Search Results

The safety of the heavy duty commercial vehicle (HCV) occupants in an accident is an imperative task and should be considered during the design and development of cabins. The sufficient cabin survival space must be remained after the accident. The main aim of this study is to develop a Finite Element (FE) model of HCV cabin and validate to the test as per AIS029. The present study also includes the assessment of the energy absorption capabilities of the HCV cab during the pendulum impact test. Initially a detailed 3D FE model of a fully suspended HCV cabin was developed and then pendulum impact test simulation was carried out using LS-Dyna explicit solver. Simulation results were compared with the test results and were found in a great agreement in terms of survival space and overall deformation behavior. The load transfer path was described at the time of pendulum impact. The largest amount of impact energy was absorbed by the frontal region of the cabin.

Low steering effort is the basic requisite to proffer driver with drive comfort and easy maneuverability on turns. Various components in steering and suspension system play a vital role in determining the steering effort of vehicle. The discussion has been emphasized on static steering effort i.e. when vehicle is stationary and wheels are turned from lock to lock position. There are various factors which affect the steering effort of a vehicle. Following are the high priority factors: 1 Steering Geometry. 2 Tyre static friction torque. 3 Friction among the steering linkages. In this paper, the crucial factors which lead to difference in steering effort of RH and LH turn have been discussed in detail. The Ackerman linkages have been optimized to show that the effective lengths of track arms along with pitman arm and steering arm for a specific turn angle is not the sole reason for difference in steering effort but the acceleration of linkages also play a vital role in this phenomenon.