Comprehensive Analysis of a Tricycle Structure with a Steering System for Improvement of Driving Properties While Cornering

Abstract

This paper focuses on the development, theoretical and experimental research on the structural units of an unconventional three-wheeled vehicle. The vehicle is designed in order to increase the stability when cornering in a low curvature radius. Current research work describes solutions to increase the cornering stability of either conventional three-wheeled vehicles or, more rarely, unconventional vehicles designed on the basis of complex wheel-tilting mechatronics. Thus, there is a gap in research in respect of consideration of a stability-enhancing mechanism for three-wheeled vehicles based on a combination of tilting and deflection of the front steered wheel in the course of cornering. This paper then compares the stability of a three-wheeled vehicle with one steered wheel in front and two wheels in the rear (1F2R) in conventional and unconventional designs. A particular linear formula for the stability of the three-wheeled vehicle in cornering is derived. This study further deals with the design of the frame intended to hold the unconventional steering mechanism of the front wheel of the vehicle, on the one hand, from the theoretical integrity point of view using CAD-, FEM- and MBS-based software and, on the other hand, from the experimental point of view by determining the multiaxial fatigue life of the test specimens. These were made from the frame structural material and loaded with an equivalent load (bending-torsion) corresponding to the real load of the frame in operation. It was discovered that the designed patented front wheel steering mechanism increased the passing speed by 19% in comparison with a conventional vehicle at the minimum possible radius of a corner. The designed vehicle meets the safety conditions in terms of frame integrity and load-bearing capacity. The vehicle frame is designed with respect to the fatigue life of the material, the results of which are presented in the work. The material employed for manufacturing the frame is aluminum alloy type EN AW6063, which makes the frame lightweight and strong.