Chassis Systems

Design
AUTE 4070U
Lecture 3

Yuping He
Ontario Tech University
September 12, 2023
Chapter 2:Vehicle Overall Design
1. Introduction
1) Vehicle type/model classification/selection
2) Weight/dimension and performance parameter selection
3) Vehicle overall layout design

2. Vehicle Type Classification/Selection

1) Passenger Cars- designed to carry passengers & luggage
o Saloon car: two rows of seats and separate luggage space.
o Coupé: two front seats and two doors.
o Convertible: two front seats, two doors, and soft folding roof.
o Estate car: enlarge the rear space of saloon car.
o Pick-up: two doors and two/four seats with an open back.1.1
Saloon car (Sedan) Hatchback

Coupé Convertible

Estate car Pick-up 1.2

2) Vans – light vehicles for passengers or goods.
They may be used for long-distance journeys or door-to-door
delivery. They have the following features:
(i) Semi-forward control cab;
(ii) Combined cab and body as an integral or monobox
construction (reinforced body shell).

1.3
3) Coaches – vehicles with the interior of luxury quality to
provide the best possible comfort and to minimize fatigue.
Coaches are used for carrying passengers on journeys of
considerable distance.
They have the following features:
(i) Seats positioned facing the front;
(ii) Large paneled windows on either side extended the full
length of the vehicle and across the back seats.
(ii) Majority of coaches with the engine mounted at the rear
transversely.

1.4
1.5
4) Double-deck bus – vehicles occupying the minimum
amount of road space but carrying the maximum number of
passengers.
They are used to transport large numbers of people having
very little luggage over short journeys, usually in high-
density traffic. They have the following features:
(i) Visibility within the bus being sufficient for passengers to
be able to see where they are and where to get off;
(ii) Engine is normally mounted transversely at the rear.

1.6
Large spectrum of vehicles!

1.7
5) Commercial Vehicles – cab & load-carrying compartment.
(a) Rigid truck: single vehicle unit
o Four-wheeler - 4X2, indicating four wheel locations of which two
are for driving wheels.
o Six-wheeler - 6X4, indicating six wheel locations of which four
are for driving wheels.
o Six-wheeler - 6X2, indicating six wheel locations of which two
are for driving wheels.
o Eight-wheeler - 8X4, indicating eight wheel locations of which
four are for driving wheels.
(b) Articulated vehicles: multiple vehicle units
o Tractor/single-trailer (semi-trailer) combination
o Tractor/double-trailer combination (LCV)
o Tractor/multi-trailer combination
❖ Fifth-wheel hitch and mating kingpin, pintle hitch and drawbar
❖ Semi-trailer/full trailer, converter dolly, and center-axle trailer
1.8
Rigid 4X2 truck Forward Control Cab: the cab is positioned
partially over and ahead of the front axle.
Advantages: maximizing the length available
for load-carrying and providing superior
driving visibility

Wheelbase?
Wheel track?

1.9
Rigid 4X2 truck Forward Control Cab: the cab is positioned
partially over and ahead of the front axle.
Disadvantages: difficult to get access to the
engine for repairing/maintenance; not safe in
the event of front end collision.

1.10
Semi-Forward Control Cab: the engine is usually
mounted over or just in front of the front axle.
Advantages: safe in the event of front end collision.

1.11
Rigid 6X4 truck Regulations have requirements on Maximum axle
load to protect road surface.

1.12
Rigid 8X4 truck

1.13
Tractor/Single-Trailer (semi-trailer) Combination
Rigid 4X2 tractor and single-axle (2 wheelers) articulated trailer

1.14
Tractor/Single-Trailer (semi-trailer) Combination
Rigid 6X4 tractor and tandem-axle (4 wheelers) articulated trailer

1.15
Tractor/Single-Trailer (semi-trailer) Combination
Rigid 6X2 tractor and tri-axle (6 wheelers) articulated trailer

1.16
Tractor/Double-Trailer Combination, LCV (long combination
vehicle, MTO)

A-Train Double

B-Train Double

Converter dolly

1.17
Multi-Trailer Articulated
Heavy Vehicles

1.18
Basic Structures of Articulated Vehicles

Semi-trailer?
Full trailer?
Converter dolly?
Truck/Tractor?
Pintle hitch/fifth-
wheel?

