STAGE 1 MATHEMATICS THE TURNING CIRCLE OF ROAD VEHICLES Assessment Component: Directed Investigation Reference Topic: Geometry &

Mensuration Assessment Criteria: A, B, C, D, E, F, G Introduction a b

Centre of turn w r

The diagram shows the steering geometry of a car. The angles marked a and b are different, otherwise the tyres would be dragging across the road and would wear out more quickly. The car has width w, length l, and can turn on a circle of radius r. Task 1 Imagine a car of width 2.5 m and length 4.5 m, turning on a circle of radius 10m. (a) Calculate the angles marked a and b on the diagram for the car. The main problem from the car designers point of view is the difference between the two angles (b - a), and they must understand how the three parameters (width, length and radius) affect this difference. (b) Assume the width is fixed at 2.5 m and the length of the vehicle is fixed at 4.5 m. The designer has three possible radii to consider; 9 m, 10 m, and 12 m. Calculate the difference between the angles in these three cases and display your results in a table.

(c) Using your information from part (b) describe how the radius of the turning circle affects the difference between the angles.

Task 2 While examining the problems associated with the steering, the designer has produced the following formula for the difference in the angles, given r, w and l. l 1 l 1 . Difference = ( b a ) = tan tan r w+r Prove this formula showing all your working and diagrams. Task 3 Roads are designed to allow cars to turn in, approximately, 8 m radius. However, the angle difference must be less than or equal to 5. (a) Using the formula in Task 2, find the minimum radius of turning circle for the following vehicles: Type of vehicle Standard car Service vehicle Single unit truck or bus (eg. Garbage truck) Prime Mover or Semitrailer Long Rigid Bus Articulated Bus Large Prime Mover/Long Semitrailer Double Truck Type 1 Double Road Train Type 2 Triple Road Train Length (m) 5 8.8 12.5 19 14.5 19 25 25 36 53 Width (m) 1.9 2.5 2.5 2.5 2.5 2.5 2.5 2.5 2.5 2.5

(b) Comment, in detail, on your findings for the vehicles listed above. You could calculate the angles a and b for some vehicles of interest to expand on your comments (and get more marks!). [Think about what the values you have found in (a) and (b) mean. Think about the road requirements for some vehicles. Supply any graphs from your graphics calculator you have used in your reasoning in (a).]