On the left, Cor-Jacques and Alessandro with the experimental setup

Alessandro Chiari, a PhD student from Università degli studi di Modena e Reggio Emilia (UNIMORE) in Italy, has recently completed a two months secondment to the Vehicle Dynamics Group (VDG) at the University of Pretoria in South Africa. He worked together with Dr Cor-Jacques Kat from VDG. The secondment is part of the European Union funded project OWHEEL within the framework of Horizon 2020 Marie Sklodowska-Curie Research and Innovation Staff Exchange Programme.

During the secondment a novel characterization procedure for the bushings that connect the lower control arm to the chassis was investigated. An experimental setup was assembled to determine the stiffness and damping characteristics of the bushings. The procedure does not require the bushings to be dismounted from the arm, and it also allows to measure the rotational characteristics. The results will be employed to improve the multibody simulations and the design of the lightweight components.

An industrial visit to AFRIT, a leading trailer manufacturer in Africa, concluded a successful secondment.

Visiting the production plant of AFRIT based in Rosslyn, Pretoria with Gerrit van de Wetering from AFRIT