Cd and Crr. Excel's "Solver" function can be used to adjust Cd and Crr in order to minimize the error between the model and actual data. If you are using OpenOffice Calc (which I highly recommend and which you can download for free from http://www.openoffice.org), unfortunately, the solver function currently only handles linear systems, so you will have to adjust the input values manually to minimize the error between the model and the data. Once the error is minimized and the model data matches the actual data as best it can, then Cd and Crr are correct.
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