1.19
(c) Advantages and disadvantages of articulated vehicle
compared against rigid trucks
Advantages:
o The trailer is designed to be detachable so that the tractor
can be immediately coupled to another loaded trailer unit.
o Articulated vehicles have smaller turning circles than rigid
trucks of the same length and are easier to manoeuver
backwards and forwards.
o Multi-trailer articulated vehicles have better fuel economy
and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Disadvantages:
o Tractor/trailer combinations under certain steering and
braking conditions have a tendency to jack-knife.
o Tractor and trailer are capable of a small degree of pivoting
in vertical plane and tend to be unstable over rough ground.
o Trailer wheels do not follow the same path as the tractor
wheels, but tend to cut in or across the road when turning
about a corner. 1.20
1.21
Poor Directional Performance of Articulated Vehicles

Jack-knifing
Roll-over

Trailer swing Path-following off-tracking

2.2 FHWA Vehicle Classifications
(FHWA-Federal HighWay Administration)

1.23
3. Vehicle Weight/Dimension and
Performance Parameter Selection
3.1 Vehicle Dimension Selection
α : approach angle β : departure angle
L : wheelbase LF : front overhang
LR: rear overhang B1 / B2: front/rear wheel track
LH : cargo body length S : gap between cab & cargo body
LJ : distance from front axle to cab rear wall

1.24
Breakover angle is the maximum possible supplementary angle (usually expressed in degrees)
that a vehicle, with at least one forward wheel and one rear wheel, can drive over without the
apex of that angle touching any point of the vehicle other than the wheels. This definition is
contingent upon the wheels being in continuous contact with the supporting surface(s).
Breakover angle is different from ground clearance in that ground clearance is the shortest
distance between the ground and lowest point on the vehicle.
1.26
1) Wheelbase, L

minimum turning radius

overall length

weight

front/rear overhang
L
pitch angular vibration

longitudinal load transfer

propeller shaft angle

1.27
For Trucks:

L = LH + LJ + S − LR

Recommended Truck Wheelbase and Wheel Track

Truck Total Mass mt/1000kg L (wheelbase/m) Wheel Track B/m

4x2 <2.2 1.70~2.90 1.15~1.35

4x2 2.2~3.4 2.30~3.20 1.30~1.50

4x2 3.5~5.9 2.60~3.60 1.40~1.65

4x2 6.0~9.9 3.60~4.20 1.70~1.85

4x2 10.0~13.9 3.60~5.00 1.84~2.00

4x2 14.0~25 4.10~5.60 1.84~2.00

1.28
For Passenger Cars:
costs
compact cars fuel economy L
maneuverability
L = 50%~60% overall length

Recommended Passenger Car Wheelbase and Wheel Track

Passenger Cars Types Wheelbase L/m Wheel Track B/m
Subcompact car 1.65~2.40 1.10~1.27
Compact car 2.12~2.54 1.15~1.50
Mid-size car 2.50~2.86 1.30~1.50
Full-size car 2.85~3.40 1.40~1.58
Mid-size luxury car 3.40~3.90 1.56~1.62
1.29
2) Front/Rear Wheel Track, B1/B2
overall width passenger cars:

B weight 3
B = W + 100(80)
4
roll stiffness
B = kL
overall lateral cargo space

where, B – wheel track of car, mm;

W – car overall width, mm;
L – car wheelbase, mm;
k – coefficient,
for subcompact cars, k=0.55~0.64
for other cars, k=0.50~0.54
For trucks, B is selected based on
component arrangements, see the 1.30
figure.
3) Overall dimensions
Vehicle overall dimensions include overall length, overall height
and overall width. Their selections are dependent on: vehicle
types, applications, payloads, road conditions, configurations
and standards/regulations. Generally,
overall height < 4.2 m
overall width (not including rear-view mirrors) <2.5 m
lateral overall dimension of rear-view mirrors <0.25 m
overall length of rigid trucks <12 m
total length of LCV < 44 m
4) Front/rear overhang, LF / LR
Considering: 1) Engine arrangement; 2) Cab configuration; 3)
Steering system arrangement; and 4) Wheelbase selection.
α for buses : LR  60% L, or  3.5m
LF / LR β
for trucks : LR = 1.2 ~ 2.2m, or  2.6m
1.31
L
5) Sample vehicle dimensions

1.32