A low cost tilting control mechanism for the improvement of vehicle rollover stability in turning maneuvers

Abstract

From all the accidents, rollover is one of the most important problems in the area of vehicle safety. This paper presents a simple, full-mechanical, and low-cost control mechanism for the sake of vehicle stability improvement in turning maneuvers. This control mechanism consists of a train of systems which functions in proportion with the intensity of the turn and tilts the vehicle body toward the curve inside. The application of this control mechanism is based on a single methodology for detecting the turn condition. The difference in the left and right wheels speeds is used to trigger the controller and consequently the actuators. A simple method is proposed to produce the necessary mechanical signals while using no electronic sensors. A mechanical controller is then developed to control the longitudinal changes of the linear hydraulic actuators. In order to test the effects of the total control mechanism on the vehicle stability, a simulation is carried out for both the cases of the vehicle with and without the proposed control mechanism, and the efficiency of the system is then verified by the results obtained.