Within the transit industry it is well known that transit buses have the potential to operate at weights that exceed vehicle weight limits. However, few attempts have been made to date to determine how often this occurs and to what degree. This research characterizes the current transit industry with respect to the regulatory environment, factors that have affected the weight of modern day transit buses, and methods for accommodating transit buses in pavement design. This research then develops and applies a methodology for calculating the in-service weights of standard 40-ft. transit buses using a combination of passenger characteristic data, transit bus curb weight data, and transit ridership data. The findings of this research suggest that the transit bus industry is in a state of competing interests. Weight estimates developed in this research identify that current transit bus models are unable to comply with vehicle weight limits in most jurisdictions even with no passengers on board. Further, these estimates indicate that transit buses have a significant impact on pavements – comparable to those of fully-loaded, five-axle semi-trucks on a per vehicle basis. To date this issue has been addressed in the Canadian Prairie Region by indefinitely granting transit buses overweight permits. However, based on the current state of the transit industry there is little incentive for transit agencies to operate lightweight transit buses and little incentive for transit bus manufacturers to produce lightweight transit buses in order to address pavement and regulatory concerns. Consequently, transit bus axle weight issues in the Canadian Prairie Region are expected to continue in the foreseeable future. / October 2015

Besides the braking system the steering system is one of the most important systems on vehicles. The reliability and the performance of a steering system decides on the controllability of the vehicle under normal conditions as well as emergency situations. In everyday use the characteristics, the connectivity to assistance systems and the energy efficiency of the steering system become more and more important to fulfill the increasing demands regarding fuel consumption, carbon dioxide emissions and comfort. To meet these demands, new steering systems must be implemented and new technologies have to be developed. This contribution compares different approaches regarding functionality and energy efficiency to give an indication which system is the most promising solution for future front axle steering systems as well as rear steered axles (tag- or pusher axle) on trucks.

Automotive industry is faced with numerous power train Noise, Vibration and Harshness issues. Particularly, in the driveline area of vehicles a noise commonly referred as differential axle whine which is a tonal response and becomes apparent under cruising conditions. This is one of the key concerns in rear wheel drive commercial vehicles. Although not a failure state, it is regarded as a quality issue and a source of annoyance, which can lead to warranty concerns. The associated cost of palliation to Ford Motor Company was estimated to be $25,000,000 in 2003. There have been several ways of studying axle whine through experimentation and numerical analysis. In this thesis, a new approach for investigating axle whine is highlighted, which is more integrative and detailed. Multi-body dynamics model of a light truck s driveline is developed with all the appropriate components, using constrained Lagrangian dynamics. Component flexibility is included for driveshaft pieces, rear axle half-shafts and the suspension elements. The connectivity of the components is accurately modelled such as the floating effect of rear half-shafts, linear bushings between driveline components to chassis connections, as well as the non-linear effect of tapered roller bearings, supporting the wheel hubs and gears. Furthermore, integrated to the previously described large scale model a detailed hypoid gear pair model is devised. This incorporates micro-scale physics for tooth contact analysis to predict geometric properties and deflections for the gear pair. At the same time thermo-elastohydrodynamic lubrication theory with non-Newtonian friction is applied. All these phenomena at different physical scales, such as large displacement rigid body dynamics and analytical equations for the detailed model are solved simultaneously, all within the same modelling environment. This multi-physics, multi-scale approach has not hitherto been reported in the literature, and constitutes a significant contribution to knowledge. Comparative studies of the model predictions and detailed vehicle tests are carried out, the combination of which points to resonant conditions in system responses and flexible component behaviour, coincident with the adverse conditions in the hypoid gear meshing. It is shown that vehicle drive and coast conditions, promoting teeth pair separations lead to irregular (improper) meshing of the differential gears. Such conditions induce impulsive actions that promote the axle whine phenomenon. This is a major finding of the research and contributes to a better understanding of the axle whine problem.

