Abstract
This paper presents a systematic methodology and formulation for determining optimal strategies of multi-body dynamic systems, which is based on multi-body dynamics, design sensitivity, and optimization techniques, and is applicable to a wide variety of mechanical systems. The particular application discussed in this paper considers a vehicle model with four-wheel steeling capability, and the presented methodology determines an optimal steering angle ratio strategy for the vehicle. It is shown that such a strategy can improve the ride stability of the vehicle, during a variety of maneuvers, when compared against similar strategies obtained from linear and simplified vehicle models.