Design of a Stroke Dependent Damper for the Front Axle Suspension of a Truck Using Multibody System Dynamics and Numerical Optimization

Summary A stroke dependent damper is designed for the front axle suspension of a truck. The damper supplies extra damping for inward deflections rising above 4 cm. In this way the damper should reduce extreme suspension deflections without deteriorating the comfort of the truck. But the question is which stroke dependent damping curve yields the best compromise between suspension deflection working space and comfort. Therefore an optimization problem is defined to minimize the maximum inward suspension deflection subject to constraints on the chassis acceleration for three typical road undulations. The optimization problem is solved using sequential linear programming (SLP) and multibody dynamics simulation software. Several optimization runs have been carried out for a small two degree of freedom vehicle model and a large full-scale model of the truck semi-trailer combination. The results show that the stroke dependent damping can reduce large deflections at incidental road disturbances, but that the optimum stroke dependent damping curve is related to the acceleration bound. By means of vehicle model simulation and numerical optimization we have been able to quantify this trade-off between suspension deflection working space and truck comfort.     

轨道运输噪音改善研析与对策——以台北捷运地下隧道为例

台湾因人口集中都会区且道路年增率远不及车辆年增率,形成都会区内及城际道路交通日益频繁与拥塞,台湾目前陆运交通主流与世界趋势相同,主要以轨道运输系统为陆运交通主要解决方案,同时近年来在降低环境污染及增加能源使用效能之呼声下,更使得铁路运输亦再度成为最佳解决方案.近年来台北捷运系统中和线古亭站穿越民房下方潜盾隧道段、维修线中华路区段及板桥线西门站至龙山寺站地下隧道,沿线接获越来越多居住其上的居民对振动噪音污染生活质量之抱怨与不满,同时因民众环保意识的日渐抬头,民众对捷运行驶的噪音愈来愈不能忍受,噪音陈情的地点也愈来愈多,目前虽采取许多改善措施,但似乎不能满足沿线居民的需求.此篇论文即针对轨道运输系统中台北捷运地下隧道分轨道噪音之成因进行分析,并经分析评估,拟定出各轨道噪音案在地下隧道的防治对策,并对部分防治对策做-长期监测,并对部分监测数据进行初步分析比对,厘清对策与成因在理论上及实务上之成效比对,从而进行设计上之回馈,以提供轨道运输在环境噪音防治之最佳方案.     

Directional performance issues in evaluation and design of articulated heavy vehicles

This review of the dynamics of heavy road-vehicle systems emphasizes directional performance. The review presents information on the following topics: why are articulated vehicles used; units, hitches, and combination vehicles; multiple axle suspensions and steering systems; important performance issues; models and simulation tools; and controlling directional performance. The concluding section summarizes the material presented and provides ideas regarding the application of vehicle system dynamics concepts in developing controllers for road trains.     

Simulation of an airbag deployment in out-of-position situations

The commonly used 'uniform pressure method' (UP) is a well-tried method to simulate an airbag deployment in accident cases. Nevertheless, this method indicates rather heavy inadequacies at the examination of the airbag deployment in the first milliseconds. A solution is the airbag deployment calculation by using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) methods, wherein the calculated gas flow pressure may be applied 'correctly' to the airbag shell elements.

This CFD simulation is integrated in LS-Dyna with the so-called Arbitrary Lagrangian Eulerian (ALE) method and in this review the result's accuracy will be discussed. According to the FMVSS 208, an OoP model will be built-on and comparisons with simulations and tests are done. Another important detail in this labour is the airbag cover examination and the tear seam modelling, as a trivial FE modelling cannot be done due to the very fine mesh. So two possible solutions for tear seam modelling are introduced and discussed. Furthermore considerations concerning the gas generator combustion will also be revealed and an analysis about the impossibility of the direct comparison between gas generator tank test and airbag deployment will be done. At least some parameters, which take effects in the simulation, are researched and evaluated, so finally an optimised simulation model can be made available for further examinations.     

高速公路路基养护评价方法研究

针对高速公路路基养护评价方法,首先从养护对象的角度建立了高速公路路基的评价指标体系,然后根据指标体系与养护对象的关系构建了模型框架,最后利用在江苏省现场采集的30个高速公路路段数据建立了主观评分值和客观评分值的主客观联系。通过线性回归的方法得到了江苏省高速公路路基评价模型,并验证了模型的合理性。     

Introducing alternative fuel vehicles in Hong Kong: views from the public light bus industry

Hong Kong was the first place in the world to implement a trial scheme to convert all public light buses (PLBs) on the road from diesel to alternative fuel vehicles (AFVs). The scheme, however, did not receive much support from PLB operators. At present, there is a rich literature on households’ demand for AFVs (especially in the USA). However, there have not been many studies about the demand for commercial AFVs in the business and public transport sectors. Since light buses running on alternative fuels are not widely available in the Hong Kong market, a stated preference (SP) survey was conducted to solicit the preferences of PLB operators on eight commercial vehicle attributes and seven forms of government support. The SP data are analyzed by multinomial logit (MNL) models. Detailed analyses on market segmentation and price elasticities follow. The results are of theoretical and practical significance.     

Validation of a Nonlinear Automotive Seat Cushion Vibration Model

A low-order, lumped parameter model is proposed to describe the vertical vibration compliance of an automotive seat. The model includes nonlinear stiffness and damping effects that mimic the properties exhibited by open cell foams that are commonly used in the construction of an automotive seat cushion. A shaped sandbag was positioned on a seat cushion and vibrated to obtain test data. White noise acceleration with amplitude ranging from 0.05 g rms to 0.45 g rms in increments of 0.05 g rms was used to excite the seat track. A luxury car seat and a sports car seat were tested and a nonlinear seat model was identified that predicts the actual test data with fidelity. The paper demonstrates that once a family of model parameters is identified for a particular seat, then the model can be used for a wide spectrum of seat track inputs. Additional experiments also verified that when the sandbag mass was increased by as much as 50%, the predicted response using the proposed model was in agreement with the measured response. Finally, the paper reports the result of an experiment using a human subject on a seat cushion. A simulation using the new cushion model and an ISO vibration model of a seated human produced response data that was very similar to the actual test data.     

On the reserve capacities of priority junctions and roundabouts

The concept of reverse capacity of a whole junction has been used extensively in the design of signal-controlled junctions. This concept, however, has not been applied to priority junctions and roundabouts, probably because of the complicated demand and supply relationship. When the demands on the approaches to the junction increase, the capacities of those non-priority approaches reduce at different rates. This makes the calculation of reserve capacity of the whole junction not a straightforward task. Using the definition of reserve capacity of a whole junction in Allsop (1972; Transpn Res. 6, 245–255), explicit formulae for the estimation of reserve capacities of priority junctions and roundabouts are derived in this paper. Numerical examples are given to illustrate the usefulness of these formulae.     

Distributions of queue lengths at fixed time traffic signals

This paper presents a new model which studies probability distributions of queue lengths at fixed time traffic signals. It extends Haight's model for Poisson arrivals that the arrival distribution during the effective red period is general and the headway between two successive departures is not less than the minimum departure headway. Moreover, the probability generating function of the queue length, at the end of the effective red period, is derived. The probabilities of the queue lengths, at the ends of the effective green, actual red and amber periods, are also obtained. Comparison is made with Haight's model. Finally a case study for the proposed model is reported.