Slip angle - WikiHQ

thumb|350px|'Deflected' tread path, sideslip velocity and slip angle

thumb|350px|Graph of cornering force vs slip angle

thumb|350px|A coordinate system used for tire analysis by Pacejka and Cossalter. The origin is at the intersection of three planes: the wheel midplane, the ground plane, and a vertical plane aligned with the axle (not pictured). The x-axis is in the ground plane and the midplane and is oriented forward, approximately in the direction of travel; the y-axis is also in the ground plane and rotated 90º clockwise from the x-axis when viewed from above; and the z-axis is normal to the ground plane and downward from the origin. Slip angle <math>\alpha</math> and [[camber angle <math>\gamma</math> are also shown.]]

In vehicle dynamics, slip angle or sideslip angle is the angle between the direction in which a wheel is pointing and the direction in which it is actually traveling (i.e., the angle between the forward velocity vector <math>v_x</math> and the vector sum of wheel forward velocity <math>v_x</math> and lateral velocity <math>v_y</math>, as defined in the image to the right). This slip angle results in a force, the cornering force, which is in the plane of the contact patch and perpendicular to the intersection of the contact patch and the midplane of the wheel.