Dynamics of a Three_Wheel Vehicle with Tadpole Design

Abstract

This study investigates the effect of applying camber angle on the handling, lateral stability, and ride comfort of a three-wheeled vehicle, which has two wheels in the front and one in the back, known as a tadpole design. Since the three-wheeled vehicle in this study is a light and narrow vehicle, controlling the stability of this vehicle, particularly during turning, cornering, and harsh maneuver is a very challenging task. To enhance the stability of this three-wheeled vehicle, an active camber system has been added to the vehicle suspension system. Effects of applying active camber angles on corresponding stability parameter, rollover acceleration threshold and skidding acceleration threshold, in different conditions are accordingly calculated (by simulating the movement of the vehicle in MATLAB/Simulink). Next, the handling of the vehicle was analyzed by studying the effect of camber angle in different vehicle speed on the yaw rate via deriving the corresponding transfer functions and plotting the bode diagrams. Furthermore, the ride comfort of the vehicle is analyzed and forces generated on each part of the suspension system are determined by modelling the vehicle movement using Multibody Dynamics Adams software.