ROADLITE - Manufacture of a lightweight, cost effective, polymer composite

road trailer*

Matthew Turner Gerry Boyce



This paper describes the design, development, manufacture and testing of a lightweight polymer composite Heavy Goods Vehicle (HGV) trailer
with the ability to produce flatbed, curtain-sided and boxed trailers. New modelling concepts have been developed to aid the vacuum infusion
(VI) of a novel composite monocoque trailer using commercial grades of composite materials to keep cost at a minimum. A mixture of
conceptual design, Finite Element Analysis (FEA), prototyping and testing has resulted in the manufacture of a 10 metre composite trailer
weighing almost 400 kg less than a conventional steel unit. This equates to a 20% reduction in weight of the steel chassis. Testing has, so far,
successfully proven the concept and integrity of the design and has shown benefits of 18% increase in stiffness, 20% reduction in mass and a
reduction of 398kg of CO2 per year compared with conventional steel trailers
.

Key Words: Roadlite, composite trailer, lightweight trailer, polymer composite, transport, HGV


1 Introduction


• To examine and specify the most appropriate type of

Road haulage is by far the most important form of transport for
goods in Europe and is expected to grow by 25% over the next 15
years. This growth is in conflict with the environment as 87% of
all goods and freight are transported by heavy goods vehicles (HGV),
in particular semi-trailers. This accounts for approximately 10% of
the total European energy consumption and contributes over 30% of
total CO2 emissions as well as producing many other pollutants and
causing damage to roads and bridges. As vehicle weight accounts
for a significant proportion of fuel consumption and CO2 emissions,
processing and materials to be used in the construction
of the trailer.
• To manufacture and assemble a prototype composite
HGV for extensive evaluation trials on a test track to
quantify its operating performance and functionality.
2 Design


the use of lightweight materials and construction techniques are
becoming increasingly important.
The overall aim of the Roadlite project was to research, develop
and demonstrate the manufacture of a new lightweight, aerodynamic,
composite, multi-functional semi-trailer to replace the current heavy
(and labour intensive) fabricated trailer design.
Major objectives of the project included:
• To compute an HGV design, which is lightweight,
aerodynamic and multi-functional (i.e. capable of being
used as a boxed, flatbed or curtain sided trailer).
*Presented at 2005 JSAE Annual Congress 
Market research showed that a 10 m urban articulated trailer was
the most appropriate case study due to its need for weight savings.
The study also showed that a high proportion of HGV trailer sales
are curtain sided (rather than box), and the decision was made to
design a stand-alone chassis onto which different bodies could be
attached.
In order to design a suitable composite trailer it was first
necessary to establish the properties and performance of the steel
chassis that would be replaced. The design of steel trailers to date
has been a largely empirical process and it was therefore necessary
to generate the data through analysis and testing.

1) 2 Europrojects LTTC Ltd, 1-3 Fowke Street, Rothley, LEICS,

  Firstly, a global stiffness for the standard steel structure was
LE77PJ, UK calculated. Accelerated dynamic testing was then performed at
E-mail;EPL@europrojects.co.uk Leyland Technical Centre (LTC) on their test track. Data from
Web: www.europrojects.co.uk strain gauges and accelerometers was used to gain insight into the
reaction of the trailer to load in different dynamic situations. The
final part of the assessment, FEA, was used to validate the test data
and highlight potential problem areas. Figure 1 shows a screen
shot from the simulation, and it can be seen that one area of high
stress occurs at the Goose Neck.
The design was also modelled by FEA to predict any areas of
concern. A CAD model of the final design is shown in Figure 2
below.

Fig.1 FEA of steel trailer

Fig.2 CAD model of underside of composite trailer

The outputs of this test data were used to design the composite
structure which evolved from design inputs relating to a range of
loads (static, dynamic and deck load). 3 Process Development and Flow Modelling


Very early on in the project it was known that, in order to achieve

One of the advantages of composites compared with steel is that good results and fulfil the required objectives, the composite

the product is produced in a mould and so the depth and thickness of manufacturing process must be fast, simple and cost effective and

material can be tailored so that the rigidity and strength of the system yet create composites with consistently reproducible high levels of

matches the operational requirements at any particular position. mechanical properties. In order to achieve this for large structures,
the vacuum infusion (VI) process was chosen as the manufacturing

To compete in terms with cheap steel fabrications, commercial route.

grades of E-glass and polyester resins were chosen as the composite

materials. A monocoque-style concept was designed because it The main problem with VI was that because it is a one-shot

used the material properties to their maximum benefit. Using the process, the manufacturer must know, without doubt, that once the

material to its best advantage, the shape of the monocoque was process is started, the resin will fully infuse and wet-out the fibre

therefore altered to provide stiffness where it was required. This reinforcement. The University of Nottingham (UoN) investigated

was achieved by changing the section of the trailer in three key the parameters that affect the infusion process and worked on a

positions: the front section governed by the ISO Gooseneck profile model to predict the overall infused geometry, time to infuse, and to

and the need for a specified deck height; the mid section which help in the location of inlet and outlet ports to produce a faster or

carries the majority of the bending load and so is made more rigid; more consistent moulding.

and the rear section which is governed by the suspension space

envelope and transverse loads rather than bending.

