Analysis of Dynamic Vehicle Loads using Vehicle Pavement Interaction Model

The objective of this study is to investigate the effects of vehicle operation properties on vehicle dynamic loads. A continuous or distributed model is formulated using a two-dimensional (2D) half-truck finite element model and analysed. Using the 2D half-truck finite element model, numerical simulations were performed to obtain the dynamic loads using various parameters such as the road roughness, vehicle speed, suspension stiffness and damping in order to evaluate their individual effects on the dynamic axle load response. The Impact Factor (IF) and Dynamic Load Coefficient (DLC) based on dynamic loads were calculated. The results show that the IF and DLC are increased as road roughness and vehicle speed increase. In addition, decreasing the suspension stiffness and increasing the damping reduces the IF. For a particular suspension type, the suspension stiffness and damping coefficient have no significant impact on the DLC.