Design of a Program to Determine the Load Distribution on Axles of a Truck

Lim, Ming How (2018) Design of a Program to Determine the Load Distribution on Axles of a Truck. Final Year Project (Bachelor), Tunku Abdul Rahman University College.

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Abstract

This proposal mainly focuses on the load distribution on all axles of the trucks and designing of a program to determine it. The introduction includes the research background of this project which are the history of trucks, types of trucks, the design of trucks and the negative effects of overloading trucks. The problem statement of this research is the increased demands of delivery transportation will increase the number of overloaded trucks which can further worsen the negative effects of overloading trucks which include damaged roads, increased risk of road accidents, increased cost of road maintenance and decreased braking capabilities of the trucks. To combat this, two objectives are established: to determine the load distribution and the maximum allowable load on the axles and to develop a program that allows the user to estimate the total load on an axle to avoid overloading on axles. Several existing methods that are used to control overloading are discussed in Literature Review which includes the existing laws that limit the total weight of trucks, the use of weighbridges, wheel scales and axle scales and the principles of weight distribution on axles. In Methodology, a flow chart is built to show the flow of actions taken to complete the program with the main focus being on program writing. The results are discussed and explained as well. 7 cases of random computations are used to test the program and it was found that the front axle of the trucks carry the heavier load than the back axle. This can be due to the loading pattern of the truck, which favours the front part of the truck and the presence of the cab. The maximum allowable loads of the axle were determined to be in a range of 4,500 to 8,000 kg for the front axles and 4,400 to 24,000 kg for the back axle depending on various factors which include the size of the truck, the axle configuration of the truck and the axle spacing. Both objectives have been achieved at the end and the findings of this research can help to avoid overloading trucks.