Search Results

Vehicle handling is an important attribute that is directly related to vehicle safety. The rapid development of road infrastructure has resulted in a greater focus on safety and stability. Commercial vehicle stability and safety assumes higher significance because of high center of gravity (CG) and heavier loads. A gamut of parameters influence vehicle handling directly and indirectly. However, it is quite difficult to gauge through physical testing, the extent of each parameter's influence on handling. Therefore, this paper examines vehicle handling by way of a sensitivity analysis through numerical simulation. A prototype vehicle is also instrumented and tested to confirm trends and validate the results of the simulation. An Intermediate Commercial Vehicle (ICV) with Gross Vehicle Weight (GVW) of around 13 tonnes is modeled and parameters like wheelbase and tyre stiffness are altered and the effect of these changes on handling parameters (yaw rate, lateral acceleration) is observed.

In the emerging commercial vehicle sector, it is very essential to give a product to customer, which is very reliable and less prone to the failures to make the product successful in the market. In order to make it possible, the product is to be validated to replicate the exact field conditions, where it is going to be operated. Lab testing plays a vital role in reproducing the field conditions in order to reduce the lead time in overall product life cycle development process. This paper deals with the design and fabrication of the steering column slip endurance test rig. This rig is capable of generating wear on the steering column splines coating which predominantly leads to failure of steering column. The data acquired from Proving Ground (PG) was analyzed and block cycles were generated with help of data analyzing tools.

The suspension system in a vehicle isolates the frame and body from road shocks and vibrations which would otherwise be transferred to the passengers and goods. Heavier goods vehicles use tandem axles at the rear for load carrying. Both the axles should be inter-connected to eliminate overloading of any one axle when this goes over a bump or a ditch. One of the inter-connecting mechanism used is leaf spring with tie rod, bell crank & linkages, when the first rear axle moves over a bump, the linkages equalize the loading on the second rear axle. This paper details about the failure analysis methodology to simulate the tie rod field failure using a six poster road simulator and to identify the root cause of the failure and further corrective actions.

Driveline (DL) is one of the major sources of noise and vibration which excites the vehicle structures across a wide band of frequencies in commercial vehicles (CV). Current work focuses on the driveline noise source identification and its reduction in a heavy commercial vehicle. An abnormal noise is perceived in a CV in high gears at high speeds. This annoying DL noise is subjectively perceived in geared and neutral coast down conditions. Objective NVH assessment including near source noise and vibration of the driveline components was performed to quantify the noise. Initial test results revealed that the DL excitations are aggravated in auxiliary gear box as broadband rattle noise. The design configuration of the DL components and related subsystems such as propeller shafts and gearbox etc. was studied to the find root cause of the excitations. The driveline configuration including the auxiliary gearbox tooth geometry is also scrutinized and modified.

Steering wheel being the most used tactile point in a vehicle, its feel and response is an important factor based on which the vehicle quality is judged. Engineering the right feel and response into the system requires knowledge of the objective parameters that relate to the driver perception. Extensive correlation work has been done in the past pertaining to passenger cars, but the driver requirements for commercial vehicles vary significantly. Often it becomes difficult to match the right parameters to the steering feel experienced by the drivers, since most of the standard ISO weave test units used to describe them are of zero or first order parameters. Analyzing the second order parameters gave a better method to reason driver related feel. Also, each subjective attribute was fragmented into sub-attributes to identify the reason for such a rating resulting in the identification of the major subjective parameters affecting driver ratings.

Bogie-type suspensions for trucks are comprised of two axles and a central spring pack on each side of the truck chassis. Bogie suspensions have a good load distribution between the axles and are used for severe applications in trucks, in off-road conditions thereby subjecting them to extreme stain and load. In today’s competitive market scenario, it of utmost importance to minimize down time in commercial vehicles as it directly corresponds to loss in business which leads to customer dissatisfaction. It is therefore essential to optimize and select the right material for each component in the bogie suspension system. This paper deals with the material selection and testing of one such component - Bogie Wear Pad. The bogie wear pad undergoes sliding friction throughout its lifetime during loading and unloading of bogie suspension. Three different materials are selected and their wear is measured under the same conditions of loading.

The commercial vehicle industry is evolving faster with the rise in multifarious aspects deciding a company's progress. In the current scenario, vehicle performance and its reliability in the areas of payload, fuel economy, etc. play vital roles in determining its sustenance in the industry, in addition to reducing driver fatigue and improving comfort levels. Test quality and time is the key to assure and affirm, smooth and quick launch of the product into the market. This paper details on the design of Multi-Axis road data simulator which entails realistic loads onto the components for capturing meaningful information on behavior of the product and recreate the field failure modes. The design was conceptualized keeping in mind both cost (for initial installation and running cost) and time for testing without loss in the convergence factor.