Title: A personal computer-based CAD system for investigating lateral stability of vehicle-dolly-trailer combinations

Authors: P.J. Starr

Addresses: Mechanical Engineering Department, 111 Church St., S.E., University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA

Abstract: A Computer-Aided Design (CAD) system is developed and applied to study the lateral stability of two vehicle-powered dolly-trailer combinations under various design configurations, tyre properties and braking conditions. The dynamics of the tow vehicle path and the yaw angles of each element are expressed as nine first-order non-linear differential equations. Stable behaviour is interpreted as the ability to recover straight-line motion without any driver correction, and is quantitatively expressed in terms of the times for the yaw angles to decay to near zero. A stand-alone menu-driven system was developed for personal computer (PC) use. It combines simplified analysis with simulation, and enables a designer to easily alter parameters and view the evolution of yaw angles over time. Results are summarised for nine vehicle-trailer size combinations, each under three braking conditions.

Keywords: vehicle brakes; computer-aided design; CAD; equations of motion; lateral stability; simulation; slip angle; tyres; vehicle-dolly-trailer systems; vertical loading; yaw angle; vehicle braking; tyre properties; braking conditions; vehicle trailers; vehicle design.

DOI: 10.1504/IJVD.1993.061834

International Journal of Vehicle Design, 1993 Vol.14 No.2/3, pp.194 - 204

Published online: 28 May 2014 *

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