Abstract: This paper presents a novel nonlinear dynamic model of a multi-axle steering vehicle to estimate the lateral wear amount of tires Firstly, a 3DOF nonlinear vehicle dynamic model is developed, including dynamic models of the hydropneumatic suspension, tire, steering system and toe angle The tire lateral wear model is then built and integrated into the developed vehicle model Based on the comparison of experimental and simulation results, the nonlinear model is proved to be better than a linear model for the tire wear calculation In addition, the effects of different initial toe angles on tire wear are analyzed As simulation results shown, the impact of the dynamic toe angle on the tire wear is significant The tire wear amount will be much larger than that caused by normal wear if the initial toe angle increases to 1° - 15° The results also suggest that the proposed nonlinear model is of great importance in the design and optimazation of vehicle parameters in order to reduce the tire wear

Abstract: Transoesophageal echocardiography (TOE) has, in certain clinical situations, become an almost universal monitor and diagnostic tool. In the perioperative environment, TOE is frequently used to guide anaesthetic management and assist with surgical decision making for, but not limited to, cardiothoracic, major vascular and transplant operations. The use of TOE is not limited to the theatre environment being frequently used in outpatient clinics, emergency departments and intensive care settings. Two case reports, one of oesophageal perforation and another of TOE utilization in a patient having previously undergone an oesophagectomy, introduce the need for care while using TOE and highlight the need for vigilance. The safe use of TOE, the potential complications and the suggested contra-indications are then considered together with suggestions for improving the safety of TOE in adult and paediatric patients.

Abstract: This study investigated the effects of welding current and torch position parameters, including torch-aiming position, travel angle, and work angle, on bead geometry in single-lap joint gas metal arc (GMA) welding. High-speed filming and macrographs of weld cross section were used to observe the effect of each welding parameter on the properties of the bead geometry, including penetration, leg length, and toe angle. Response surface methodology was used to establish the relationship between the welding parameters and properties of bead geometry and to estimate regression models for predicting bead geometry. Both welding current and torch-aiming position were found to have significant effects on bead geometry, with strong linearity between them and bead geometry. The coefficient of determination (R2) of the estimated response surface models was 0.7226 for penetration, 0.8802 for leg length, and 0.8706 for toe angle. Further, experimental results indicate that the estimated models are very effective.

Abstract: The present paper investigates the effect of changes in wheel primary angles such as Camber and Toe angles on the fatigue life of vehicle steering knuckle under multi-input random non-proportional 3D stress components. In order to develop real loading conditions for the steering knuckle, the localizing equivalent road as a combination of some rough roads (ISO road classification B-F for highway out of town, urban highway, urban asphalt, soil road, and flagstone, respectively) based on statistical data collected from different cities by utilizing a general questionnaire including road type and vehicle velocity was considered. Then, the various actual load histories obtained through multi-body dynamics analysis of a full vehicle model were applied on several points of the component. The fatigue life of steering knuckle was predicted by using some prominent multi-axial fatigue criteria for non-proportional loading, rain-flow cycle counting algorithm, and Palmgren-Miner damage accumulation rule. Finally, the effect of different values of wheel angles on the fatigue life of the steering knuckle was examined. The results showed that the highest and lowest fatigue life of steering knuckle are related to the values of 2 positive and negative degrees of camber angle, respectively. The stress level is reduced in the various equivalent load histories by changing the toe angle to 0.2 negative, resulting in an increase in the fatigue life of steering knuckle.

Abstract: Tire wear is a very complicated phenomenon that is influenced by various factors such as tire material, structure, vehicle and road conditions. In order to evaluate tire wear, a method for measuring tire wear using the intensity of reflected light was presented [1]. It comprises applying a single layer of reflected paint to a tread surface by spraying, and then measuring the intensity of light reflected from a matrix of blocks on the unworn tire. In this paper, a numerical technique for predicting the uneven wear of passenger car tire is presented. The uneven tire wear produced in wheel alignment condition with vehicle speed, camber angle, and toe angle is predicted by the frictional dynamic rolling analysis of 3D patterned tire model. The proposed numerical technique is illustrated through the method of paint testing the wear on the tread surface of a tire.

