Research Determining the Priority Order of Forces Acting on a Vehicle Transporting Logs

Abstract

When transporting different types of cargo, the factors affecting the cargo must be assessed to ensure a safe and fast transportation process. However, the specificity of the cargo means that the standard assessment methods do not reflect the existing conditions or are standard at the theoretical and/or recommendation level. Therefore, in the event of a traffic accident, when a vehicle or cargo is damaged or other traffic participants are put at rink, assessment of the situation is difficult and requires an expert assessment. Then, the most optimal means of accomplishing this is to simulate transportation parameters with a specific vehicle and cargo. The transportation of wooden logs is a very specific method of transportation where, in addition to the weight of the load itself, it is necessary to assess how the load affects the dynamics of the vehicle. Therefore, determining the priority of the forces that act on the vehicle carrying wooden logs becomes very important in order to model the transport parameters of this cargo. This article uses an analytical survey, an expert survey and its analysis, and methods to determine correlations. Given the fact that the main forces acting on the load most often manifest during a turn, this study assessed road turns and the respective speed on them as the main parameters. Other parameters, such as road roughness and roundabouts, were not assessed, because they would be an object of long-distance research. The study results revealed that the main forces affecting a vehicle transporting logs manifest in the following priority order: inertial forces, gravity forces, frictional forces and, finally, centrifugal forces.