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Learn and Apply Leading University of Michigan Heavy Trucks Research
Whether you are new to truck systems or have years of experience, this course is your chance to learn from leading University of Michigan researchers and affiliated industry experts.
This four-day certificate program will illuminate the special dynamic behavior of heavy truck systems by merging the fundamentals of vehicle dynamics and the details of truck components and their properties.
Information-packed lectures combined with computer simulations, case studies, and real world examples from decades of research and practice will keep you focused from start to finish. The course offers plenty of opportunities to network with course faculty, so bring your questions and come prepared to learn.
Learning Objectives
By attending this program, participants will be able to apply and transfer the following knowledge:
- Gain an understanding of the fundamental principles that determine the handling, braking, and ride performance of pneumatic-tired vehicles
- Examine the special mechanical and geometric properties that determine the unique performance properties of commercial trucks
- Understand the influences of the mechanical properties of subsystems and components on the dynamic performance of the total vehicle system
- Gain exposure to methods and tools available to analyze truck behavior
Who Should Attend
In addition to engineers involved in vehicle dynamics, this course is intended for people engaged in activities such as:
- Truck and truck component design
- Truck equipment selection
- Fleet safety operations and equipment specification
- Accident prevention
- Development of truck safety standards
- Highway/truck interaction
- Measuring vehicle behavior
- Highway safety standards and regulations
New engineers who could benefit from learning about truck mechanics will find it especially useful.
Program Topics
- Mechanics of the heavy truck tire
- Behavior of heavy truck suspensions
- Kinematics and mechanics of steering systems
- Heavy vehicle brake system basics
- Thermal capacity
- Electronic control systems
- Simplifying assumptions
- Unit truck and articulated vehicle models
- Vehicle instrumentation and data sampling
- Ride quality
- Off-tracking
- Steady state and transient response to steering
- The rollover process with the influence of slosh and shifting loads
- Multi-Unit Vehicles
- Functional vehicle control
- Active safety systems
- Naturalistic driving studies
- Interaction with highway geometric features
- Connected vehicles
- Braking response
- Brake force distribution
- Downhill braking
- Stopping distance
- Categories of performance
- Subsystems of the vehicle
- Terminology, sign conventions, symbols
- Overview of vehicle dynamics theory
- Contrasts between motor car and heavy truck
Program Faculty
- Thomas Gillespie
- Research Professor Emeritus, University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute (UMTRI)
- Steve Karamihas
- Senior Research Specialist, University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute (UMTRI)
Prerequisites
Participants should have a bachelor's degree in engineering or the equivalent background. Some experience or training in analysis or measurement of braking, steering, or ride behavior of cars or trucks is helpful. A familiarity with the means for simulating system behavior using computers is not necessary, but is beneficial.
TruckSim Software
Participants will receive a 60-day trial of TruckSim, a software tool for simulating and analyzing the dynamic behavior of medium to heavy trucks, buses, and articulated vehicles. You will have ample opportunity to explore the software before, during, and after the course.
Earn a Certificate
A non-credit certificate of professional achievement in Dynamics of Heavy Duty Trucks will be awarded upon successful completion of this program.
