Conceptual design of a testing facility to trucks maneuvering performance

Road safety is influenced by the dynamic performance of heavy trucks during emergency maneuvers that involve abrupt changes in direction and velocity. In this context, rating of trucks performance under such situations becomes crucial to promote safer roads. Present test methods to evaluate trucks performance during braking and lane change maneuvers involve substantial monetary and time investments, and are limited to certain critical trucks and cargo. A more general methodology to evaluate a wider range of vehicles under diverse situations is thus necessary. In this paper the conceptual design of a truck testing facility is proposed to characterize and compare the dynamic performance of the vehicles under emergency maneuvering, as a function of the components properties, payload conditions and overall truck design. The equipment consists of a moving platform on which the vehicle is mounted, including load cells to measure tire loads. The motion of the platform can simulate steering maneuvers by providing lateral and yaw excitations.