Vehicle Dynamic Basics for Off-highway Trucks
I.D. # C1239 Duration 1 Day

The vehicle-terrain interaction in an off-road environment creates unique challenges for designers of both wheeled and tracked off-road vehicles. Not only should vehicle designers have a working knowledge of the fundamentals of on-road vehicle dynamics, they should also have the specialized knowledge of the vehicle dynamic characteristics found in construction, agriculture, and military off-road vehicles.

This one-day seminar concentrates on the basics of off-highway trucks and the differences with their on-highway counterparts. Emphasized in the course are the practical and theoretical aspects of off-highway trucks as it relates to various components and subsystems, including tires, steering system, and suspensions. The course will also highlight how various components and subsystems dynamically interact with each other, and how their collective interaction is manifested in the overall vehicle dynamics.

This seminar presents the specialized aspects of off-highway truck dynamics and assumes participants already have an understanding of heavy truck dynamics, either as presented through the SAE Fundamentals of Heavy Truck Dynamics seminar or experience gained through on-the-job training.

Learning Objectives

By attending this seminar, you will be able to:

  • Describe the theory and practice of off-road truck dynamics
  • Define the dynamics of various off-road truck sub-systems and components including tires, steering system, and suspension
  • Identify how sub-systems and components interact with other sub-systems and components to effect the dynamics of off-road trucks
  • Describe the effects of loading, weight transfer, and grade on off-road truck dynamics

Who Should Attend
This seminar will benefit design, manufacturing, and customer support engineers in the heavy off-road truck industry, most notably the original equipment manufacturers and their suppliers. Managers and marketing staff, as well as individuals in government agencies and educators in academic institutions that have a need for understanding heavy off-road vehicle dynamics will also benefit from attending this seminar.
Prerequisites
Attendees should have an understanding of the fundamentals of heavy truck dynamics. For individuals that are new to the discipline of heavy-truck dynamics, the SAE Fundamentals of Heavy Truck Dynamics seminar will provide the necessary introduction required to fully understand the concepts presented in this seminar.
Seminar Content

  • Tire Dynamics
    • Bias-ply and Radial Tires
    • Dynamics of high-aspect ratio tires
    • Tire Dynamics in rigidly-mounted axles
    • Effect of operation on tire temperature
    • Effect of overloading the tire
  • Steering System
    • Turn Center and Turning Radius
    • Ackermann steering for off-road vehicles
    • All-wheel steering dynamics
    • Offtracking
    • Effect of steering arrangement on tire life
  • Suspensions
    • Suspension kinematics and dynamics
    • Common off-highway suspension configurations
    • Dynamic and kinematics attributes of off-highway suspensions
    • Rigidly mounted axles
    • Effect of suspension on vehicle: Ride; Handling; Stability
  • Off-highway Truck Dynamics
    • Effect of off-centered loads: Laterally off-centered loads; Longitudinally off-centered loads
    • Effect of dynamic weight transfer
    • Effect of steep grades
    • Vehicle rollover dynamics

Instructor(s): Mehdi Ahmadian
Mehdi Ahmadian, Ph.D. is a Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Virginia Tech, where he is also the Director of the Center for Vehicle Systems and Safety (CVeSS) and the Railway Technologies Laboratory (RTL). He is the founding director of CVeSS, RTL, Virginia Institute for Performance Engineering and Research, and the Advanced Vehicle Dynamics Laboratory. Dr. Ahmadian has authored more than 200 technical publications and has made more than 130 technical presentations in topics related to advanced technologies for ground vehicles. He holds six U.S. patents and has edited four technical volumes. He currently serves as editor for the International Journal of Vehicle Systems Dynamics, co-editor for Advances in Mechanical Engineering, and associate editor for the journal Shock Vibration. Dr. Ahmadian is a member of SAE and is the recipient of the 2008 Forest R. McFarland Award for outstanding contributions to the SAE Engineering Meetings Board. He is also a Fellow of ASME and a Senior Member of AIAA. In the past, he has served as associate editor for the ASME Journal of Vibration and Acoustics and associate editor for the AIAA Journal. Dr. Ahmadian's research interests include vehicle dynamics and control, advanced suspensions, biodynamics, ride engineering, tire dynamics, advanced materials for improving vehicle performance, and vehicle noise and vibration assessment. Dr. Ahmadian has over 25 years of industrial and academic experience, working in research, development, and engineering of various systems for ground vehicles, air vehicles, and water vessels for both civilian and military applications. Dr. Ahmadian received his B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. Mechanical Engineering from State University of New York at Buffalo and M.A. Business Administration from Pennsylvania State University ¿ Behrend College.
Fees: $745 SAE Members*: $596 - $671
* The appropriate SAE Member discount will be applied through the Registration process.  Discounts vary according to level of membership: Elite Member 20%; Premium Member 15%; Classic Member 10%
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