Atualmente a maioria dos veículos de passeio, pequenos e médios, são equipados com eixo traseiro do tipo interdependente. Seu baixo custo de fabricação e instalação fácil faz dele o preferido pela indústria automotiva. Normalmente, o eixo traseiro interdependente é um conjunto soldado e sua fabricação requer um controle do processo e qualidade das juntas soldadas de alto nível, devido a uma característica típica de projeto: eixos traseiros interdependentes possuem tensões críticas nos seus cordões de solda. Neste estudo, foi avaliado o quanto alterações nos parâmetros de soldagem afetam a geometria da solda e esta, por sua vez, compromete a vida à fadiga de um eixo interdependente. Através da variação dos parâmetros primários de soldagem (corrente, tensão e velocidade de soldagem), foi criado duas classes de eixos: classe A - 22V; 235A; 9mm/seg e classe B - 29V, 302A; 15mm/seg. Estes eixos foram submetidos a um ensaio de torção com carga em amplitude constante e seus desempenhos foram medidos através da curva de vida à fadiga. A variação dos parâmetros de soldagem afetou a geometria do cordão de solda, provocando nos eixos da classe B o surgimento de defeitos como baixa penetração da solda e mordedura. O resultado da análise metalográfica indica que estes defeitos influenciaram na resistência à fadiga dos eixos. A fractografia das fraturas confirmou que as falhas ocorreram por fadiga. / Nowadays most of the light, small and medium vehicles are equipped with a twist beam rear axle. Its low-cost production and easy assembly makes it the favorite axle type for the automotive industries and suspension developers. Usually the twist beam rear axle is a welded assembly and its production request a process control and high-level quality of the welded joint, due to a typical project characteristic: twist beam rear axle have critical tensions in their welds beads. It was evaluated in this study, how much the alterations in the welding parameters affects the weld bead geometry and this, for its time, affects the fatigue life of the twist beam rear axle. Through the variation of the welding primary parameters (welding current, arc voltage and welding speed), it was manufactured two classes of the axles: class \"A\" - 22V; 235A; 9mm/seg and class \"B\" - 29V, 302A; 15mm/seg. These axles were submitted the constant amplitude fatigue torsion testing and your performance were measured through the fatigue life curve. The variation of the welding parameters affected the weld bead geometry, inducing on the class \"B\" axle, the appearance of defects as low weld penetration and undercut. The metalography investigation indicates that these defects influenced in the fatigue life resistance. The fractures fractography confirmed that the flaws happened for fatigue.

An indirect tire pressure monitoring system uses the wheel rolling radius as an indicator of low tire pressure. When extra load is put in the trunk of a car, the load distribution in the car will change. This will affect the rolling radius which in its turn will be confused with a change in the tire pressure. To avoid this phenomenon, the load distribution has to be estimated. In this thesis methods for estimating the pitch angle of a car and an offset in the pitch angle caused by changed load distribution are presented and when an estimate is derived, a load distribution can be derived. Alot of available signals are used but the most important are the longitudinal accelerometer signal and the acceleration at the wheels derived from the velocity of the car. A few ways to detect or compensate for a non-zero road grade are also presented. Based on the estimated offset, a difference between the front and rear axle heights in the vehicle can be estimated and compensating for the changed load distribution in an indirect tire pressure monitoring system will be possible.

Several aspects of vehicle-pavement interaction have been studied and discussed in this thesis. Initially the pavement response is studied through a quasi-static and a dynamic computationally efficient framework under moving traffic loads. Subsequently, a non-stationary stochastic solution has been developed in order to account for the effect of pavement surface deterioration on pavement service life.The quasi-static procedure is based on a superposition principle and is computationally favourable, as it requires only a reduced incremental problem to be solved numerically. Using the developed framework, the effect of vehicle configuration and traffic characteristics on the damage induced in pavements is investigated numerically. It is shown that the developed numerical model provides a more accurate explanation of different distress modes.In the dynamic approach the pavement roughness and vehicle suspension system are linked to a dynamic pavement model in order to account for the dynamic effects of vehicle-pavement interaction on pavement response. A finite element method is employed in order to establish the response function for a linear viscoelastic pavement structure with dynamic effects taken into account. The developed computational procedure is applied to evaluate the effect of the pavement surface roughness on the pavement structure response to truck traffic loadings.Furthermore, the deterioration trends for the flexible pavement surface have been investigated based on field measurements of longitudinal profiles in Sweden. A predictive function is proposed for surface deterioration that is based on the average gradient of yearly measurements of the road surface profiles in Swedish road network. The developed dynamic framework is further elaborated to a non-stationary stochastic approach. The response of the flexible pavement is given for a non-stationary random case as the pavement surface deteriorates in pavement service life, thus influencing the magnitude of the dynamic loads induced by the vehicles. The effect of pavement surface evolution on the stress state induced in the pavement by moving traffic is examined numerically. Finally the effect of surface deterioration on pavement service life has been investigated and discussed in the thesis by incorporating the proposed prognostic surface deterioration model into a ME design framework. The results are discussed for different case studies with different traffic regimes. It was indicated that the predicted pavement service life decreases considerably when the extra dynamic loads, as a result of pavement surface deterioration, has been taken into account. Furthermore, the effect of performing a predictive rehabilitation process (i.e. resurfacing) has been studied by employing a LCC framework. The application of preventive maintenance was shown to be effective, especially when the deterioration rate is high. / <p>QC 20141119</p>

