Analysis of Road Load Data to Extract Statistical Trends in Spindle Loads for Vehicles with Variants

The statistical trends of the spindle loads extracted from road load test data of vehicles with different variants are presented in this paper. The road load data of a vehicle moving on the same track with single speed are considered with different variants of the vehicle. The variants considered are repeat runs, spindle loads in vehicles with different ballast conditions, difference in type of leaf spring shackles and changed number of frame to body mounts. The parameters considered for the statistical trend comparison are the spindle forces, spindle moments and spindle accelerations monitored in different directions.

The data analysis was performed using the software functions in N-soft and MATLAB. The analyzed results were grouped and bar charts are prepared to bring out the statistical variations of different parameters. Conclusions have been drawn to bring out the consistency in the statistical variation of spindle forces, moments and accelerations in repeat runs, variation of spindle forces and load damage for different ballast conditions, comparison of spindle loads for vehicle with compression and tension leaf spring shackles as well as vehicles with different number of frame to body mounts.