An investigation on the effects of tyre wear and pressure on truck jackknifing

• Main Author: Lee, Guanwen.
• Other Authors: Lee Yong Tsui
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: 2012
• Subjects: DRNTU::Engineering::Mechanical engineering::Motor vehicles
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10356/49409
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

This study examines a range of tyre wear and pressure conditions, in conjunction with dry and wet roads, that result in truck jackknifing. The results of this study are used to make recommendations to minimise or avoid jackknifing incidences. Since full scale experiments are costly, the investigation was carried out using the truck simulation program TruckSim. The results show that whenever the front tyres of the prime mover were less inflated than its rear ones, jackknifing can occur. This is so because the traction on its front tyres is significantly higher than the rear ones and the entire unit “pivots” about the front tyres. Various tyre wear and pressure, and road dryness conditions were simulated as realistically as possible. This study, while affirming the conditions for jackknifing, cannot be used as a definitive guide for truck jackknifing prevention due to some limitations of TruckSim. Nonetheless the recommendations can form a basis for further studies and refinement.