Ride Comfort and Roll Characteristics of Tandem-Axled Trucks

Usually, vehicles driven under different road conditions are subjected to various forces and moments. An uneven input force originating from road surface could be one of the major load affecting ride comfort or body vibration. In order to investigate the ride and handling characteristics of a tandem axle truck, a three dimensional mathematical model is developed, and the equations of motion for the proposed model with fourteen degrees-of-freedom are derived. Various numerical techniques are used to solve this complex matrix equation. A computer program, capable of vibration isolation and dynamic analysis of tandem-axle truck, is presented. The sensitivity analysis for the parameter variation of the simulation model is investigated and the overall effects of anti-roll bar is also examined.