A mixture of CAD and CAE were used to design the composite

structure. The final design incorporated longitudinal beams to
transfer load; sandwich components; transverse webs to take
suspension loads; steelwork for attaching the suspension and legs;
attachment points for the kingpin and fifth wheel; load bearers in the
shallow front; composite under-run devices and steelwork front and
rear to enable attachment of different body styles. Traditional steel
legs, suspension and ancillary running gear were designed into the
system so that maintenance would not be a problem. Fig.3 CAD model of underside of composite trailer
 The permeability of the different reinforcements and infusion
media were tested and input into a computer model that was
specially developed by the University of Nottingham to determine
the flow front of the resin during injection. Figure 3 shows a
simulation of a part of the trailer during infusion.
The modelling or “forecasting tool” was developed with the intent
of allowing integration in an automated control system that would
actively ensure that the ideal flow patterns were followed.
Conceptually an active control system can use the flow models to
compare the actual flow patterns to the ideal, forecast the effect of
different control actions on the flow pattern and, opting for the one
which better reproduces the ideal situation, act on the mould to steer
flow. Work to develop this automated mould filling tool continues.
A gel coat layer was applied into the mould to protect the
underlying laminate and provide a good aesthetic surface finish.
The dry glass fibre reinforcement was then laid into the mould
according to the structural design and the drape analysis. A nylon
peel ply fabric was laid over the reinforcement to provide a release
surface and finally a polypropylene infusion mesh and vacuum bag
were applied.
A sequential infusion strategy was adopted which allowed
controllable permeation through the thickness of the laminate. The
process (shown in Figure 5) was very successful and took an
accurately predicted eighty minutes to complete.

The UoN also developed a drape analysis tool to determine how

the fibre reinforcement fills (or drapes into) the tool. Best surface
lay-up was determined as well as dimensions of the net shapes to be
cut. Four main patterns were necessary to cover the mould surface
while minimising overlaps and reinforcement cutting.

4 Manufacture


To construct the mould tools, a number of cross section computer

aided design (CAD) drawings were produced to create profiles that
were laser cut from MDF and mounted onto a base, as shown in
Fig.5 Main body is infused with polyester resin
Figure 4. Wooden battens were secured into the sections and MDF
sheet was attached to the battens to provide a mould surface. To
complete the mould tool, four coats of epoxy primer and six coats of
All of the individual mouldings were joined together to form the
epoxy high-build paint were sprayed onto the surface. This had the
trailer and then the ancillary components such as suspension
effect of sealing the porous MDF, stabilising the surface and
(tandem axle), landing legs and pick-up plate were attached. The
providing a smooth gloss finish to aid release of the part from the
final trailer can be seen in Figure 6.
mould tool.

Fig.6 Composite trailer

Fig.4 MDF mould during construction
 5 Testing
 and exhibited no unusual behaviours.
The trailer was tested at LTC, Leyland, UK. The weight of the
trailer was 3740 kg, representing a 9.4% (390kg) reduction Strain measurements showed the bending stiffness of the
compared to the benchmark steel trailer. Maximum static composite trailer to be 18% higher than the steel trailer. Analysis
deflection under full UDL of 23280kg was just 6mm and of strain data confirmed the visual and video assessment of the
represented an in crease in stiffness of 18% compared with the steel stability of the load bed, with maximum dynamic deflections of less
trailer. than +/-5 mm. This strain data also confirmed that the main
structure was operating well within its strain limits and should
Strain gauges were applied to the trailer and strain was measured therefore suffer no major fatigue problems in service.
whilst the laden trailer completed various manoeuvres and crossed
various typical road features. Analysis of the strain data revealed Given the high stiffness of the composite trailer there would
that the amount of dynamic deflection during these tests was very clearly be the opportunity to reduce weight further, with a clear
low at a maximum of +4.1mm/-3.5mm compared to the static potential to reduce fuel consumption, and hence carbon emissions by
deflected shape. The strain data, which was measured at the point up to 2%.
where maximum strains were expected, showed very low levels of
both static (733µE) and dynamic (+1410µE /+338µE) strain for the
material and it was obvious from the tests that the trailer was lightly
stressed. As a consequence, fatigue failure of the main structure
would be extremely unlikely in service. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This project has been jointly funded by industry (Euro-Projects
LTTC Ltd {EPL}, VT Group, LTC Ltd and Southfields Ltd), the
6 Conclusions
 UK Department for Transport and the Engineering and Physical
A 10m urban articulated trailer has been designed as a stand-alone Sciences Research Council under the LINK Foresight Vehicle
polymer composite chassis onto which different bodies (box or programme. This programme aims to foster relationships between
curtain sided) can be attached. This design provides a great degree industry and academia to create components and systems for the
of flexibility in the number of end uses and also utilises the weight vehicles of the future.
advantages effectively. The trailer design is based around a
monocoque structure, thus maximising the flexibility of the
composite materials in reducing weight.

New modelling concepts have been developed to aid the vacuum

infusion (VI) process and the trailer has been manufactured using
commercial grades of composite materials to keep cost at a
minimum. A mixture of conceptual design, Finite Element
Analysis (FEA), prototyping and testing has resulted in the
manufacture of a 10 metre composite trailer weighing almost 400 kg
less than a conventional steel unit. This equates to a 20% reduction
in weight of the steel chassis. Considering an average train weight
of the tractor and trailer with load of 12,740 kg (i.e. a 5T tractor with
a 4T load on the trailer), the overall weight saving would be 3%.
Typically, this would equate to a fuel saving of around 1.5% on an
urban/local delivery duty cycle. A reduction of 400kg in a vehicle
travelling 100,000 miles a year equates to approximately 398kgs of
CO2 each year per vehicle

Testing on the proving ground over a variety of surfaces and with

various vehicle manoeuvres showed that the trailer was very stable