Determination of Representative Loading Conditions for Effective Semitrailer Design

Abstract

Abstract. Obtaining a representative loading spectrum that corresponds well to the reality is still one of the greatest challenges for fatigue life calculations and optimal design of the trailer body. A good qualitative and quantitative knowledge of the spectrum leads to more efficient usage of material, a better design of connection points and an overall decrease of the weight of the trailer, which finally results in a significant decrease in the price of a ton of cargo per km. Despite that, the approach is nowadays mostly based on the experience and rules of thumb. It typically results in over-dimensioning of some parts while other parts remain vulnerable to failure due to unknown loading patterns. This paper describes a generic approach to solve the problems mentioned above applied in a research project named FORWARD (Fuel Optimized trailer Referring to Well Assessed Realistic Design loads). The project lasted two years and was carried out in cooperation with several different trailer manufacturers and 1st tier suppliers. The loading history of more than 1000 hours for five trailer types were captured in the shape of strains, accelerations and velocities of various elements of the trailers, enabling reconstruction of the loading in terms of forces and moments acting on the wheels and kingpin. Parallel to this extensive test-campaign, a novel generic physics-based computational approach was developed to predict selected loads encountered during common manoeuvres to all trailer types. The computational approach was validated against test-data and resulted in creating a generic multibody library applicable for all trailer types, and an automated post-processing routine for the large amount of test-data.

Material Selection and Structural Optimization for Lightweight Truck Trailer Design

“…Hence it has been neglected in this analysis. Results from previous studies [13,14] also suggest that torsion is less critical compared to bending loads. Industry experience has also shown that the static (rather than dynamic) load cases of a fully loaded trailer are the most critical in design.…”

“…Knowledge of critical load cases for lightweight trailer design is an active area of research [13,14] and beyond the scope of this paper. The critical load cases applied in this study were identified and investigated with the help of industry partners.…”

Mechatronic Design and Optimization Using Knowledge Based Engineering Applied to an Inherently Unstable and Unmanned Aerial Vehicle

“…Longitudinal aircraft response to a height command with direct lift control system based on model inversion control [19] Two studies [18], [19] were performed by the authors on specific aspects relevant to the current study; (1) the automatic generation of simulation models and (2) the automated design of control systems. An automotive project called "FORWARD" [18] was conducted in the Netherlands by several trailer manufacturers, one axle manufacturer and two universities. The aim of this project was to measure and identify real-life loading conditions on trailers during everyday operation and to use these for calculation of the fatigue on critical components, enabling weight reduction by re-design.…”

“…A validation of this generic model is presented in Fig.1. Because the simulation model can be created and analyzed in an automated fashion, it is possible to integrate this tool within an optimization framework [18]. The automated design of control systems was investigated for a box wing aircraft configuration.…”

Integral development of an innovative concept of dump trailer body for carrying arid materials

“…The floor plate is one of the more critical substructures from the required design point of view. It is therefore necessary to carry out a particular analysis of it, above all an impact analysis (Kural et al, 2014), for different combinations of materials and thicknesses (Figure 8). These simulations have been carried out by using explicit calculations in the following charge cases:…”