Abstract: The invention discloses a four-wheel alignment instrument detection method based on image analysis. The method comprises the following steps: to begin with, placing a laser light source on a wheel axle, and arranging a receiving surface parallel to a wheel at a certain distance; when a wheel toe angle and a camber angle begin to change, obtaining an image of the receiving surface through a cameraof an image acquisition system and transmitting the image to an ARM hardware platform; the ARM carrying out analysis and processing on the obtained image, wherein the processing comprises grayscale processing, Gaussian filtering and edge detection, and then, calculating the pixel position of a laser spot on the receiving surface through a gray centroid method; and finally, determining the toe angle and the camber angle of the wheel through coordinate transformation and space geometry knowledge, and then, transmitting the toe angle and the camber angle to an upper computer to realize man-machine interaction. The method is simple to operate, is high in real-time performance and efficient, and is high in detection precision.

Abstract: The invention discloses a method for measuring the front toe angle of automobile front wheels. The method comprises the steps that (1) the measurement center point of a left front wheel and a right front wheel is determined; (2) the measurement center point and an infrared laser transmitter are used to determine the offset distance of the front wheels; (3) through the offset distance Y read by a camera, the offset distance of the front wheels is further converted into the measurement angle value of the front toe angle of the front wheels; and (4) the measurement angle value is compared with afactory-set threshold of an automobile, and the front toe angle is corrected according to the comparison result. According to the invention, the principle of laser ranging is used to accurately calculate the offset of the front toe angle of the automobile front wheels, which fills the blank of the front toe angle measurement technology of the automobile at home and abroad; the measurement method provided by the invention is simple, and the measurement accuracy is high; the measurement efficiency is effectively improved; and the method provides a strong basis for the precise adjustment of the front toe angle of the automobile, and at the same time can effectively prevent automobile wheel loss and safety accidents.

Abstract: The invention discloses an analysis method and device of a residual steering reversal angle of an automobile. The method comprises the steps that a tolerance range of the original dimension of part installing points in an automobile suspension frame system is obtained, and dimensional engineering analysis is conducted on the tolerance range of the original dimension to obtain the position degree of a ball head of a rack of a steering device; when it is judged that the position degree of the ball head of the rack of the steering device is within a preset position degree range, mutil-body kinematics analysis is conducted on the position degree of the ball head of the rack of the steering device to obtain front toe angle rigidity data; when it is judged that the front toe angle rigidity datais within a preset rigidity range, the corresponding dimension tolerance range of the part installation points is output. By means of the method, a front toe angle rigidity value which conforms to regulations can be obtained through optimizing calculation, and therefore the problem of the existence of residual steering reversal angle in the manufacturing stage of the automobile is avoided.

Abstract: Despite of some achieved success in correction of deformations of little toes, postsurgical failures still exist that require for use of the substantiated approach to treatment of this pathology. Objective – to offer a new technique for surgical treatment of varus hammer little toes and to estimate its efficiency. Materials and methods. The new technique for surgical correction of little toe deformation is offered. It includes the presurgical X-ray estimation of length of necessary shortening of the instep bone and the size of required lateral displacement of the distal fragment of the instep bone and surgery with precise calculations. The treatment outcomes were estimated. The results of treatment of 27 patients with valgus deformation of the first toe in combination with non-rigid varus hammer deformation of the second toe are presented. The patients were distributed into two groups according to a way of surgical treatment of the second toe deformation. The first group included 17 patients who were treated with the well-known technique by Weil. The second group included 10 patients who were treated with the offered technique. Results. The use of the offered technique neutralized hammer and varus deformation of the second toe, subluxation in metatarsophalangeal articulations, hyperkeratosis on the palmar surface, restored the physical activity in 80 % of the patients and removed the pain in 70 % of the patients, i.e. improved the treatment results. Weil technique showed its inefficiency in correction of varus toes owing to persistent postsurgical varus declination of the toe and dorsal subluxation in the metatarsophalangeal articulation. Conclusion. The use of the offered technique promoted successful correction of both types of toe deformation (varus and hammer), restoration of congruence of articular surfaces of the metatarsophalangeal articulation and decreasing risk of postsurgical recurrent toe deformation and metatarsalgia.

