Suspension forces on a tri-axle air suspended semi-trailer

The aim of this study is to investigate the use of multi-body vehicle simulation models to predict the suspension forces acting on the chassis of the vehicle, in order to perform durability analyses. Traditionally, durability of vehicles is evaluated with proving ground tests. This implies that a physical prototype of the vehicle is required before its durability can be evaluated. If we were able to evaluate the durability of the vehicle without any physical part or a full prototype of the vehicle available, great cost and time savings may be gained. These possible gains have lead to the use of computer aided engineering (CAE) tools. These tools have supplemented the proving ground durability test by using historical measured data and/or predicted data from vehicle simulation models, as input to the durability analyses i.e. Finite Element Analyses (FEA). The usefulness of the historical test data is limited and many of the vehicle simulation models that are used to predict the input data, have not been validated. In this study a validated mathematical model of a 40 ton flat bed tri-axle semi-trailer, able to predict the suspension forces, is created. The validation of the full vehicle model includes correlations for displacements, velocities, accelerations and forces of various vehicle parameters. A validated mathematical model of the air springs, that includes mass transfer and flow effects for use in full vehicle dynamic simulations, is also developed. The results obtained indicate that the air spring model, integrated into the full vehicle model, is able to give relative accurate predictions of displacements, velocities, accelerations and forces of various vehicle parameters, over a discrete road event and over a rough road.Dissertation (MEng)--University of Pretoria, 2009.Mechanical and Aeronautical EngineeringUnrestricte