Citation

Rancourt D, Khazoom C, Blanchette C, Giraud L, Lemire J, St-Amant Y. SAE Int. J. Transp. Safety 2018; 6(1): 69-84.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2018, SAE International)

DOI

10.4271/09-06-01-0006

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Wheel chocks are rather simple compliant mechanisms for stabilizing vehicles at rest. However, chocks must be carefully designed given the complex interaction between the chock and the tire/suspension system. Despite their importance for safety, literature is surprisingly limited in terms of what makes a wheel chock efficient. Using simple but reliable quasi-static mechanical models, this study identifies mechanical requirements that help to avoid a number of failure modes associated with many existing wheel chocks. Given that chock grounding is not always possible, a chock's maximum restraining capacity is only obtained when the wheel is completely supported by the chock. A generic chock profile is proposed to achieve this objective while mitigating undesirable failure modes. The profile is based on fundamental mechanical principles and no assumption is made on the load interaction between the chock and the wheel. A more specific clothoid chock profile is further proposed to minimize the tire dynamic contact force with the chock and its rate of variation when engaging a chock in a dynamic situation. The proposed chock design should be tested in the future to confirm its performance.

Language: en