Abstract: This study aims at developing an alternative approach to the toe angle inspection system for the vehicle wheel alignments. It will apply the inertial sensor, including accelerometers and gyro, to implementing the MCU-based toe angle inspection system instead of the current commercial measures which adopt the computation visionbased techniques. The inspection system by the proposed approach is much cheaper and more convenient than those by the computer vision-based ones. The coordinate transformations from a vehicle to the inspection system are built in order to obtain the relation between the x-axis of the inspection system and that of the vehicle. The orientations of the wheel can be evaluated through the data including 3 axial accelerations and Euler angles acquired from the inertial sensor. Therefore, the toe angle can be calculated by the orientations of the wheels and the vehicle through some vector operations. This paper proposes an approach to calibrating the z-axis of the inspection system (sensor) from the misalignments to the based axes of the equipped gyro. The proposed approach is practical and feasible in application from the off-line authentication. The algorithm according to the proposed approach is also provided. This study will be expected to facilitate the toe angle inspection through the z-axis calibrations for the system. The integration of the toe angle and camber angle inspections form the proposed approach will achieve the goal to develop a wheel alignment inspection system that is affordable and more convenient to operate without downgrade of the precision. Besides, the evaluated results of camber angle inspections can be transmitted via the media such as RS232, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, etc. 

Abstract: The present invention relates to an independent front suspension (10) for application on commercial vehicles such as trucks and buses, comprising a 5 substructure (30) associated to an upper wishbone (11) and a lower wishbone (12), the upper and lower wishbones (11, 12) being both associated to a wheel (200, 200') and configuring a caster angle (40), a camber angle (50) and a toe angle (62), wherein the caster angle (40) is of 4.7o to 5.3o, the camber angle (50) is of -0.3o to 0.3o, and the toe angle (62) is 10 of -0.85o to 1.15o, imparting to the suspension of the present invention a characteristic that is not reactive to the moments generated on the wheel assembly, especially in braking situations.

Abstract: FIELD: transportation.SUBSTANCE: there is a device for adjustment of the toe-in of controlled wheels of a motor vehicle in the course of movement, comprising controlled wheels with bearings, axles with steering knuckles, bushings, rings and washers with nuts of their fastening on the axles, strain gauges installed on the end faces of these rings and connected to form the electric bridge, which are cornering force sensors, a power supply, an electric signal amplifier, an electromagnetic coil, a switchgear, a vessel with working fluid, a pump, a hydraulic cylinder, the body of which is rigidly fixed on the transverse steering link, in one of the tips of which the ball-and-socket hinge eccentric body is movably mounted with a driver pin connected via the link by means of a hinge joint to the hydraulic cylinder rod. At the output of the electric signal amplifier, an electric light bulb and a recording device are arranged in parallel and the electric light bulb and the recording device and the electromagnetic coil have switches.EFFECT: ability to monitor the operation of the device and to obtain characteristics of diversifying the values of cornering forces of the road applied to controlled wheels for optimizing the parameters of the device and, thus, to increase its sensitivity, accuracy and reliability of operation.1 cl, 1 dwg

Abstract: The invention discloses a toe-in angle measuring device of a wheel of a formula racing car, and relates to the field of vehicle detection and positioning. The device comprises a frame, a wheel fixingpedestal, an automatic positioning and clamping device, a horizontal calibrator, a laser emitter and an adjustable calibrated scale with a slide rail; the wheel fixing pedestal with the laser emitteris mounted on the wheel to be measured, and the automatic positioning and clamping device can position the laser emitter in the center of the wheel accurately; and the adjustable calibrated scale withthe slide rail is mounted on a steel pipe in the upper of a car frame, and the calibrated scale on the slide rail is adjusted to measure and position the toe-in angle of the wheels, with different wheelspans, of the formula racing car. The device can carry out measurement without changing a suspension arrangement form, and the wheels, with different wheelspans, of the formula racing car can be measured. Compared with the prior art, the device only measure the wheel of 1/4 suspension, a measuring process is simple, accurate and efficient.

