Citation

Wideberg JP. Heavy Vehicle Syst. 2004; 11(2): 195-207.

Affiliation

Transportation Engineering, School of Engineering, University of Seville, 41092 Sevilla, Spain

Copyright

(Copyright © 2004, Inderscience Publishers)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

In this paper a method to add elastic effects to the classic 'bicycle model' for the simulation of the dynamic behaviour of vehicles is presented, The results obtained show that in the simulations the dynamic effects deteriorate when flexible vehicle frames are considered. This work demonstrates that the modified bicycle model is a useful instrument to predict the response of a vehicle. The method used is a numerical model of the dynamics coupled with a finite element model of the frame. MATLAB is used as a platform for evaluation of the dynamics and CALFEM, which is a MATLAB plug-in, is used for the finite element model. The proposed method offers an easy and quick way to evaluate the dynamic effects in models with flexible frames. The elasticity of the frame has an important impact on the directional response (jaw gain, lateral velocity and ultimately the trajectory) of the vehicles. The change of rigidity of the frame could give rise to considerable effects in the directional stability and the handling.