Recently, articulated buses with a capacity of 150-200 people have been increasingly used in passenger transportation. The overall length of such buses is limited to 18.5 meters. It is explained by the need to meet regulatory requirements for maneuverability. In Ukraine, the Road Traffic Rules allow the total length of a road train to be 22 meters. With this length, the passenger capacity of the articulated bus increases significantly, but the issues of maneuverability and stability of such buses remain open. Preliminary studies have shown that even a bus with a total length of 18.75 m with an unmanageable trailer axle does not meet the requirements of regulatory documents for maneuverability. Using a self-aligning trailer axle meets the requirements for maneuverability even with an articulated bus length of up to 20.0 m. Still, the question of the stability of such a bus remains open. Using a specified mathematical model of a two-link road train adapted for an articulated bus with a self-aligning trailer axle, the stability indicators of an articulated bus in different driving modes were determined. It is shown that the critical velocity of the articulated bus with the blocked wheels of the trailer's self-aligning axle was 31.87 m/s, which significantly exceeds the maximum velocity of the bus. In the presence of a perturbation, the pattern of changes in the lateral and angular velocities of the articulated bus during the transition process at a velocity of 6 m/s is damped by a logarithmic law, which indicates the stability of the articulated bus movement. When the velocity is increased to 12 m/s, the pattern of changes in lateral and angular velocities also dampens. Still, there are more intense oscillations, which at a velocity of 14 m/s become divergent, leading to a loss of stability of the articulated bus. Similar results were obtained when the rotation of the articulated bus was 90 degrees. Thus, the maximum velocity of the articulated bus with unlocked wheels of the trailer's self-aligning axle should not exceed 14 m/s. When this velocity is reached, the wheels of the self-aligning axis should lock. It determines the field of application of the self-aligning trailer axle on articulated buses. For driving at higher velocities, fundamentally new control systems for the bus control and the articulated bus trailer are needed.


    Access

    Download


    Export, share and cite



    Title :

    To determination of the stability of an articulated bus with a self-aligning trailer axle


    Contributors:


    Publication date :

    2025




    Type of media :

    Article (Journal)


    Type of material :

    Electronic Resource


    Language :

    Unknown




    Self-aligning trailer

    STEGEMOELLER CALVIN L | European Patent Office | 2017

    Free access

    SELF-ALIGNING TRAILER

    STEGEMOELLER CALVIN L | European Patent Office | 2016

    Free access

    SELF-PROPELLED TANDEM AXLE TRAILER

    BEILER AARON JAY / FISHER WILLIAM / BEILER RAYMOND et al. | European Patent Office | 2021

    Free access

    Self-propelled tandem axle trailer

    BEILER AARON JAY / FISHER WILLIAM / BEILER RAYMOND et al. | European Patent Office | 2023

    Free access

    SELF-PROPELLED TANDEM AXLE TRAILER

    BEILER AARON JAY / FISHER WILLIAM / BEILER RAYMOND et al. | European Patent Office | 2022

    Free access