Safe and stable narrow commuter vehicles.

摘要

One way of addressing traffic congestion is by efficiently utilizing existing highway infrastructure. Narrow commuter vehicles that take up only half width of highway lanes can be part of this solution if they can be designed to be safe and easy to operate. Narrow vehicle are characterized by narrow track width and relatively high center of gravity which poses stability issues during cornering of vehicle. Hence such a narrow vehicle needs to be equipped with an inherent tilting mechanism that enables the vehicle to tilt into turns while cornering. In this research project, emphasis is given to designing and implementing a complete control system that assures tilt stability of such a vehicle from start up to highway speed. This proposed control scheme constitutes of a seamless integration of three different controllers. The first component, the Direct Tilt Control scheme is used for low operating speed of the vehicle, while the second component, the Steering Tilt Control scheme is used for higher operating speed of the vehicle. In additional to these, a Tilt-Brake system is proposed to ensure the vehicle stays upright at idling and at very low operating speeds. Theoretical analysis, simulation, and experimental verification of all control system components and final integrated system are presented in detail in this thesis. A Narrow Tilting Vehicle with two front wheels and one driven rear wheel has also been designed and fabricated for implementation of the proposed control system.