Atualmente a maioria dos veículos de passeio, pequenos e médios, são equipados com eixo traseiro do tipo interdependente. Seu baixo custo de fabricação e instalação fácil faz dele o preferido pela indústria automotiva. Normalmente, o eixo traseiro interdependente é um conjunto soldado e sua fabricação requer um controle do processo e qualidade das juntas soldadas de alto nível, devido a uma característica típica de projeto: eixos traseiros interdependentes possuem tensões críticas nos seus cordões de solda. Neste estudo, foi avaliado o quanto alterações nos parâmetros de soldagem afetam a geometria da solda e esta, por sua vez, compromete a vida à fadiga de um eixo interdependente. Através da variação dos parâmetros primários de soldagem (corrente, tensão e velocidade de soldagem), foi criado duas classes de eixos: classe A - 22V; 235A; 9mm/seg e classe B - 29V, 302A; 15mm/seg. Estes eixos foram submetidos a um ensaio de torção com carga em amplitude constante e seus desempenhos foram medidos através da curva de vida à fadiga. A variação dos parâmetros de soldagem afetou a geometria do cordão de solda, provocando nos eixos da classe B o surgimento de defeitos como baixa penetração da solda e mordedura. O resultado da análise metalográfica indica que estes defeitos influenciaram na resistência à fadiga dos eixos. A fractografia das fraturas confirmou que as falhas ocorreram por fadiga. / Nowadays most of the light, small and medium vehicles are equipped with a twist beam rear axle. Its low-cost production and easy assembly makes it the favorite axle type for the automotive industries and suspension developers. Usually the twist beam rear axle is a welded assembly and its production request a process control and high-level quality of the welded joint, due to a typical project characteristic: twist beam rear axle have critical tensions in their welds beads. It was evaluated in this study, how much the alterations in the welding parameters affects the weld bead geometry and this, for its time, affects the fatigue life of the twist beam rear axle. Through the variation of the welding primary parameters (welding current, arc voltage and welding speed), it was manufactured two classes of the axles: class \"A\" - 22V; 235A; 9mm/seg and class \"B\" - 29V, 302A; 15mm/seg. These axles were submitted the constant amplitude fatigue torsion testing and your performance were measured through the fatigue life curve. The variation of the welding parameters affected the weld bead geometry, inducing on the class \"B\" axle, the appearance of defects as low weld penetration and undercut. The metalography investigation indicates that these defects influenced in the fatigue life resistance. The fractures fractography confirmed that the flaws happened for fatigue.

This Master’s thesis is dedicated to innovative structural design of the supporting frame rear axle of a small urban utility vehicle. The frame allows you to change the wheel base by sliding rear axle so the car can be used in its short or long version. The main part begins with description of the design solutions and continues with selection of a solution and description of its main parts. The work is finished by description of the current state of production and a list of expected expenses.

