A Customised Adams Application for the Automated Build and...

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A Customised Adams Application for the Automated Build and

Assessment of Standard and Multi-trailer Heavy Vehicle Performance

or

Simulating Big Trucks !

Presented by:

Peter Brand

Technical Director, Compumod

May 14, 2013

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Compumod – Reseller of MSC in Australia and New Zealand

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Australia

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The Project was Undertaken for: WA Mainroads

Mainroads Western Australia is responsible for implementing

the state's policies on road access and main roads.

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Road Trains in Australia

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What happens when Road Trains enter Cities??

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Project Overview

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• Certify unique vehicles against performance based standards (PBS) developed by the

National Transport Commission

• Measure the dynamic performance of any heavy vehicle: • truck & trailer combinations

• articulated heavy vehicles

• special purpose vehicle such as all terrain cranes, low loaders, buses / coaches etc

Mainroads was looking for easy to use software to:

Swept Path Rearward Amplification Gradeability Tail Swing

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Software Requirements

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• Easy for users with minimum automotive and heavy vehicle knowledge

• Quickly build and test any type of heavy vehicle

• Do animations of the vehicle manoeuvres

• Have pre-built vehicle models

• Automatic assessment according to the performance based standards (PBS)

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Examples:

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B-Double

Dolly

GooseNeck

Road Train

Others: Pig trailers, Dog trailers, Buses, Cranes etc

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Broken down into three sections:

• Build Vehicle

– Create/Edit Vehicles, Platforms & Components

• PBS Simulation

– Run vehicle through PBS events

• Post Processing

– Check results, generate report

Solution: Customised GUI in Adams Truck

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• Vehicle

A complete vehicle assembly

• Platform

A building block to a vehicle (Prime Mover / Trailer)

• Component

A subsystem of a platform (Trailer body, Axle, Brakes)

Build Vehicle – System Naming Conventions

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Define the vehicle layout

• Set up Platform Sequence with Add/Remove platform

• Select from a: – Default platform

– Existing platform

– Create a new platform

• Build Vehicle

GUI: Vehicle Assembly (Build Vehicle)

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GUI: Platform Configuration

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Lane Change – 6 Trailers

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Lane Change - Dolly

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Lane Change – Dolly (Focussed)

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• Create or edit individual platforms

Body Type

Number of axles

Suspension and brake components

Wheels/Tyres etc

• Model updates as data is entered

Platform Configuration – cont.

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Platform Configuration: Rigid Truck

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Platform Configuration: Semi-Trailer

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GUI: Platform Configuration

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• Differences include:

– No hardpoints

– Locations are parametric or dependant

on input location communicators

– All dimensions, masses, CofG’s etc

are parametric

– Templates & subsystems are created on

the fly through Adams scripts (allows any number of trailers or axles to be created)

– Scripts also allow flexibility in changing building sequence (for instance dolly

created and used in one vehicle can easily be reused later in another vehicle even

at a different location)

Our Templates are Based on Standard ATruck Templates

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Implementation - Parameterization

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trailer1

Implementation – Minor Roles and Parameterization

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trailer2 trailer3

trailer1_1

trailer1_2

trailer1_3

trailer1_4

Extra load masses

trailer2_1

trailer2_2

trailer2_3

trailer2_4

trailer3_1

etc…

Dimensions and locations trailer3 dependent on kingpin

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Performance Based Standards

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• Startability

• Gradeability

• Acceleration capability

• Tracking Ability on Straight Path

• Low Speed Swept path

• Frontal Swing

• Tail Swing

• Steer Tyre Friction Demand

• Static Rollover Threshold

• Rearward Amplification

• High Speed Transient Off-tracking

• Yaw Damping Coefficient

Vehicle tests:

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• Selected vehicle is loaded and run through simulated PBS Events

PBS Simulation

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Performance Based Standards – Swept Path

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GUI outputs:

• Animations

• Distance: Minimum width

• Trace markers (Adams, CAD – DXF and IGES, excel)

• Adams graphs

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Performance Based Standards – Swept Path

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Swept Path – Cont.

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PBS: Roll Over Test

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PBS: Gradeability 20% Slope

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“PBS”: Gradeability 15% Slope + Roll Over

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Questions, Discussion and Future Directions

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• Deliver completed system to client – Q3 2013!

• Enhance GUI with more automated post-processing

• Market Solution to other potential clients

• Thanks to Joe Little and Kent West of MSC!

• peter@compumod.com.au

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