Methodology of the Durability Tests of Semi-trailers on the MTS 320 Road Simulator

Abstract

Modern vehicles more and more often have a specific life cycle, presented in years or with the possibility of going through a certain mileage without failure. For this purpose, manufacturers perform a series of tests, to confirm the reliability of their products. One of such tests is an accelerated durability test, with the use of modern simulation stands that imitate road conditions.

This article presents the methodology of durability tests for commercial vehicles, using the eight poster, inertia reacted, road simulator MTS 320. The first step is to collect reference road data. For this purpose, the vehicle is equipped with a set of sensors. Gathered data was recreated on the road simulator. Authors prove the convergence of the obtained results, in comparison to the data collected from the road, at the level of up to 99% of root mean square value of the reference signals to the reconstructed signals. Tests are performed for loaded and unloaded vehicles. The result of the test is to confirm the reliability of the manufactured vehicle. During the test, the supporting structure of the vehicle with suspension as well as the functional reliability of the vehicle are assessed. Moreover, the key issue is to correctly determine the duration of the test and to set test parameter values.

The development of this test technology is response to the need, to quickly and reliably check vehicles or their components, before implementing them into serial production.