The aim of this thesis was to investigate what the relation is between as-quench hardness and final surface hardness for steel beams is, depending on what tempering temperature is used. Also explain how chemistry, dimension and microstructure effects the final mechanical properties of the front axle beam. For this a review of literature concerning the effects was completed.Hardness measurement on the surface was performed on the ends of the beam (bottom and top). This hardness measurement was performed on 6 different front axle articles of the same material (41CrS4) and 2 different front axle articles of another material (40CrMo4). The relation diagram gives an estimation of what type of tempering temperature is needed to achieve the final hardness that is desired. Because the relation was done with some inconsistences it can’t be said to give a perfect answer. The relation diagrams only work for material 41CrS4 and 40CrMo4. For the core hardness test, 2 articles of 41CrS4 and one article of 40CrMo4 was measured on 5 different position on the cross-section, the beams for the respective articles were taken from quenched state and quenched+tempered. The beam dimensions have a significant effect when it comes to cooling down the part and achieve as close to uniform hardness as possible. Even though the Middle point of the I-section sample is one of the closest cores to the surface, it has a softer core compared with the other cores. While there exists hardness difference after quenching between different points in the core they even out after tempering. When comparing the core hardness with the surface hardness it can be said that the surface hardness is not as hard as the core because of decarburization. The microstructure analysis was done on 2 articles of 41CrS4 and one article of 40CrMo4. Samples from the 3 articles is taken from both the as-quenched state and quenched+tempered state. From the optical microscope it could be seen, that the surface of the beams decarbonizes leading to a higher amount of ferrite at the structure and softer surface. Because of this 15 mm into the material is harder than at-surface. Decarburization of the 41CrS4 steels made it so that what should have been a martensite and bainite dominated surface became a ferrite and bainite dominated.To decide the actual amount of retained austenite in the sample an XRD-analysis was performed. The XRD-analysis is done only for one article type of 41CrS4. From the front axle beam three samples of three different locations (bottom, middle, top) was taken for the analysis. For the theoretical calculation of the retained austenite vs the actual amount it can be said that is a very good representation of the total amount of retained austenite in the product. But the theoretical calculation deviates a bit from the actual amount at the top part of the beam. / Syftet med denna avhandling var att undersöka vad relationen är mellan härdat ythårdhet och slut ythårdhet för stålbalkar är, beroende på vilken anlöpnings temperatur som används. Tar också upp hur kemi, dimension och mikrostruktur påverkar de sista mekaniska egenskaperna hos framaxel balken. För detta genomfördes en genomgång av litteraturen om effekterna.Hårdhetsmätning på ytan utfördes på balkens ändar (botten och toppen). Denna hårdhetsmätning utfördes på 6 olika främre axelartiklar av samma material (41CrS4) och 2 olika främre axelartiklar av annat material (40CrMo4). Relationsdiagrammet ger en uppskattning av vilken typ av anlöpningstemperatur som behövs för att uppnå den slutliga hårdheten som önskas. Eftersom förhållandet gjordes med vissa inkonsekvenser kan det inte sägas ge ett perfekt svar. Relationsdiagrammen fungerar endast för material 41CrS4 och 40CrMo4.För kärnhårdhetstestet mättes 2 artiklar av 41CrS4 och en artikel av 40CrMo4 i 5 olika positioner på tvärsnittet, stålen för respektive artiklar togs från härdat tillstånd och härdat + anlöpt. Dimensionerna har en signifikant effekt när det gäller att kyla ner delen och uppnå så nära enhetlig hårdhet som möjligt. Även om mittpunkten i I-sektionsprovet är en av de närmaste kärnorna till ytan, så har det en mjukare kärna jämfört med de andra kärnorna. Det finns hårdhetsskillnad efter härdning mellan de olika punkter men de jämnar ut sig efter anlöpningen. När man jämför kärnhårdheten med ythårdheten kan man säga att ythårdheten inte är så hård på grund av avkolning.Mikrostrukturanalysen gjordes på 2 artiklar av 41CrS4 och en artikel av 40CrMo4. Prover från de 3 artiklarna tas från både härdat tillstånd och härdat + anlöpt tillstånd. Från det optiska mikroskopet kunde man se att stålbalkens yta har blivit utsatt för avkolning vilket leder till en högre mängd ferrit vid strukturen och en mjukare yta. På grund av detta, så är 15 mm in i materialet hårare än vid ytan. Avkolning av 41CrS4 stål gjorde så att det som borde ha varit ett martensit och bainit dominerat yta blev istället ferrit och bainit dominerat.XRD-analysen görs endast för en artikelart av 41CrS4. Från fram axelbalken togs tre prov från tre olika platser (botten, mitten, toppen) för analysen. För att bestämma den verkliga mängden restaustenit i provet utfördes en XRD-analys. För den teoretiska beräkningen av den rest austeniten jämfört med det faktiska beloppet kan man säga det är en mycket bra representation av den totala mängden kvarhållen austenit i produkten. Men den teoretiska beräkningen avviker lite från den faktiska mängden vid stålens övre del.

The steering arrangement of a 6x6 off-road military vehicle was investigated, with the aim to determine if a variable steering ratio between the first and second steering axle of the vehicle will make an improvement in the steady and transient state handling of the vehicle. Low speed manoeuvring was evaluated, comparing the vehicle steering geometry with Ackerman geometry. For steady state handling, a bicycle model was developed, and constant radius simulations at various track radii, vehicle speeds and steering ratios (ratio between the first and second steering axle) was performed. For transient dynamic simulations, a mathematical model was developed that included a simple driver model to steer the vehicle through a single lane change, again at various speeds and steering ratios. The vehicle was instrumented, and actual constant radii tests, as well as single lane change tests were performed. The measurements enabled the comparison of simulated and measured results. Although basic mathematical models were used, acceptable correlation was obtained for both steady state and transient dynamic behaviour. The results indicated that for this specific vehicle geometry, where the centre of mass is above the second axle, no marked improvement would be obtained by implementing a variable ratio steering system. The mathematical model was changed to simulate a vehicle with longer wheelbase and different centre of mass. With the new geometry, theoretical slip angles (and therefore tire wear) reductions were more noticeable It was concluded that a variable ratio system between the front and second axle would not be an economically viable improvement for this vehicle, since the improvement achieved will not warrant the additional cost and complexity added to the vehicle. / Dissertation (MEng (Mechanical Engineering))--University of Pretoria, 2007. / Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering / MEng / unrestricted