Vehicle engineering

Vehicle engineering spans a very wide field, from two-wheelers through cars to trucks. Here, verification by analysis ranges from simple components right up to the complete vehicle, before any prototype is built.
Both the complete load-bearing structure and individual assemblies of commercial vehicles, trailers or self-propelled machinery are investigated with respect to stiffness (deformation) and durability (stresses).

The loads cover rare peak events (driving through a pothole, overrun impact) as well as the fatigue loads permanently present in driving operation and under normal conditions of use.

Some of the loads are prescribed by codes and guidelines — EC 94/20, ECE R55, Carlos TC / TC BC and others — while others are defined by individual customer specifications.

Analysis of a towbar

Analysis of a trailer

Measuring or otherwise determining the actual in-service loads is a key step here. Even without knowledge of the real loads, however, highly informative comparative analyses (variant comparisons) can still be carried out.

A qualitative assessment of individual components — and of complete assemblies — can often reveal potential weak points as early as the design stage, which in the best case can be optimised at no additional cost. Lightly loaded or barely loaded parts can be identified and, where appropriate, eliminated.

For the physical component, failure analysis during testing or field use and the derivation of optimisation measures are a valuable tool. With information about the damage pattern and the corresponding running time, a reliable optimisation can be developed.

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