Performance Evaluation of AWS(All Wheel Steering) System for the Bimodal Tram

초록

The bimodal tram is an articulated vehicle with rubber tires. It runs like bus on the public road and along magnetic markers in automatic mode on the dedicated lane. It has to keep the marker line even at a sharp curve with a long wheelbase. Thus, it needs an all wheel steering(AWS) system to meet such a requirement. The rear of the vehicle generally overhangs the rear axle. As a result, the rear of a vehicle swings to the outside of the rear axle(rear swing-out). In front steering vehicles, rear swing-out is not important because rear swing-out values measured outside the rear edge are relatively small. However, in the case of the bimodal tram with AWS(all wheel steering), the rear swing-out values increase because of the rear steering at a reverse phase angle. In this paper, the simulation and driving test were performed to evaluate the stability and turning performance of the steering system. The performance test results were satisfied with the standards of the motor vehicle and railway safety.