Analysis of heavy commercial vehicle cornering behaviour through a multibody model

The evaluation of heavy commercial vehicles dynamics represents a significant and challenging task because of the increasing complexity of the vehicle subsystems. The methods commonly used to study vehicle dynamics are on-road test with the real vehicle or virtual tests based on simplified models. This paper focusses on the cornering behaviour virtual analysis of a heavy-duty commercial vehicle through a multibody model implemented in Adams/Car. Two layouts of the tractor, without and with a semitrailer, are studied during ramp steer and sweep steer manoeuvres for characterizing the steady-state and frequency responses. The frequency response functions of the tractor with the semitrailer is further evaluated when the vehicle longitudinal speed or the trailer mass distribution changes.