Development of a Bicycle Dynamic Model and Riding Environment for Evaluating Roadway Features for Safe Cycling

2018Final report, 8/15/2017 - 10/31/2018PDFTech ReportTRCLC 2017-02TRCLC 2017-02Bicycle travelBicyclesBicyclingComfortDynamic modelsEvaluationHighway safetyTraffic lanesTransition curvesADAMSBicycleRide comfortSafetyTransition curveUnited StatesWestern Michigan University. Transportation Research Center for Livable CommunitiesAttanayake, UpulKeil, MitchelMazumder, AbulWestern Michigan UniversityWestern Michigan University. Transportation Research Center for Livable CommunitiesUnited States. Department of Transportation. University Transportation Centers (UTC) ProgramUS Transportation CollectionCycling is a viable transportation option for almost everyone and enhances health, equity, and quality of life. Cycling contributes to the society by reducing fuel consumption, traffic congestion, and air and noise pollution. In recent days, cycling has been promoted as more emphasis is given to non-motorized mobility. To attract people towards cycling, safe and comfortable bikeways are needed. The impact of bikeway design parameters on bicycle stability (safety) and rider comfort can be evaluated using simulation models. Therefore, a dynamic simulation model is developed in ADAMS using the Whipple benchmark bicycle model parameters. Vertical equilibrium, theoretical centripetal acceleration, and experimental data collected using an instrumented probe bicycle (IPB) are used to validate the model. The bicycle model is simulated over a predefined horizontally curved bikeway at different velocities to calculate slip angle, centripetal acceleration and jerk. The results show that the slip angle, centripetal acceleration and jerk increase with the increase of bicycle velocity and degree of curvature. Depending on the available transition curves, a significant jerk could be generated at the entrance and exit of a curve. As the outcome of this research, a graphical tool is presented that can be used to determine the upper limit of the velocity for a given horizontal curve to limit the jerk. Alternatively, this tool can be used to determine the jerk in order to design transition curves for a given horizontal curve and a selected velocity.92