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

Miroslav Blatnický; Ján Dižo; Denis Molnár; Andrej Suchánek

doi:10.3390/ma15248974

Materials (Dec 2022)

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

Miroslav Blatnický,
Ján Dižo,
Denis Molnár,
Andrej Suchánek

Affiliations

Miroslav Blatnický: Department of Transport and Handling Machines, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, University of Žilina, Univerzitná 8215/1, 010 26 Žilina, Slovakia
Ján Dižo: Department of Transport and Handling Machines, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, University of Žilina, Univerzitná 8215/1, 010 26 Žilina, Slovakia
Denis Molnár: Department of Transport and Handling Machines, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, University of Žilina, Univerzitná 8215/1, 010 26 Žilina, Slovakia
Andrej Suchánek: Department of Transport and Handling Machines, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, University of Žilina, Univerzitná 8215/1, 010 26 Žilina, Slovakia

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/ma15248974
Journal volume & issue: Vol. 15, no. 24
p. 8974

Abstract

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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.

Published in Materials

ISSN: 1996-1944 (Online)
Publisher: MDPI AG
Country of publisher: Switzerland
LCC subjects: Technology: Electrical engineering. Electronics. Nuclear engineering; Technology: Engineering (General). Civil engineering (General); Science: Natural history (General): Microscopy; Science: Physics: Descriptive and experimental mechanics
Website: http://www.mdpi.com/journal/materials/

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