Rollover Investigation of Two-Axle Heavy Vehicle Based on Load Transfer Ratio with Vehicle and Road Condition: A Simulation Approach

Abstract

Commercial heavy vehicle is commonly used to transport goods and people efficiently and safely. A previous study has shown a number of gross vehicle weight (GVW) and speed violations recorded in selected areas in Malaysia, and two-axle single unit truck (SUT) is the most commercial heavy vehicle type that violated the weight and speed regulation. Moreover, accidents involving heavy vehicles result in severe traffic disruption and fatalities to other road users due to heavy vehicle size and capability to carry huge amounts of goods. Thus, the objective of this paper is to investigate the correlation and effect of the vehicle and road condition on the two-axle SUT rollover during cornering on the curved road using the simulation approach. The verified two-axle SUT model is simulated using IPG-TruckMaker® with different GVW, speed, and coefficient of friction values while the cornering radius, driver behaviour and load’s center of gravity remain constant. A correlation based on performance indices is established, and it is found that the heavy vehicle speed has a strong correlation to the lateral load transfer to cause a rollover followed by GVW and coefficient of friction, respectively.