Abstract: The invention discloses a method for detecting and adjusting an automobile toe-in. The method is characterized in that the method comprises the steps: taking a connection line between the edges of thecentral parts of the front sides of the centers of two wheels as a front reference line, and obtaining two side reference lines in a direction perpendicular to the front reference line at two sides of the wheels; taking the two side reference lines as the basis, and forming a leading-out line through the parallelogram rule, wherein the leading-out line is parallel to a connection line of the front and rear edge points of the outer side of the central part of a wheel hub, and is intersected with the side reference lines; measuring an angle between the side reference lines and the leading-out line as an angle measurement value of the automobile toe-in; comparing the angle measurement value of the automobile toe-in with a standard angle value of the automobile toe-in; adjusting a corresponding wheel to rotate a corresponding angle according to the comparison result, and then repeatedly carrying out the above measurement steps till the difference between the angle measurement value of theautomobile toe-in with the standard angle value of the automobile toe-in meets the precision requirements. The method can achieve the detection adjustment of the angle data of the automobile toe-in,is simple in structure, is low in cost, is convenient to adjust, and is reliable in precision.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a rear toe adjusting device of a CTBA suspension. The present invention comprises: a trailing arm unit coupled to both end parts of a torsion beam unit; a fixing unit mounted in the trailing arm unit; and an adjusting unit rotationally mounted on the fixing unit and adjusting an installation angle of a hub bearing unit. Therefore, the present invention can conveniently adjust a rear toe.

Abstract: Elucidating whether there is a correlation between biomechanical functions and histomorphometric data in the rat sciatic nerve crush injury model would contribute to an accurate evaluation of the regeneration state without sacrificing animals. The gold standard for functional evaluation is the sciatic functional index (SFI) despite there being intrinsic shortcomings. Kinematic analysis is considered a reliable and sensitive approach for functional evaluation, most commonly assessed as ankle angle at various phases of a gait cycle. Studies utilizing the toe angle for functional evaluation are scarce, and changes in the toe angle following surgery remain unknown. The present study assessed correlations of ankle angle, toe angle and SFI with histomorphometric data, aiming to determine which parameters most accurately reflect changes in histomorphometric data over time. Six Lewis rats were designated as the control group. 30 animals received surgery, six of them were randomly selected on the first, second, third, fourth, and sixth week after surgery for measurements of ankle and toe angles in the "toe-off" phase, and for evaluation of SFI. Histomorphometric analysis were also performed, to determine the number of myelinated nerve fibers, diameters of myelinated nerve fibers, axon diameters, and myelin sheath thicknesses. Furthermore, we investigated changes in ankle angle, toe angle, SFI, and histomorphometric data over time, as well as correlations between ankle angle, toe angle, and SFI with histomorphometric data. The results revealed that changes in SFI, ankle angle, and toe angle highly correlate with histomorphometric data in the rat sciatic nerve crush injury model. Toe angle reflected changes in histomorphometric data with time more precisely than ankle angle or SFI did, and ankle angle was a better prognostic parameter than SFI.

Abstract: Wedge suspensions are critical systems for three-piece bogies. This paper proposes a methodology to optimize wedge suspensions using white-box suspension models, dynamic simulations of railway vehicle systems, parallel multi-objective Particle Swarm Optimization (pMOPSO), and parallel multi-objective Genetic Algorithm (pMOGA). Two types of original wedge suspensions with three different toe angle configurations were modeled and compared. Four case studies were carried out to prove the feasibility of the optimization methodology. A series of optimized designs were identified using the Pareto Front technique. Demonstrative optimized designs were compared with the original designs. Results show that wedge suspensions with the toe-in configuration provide better dynamic performance for freight wagons. Significant reductions to the maximum wheel/rail contact forces can be achieved by the optimized designs. Linear speed-up was achieved by using the parallel computing technique.