Study on the Influence of Road Geometry on Vehicle Lateral Instability

Abstract

According to the accident analysis of vehicles in the curve, the skidding, rollover, and lateral drift of vehicles are determined as means to evaluate the lateral stability of vehicles. The utility truck of rear-wheel drive (RWD) is researched, which is high accident rate. Human-vehicle-road simulation models are established by CarSim. Through the orthogonal experiment method, the effects of different road geometries, speed, and interaction factors between road geometries on vehicle lateral stability are studied. In this paper, skidding risk of the vehicle is characterized by the Side-way Force Coefficient (SFC). Rollover risk of the vehicle is characterized by lateral acceleration and the load transfer ratio. Lateral drift risk of the vehicle is characterized by the sideslip angle of wheels. The results of orthogonal analysis reveal that the maximum tire-road friction coefficient and speed are highly significant in skidding of the vehicle. The effects of the combination of horizontal alignment and superelevation on vehicle skidding are important. The effects of horizontal alignment and speed on vehicle rollover risk are highly significant. The effects of superelevation on vehicle rollover risk are significant. The effects of the interaction of horizontal alignment and superelevation are also important on vehicles’ rollover risk. The speed and the maximum tire-road friction coefficient have highly significant effect on the vehicle’s lateral drift. The superelevation has a significant effect on the vehicle’s lateral drift. The effects of the interaction of horizontal alignment and superelevation and longitudinal slope are also important on the lateral drift of the vehicle.