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This is a study of the beginning and growth of automotive transportation, the development of transportation of merchandise by means of motor trucks, the development of passenger traffic of motor busses, the co-ordination of railroad and highway transportation, and the state and federal efforts to regulate the trucking industry.

This research examines the use of archived weigh-in-motion (WIM) data to estimate link-based heavy-vehicle emissions for Oregon highways. This research combined data on vehicle speed, highway grade, and gross vehicle weight and relationship between these elements in published research to estimate the carbon dioxide (CO2) and nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions from trucks. Sensitivity analysis was conducted on the impact of uphill grade and gross vehicle weight on truck speed and emissions. The results suggest that with the data available in the weigh-in-motion archive and with a reasonable set of assumptions, link-based emissions for heavy-duty vehicles can be estimated. The carbon dioxide (CO2) and nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions are found to increase when the speed, gross vehicle weight, or road grade increases. The relationship between nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions and vehicle weight was estimated to be linear. The potential to estimate the link-based heavy-vehicle emissions for Oregon highways using the weigh-in-motion data archive, which was mainly designed to estimate truck counts, has a great value in setting new measures to mitigate the heavy-vehicle emissions.

Presently, heavy-duty trucks are responsible for approximately 25% of global CO2 emissions. Although the world seems to incline towards the transport sector's electrification, the electrification of long-range freight trucks is profoundly challenging. The dominant disincentives are the required infrastructure, cost/size of batteries, limited mileage, and long charging sessions. However, despite the efforts to reduce emissions, current trends indicate that these continue to rise, mostly because of the continually increasing freight transit. Regional economies are heavily dependent on the latter. Thus, the imminent depletion of fossil fuels and the emerging environmental issues are disquieting aspects for the sustainability of this crucial sector. This thesis focuses on the possible alternative powertrain/drivetrain solutions for heavy-duty, long-range freight trucks in conjunction with sustainable energy carriers for the transportation sector overall. In terms of viable fuelling alternatives, the following are being reviewed: Electric Power, Bio-Fuels, and Synthetic Fuels, along with their current status, advantages, disadvantages and future prospects. In terms of powertrain/drivetrain alternatives, the following are being theoretically and critically evaluated and compared against a direct drive conventional Diesel engine truck (25.2% wheel efficiency): Battery Electric, Electric powered with overhead cables or underground conductive coils, combined Gas Turbine/Stirling Engine Hybrid Electric in series, combined Diesel engine/Stirling engine Hybrid Electric in series, and Diesel engine Hybrid Electric in series.  It is concluded that the best scenario for future freight trucks, is the use of an electric drivetrain/powertrain in conjunction with overhead powering cables along the highways. However, due to uncertainties in the universal realization of such infrastructure, to ensure uninterrupted transportation of goods, a plausible transitional solution could be the use of a Diesel engine/Stirling engine Hybrid Electric in series technology. This could reduce emissions/consumption by a factor of 2.4 (60% wheel efficiency). For the case of Gas turbine/Stirling engine and Diesel engine (both) Hybrid Electric in-series arrangements, this factor drops to 1.7 and 1.4 (42.9% and 34.3% wheel efficiency), respectively. Furthermore, this can be a clean and sustainable solution if biofuels are employed as the prime energy carriers. Such an approach is future-proof for use with overhead cables, since the suggested powertrain is electric, rendering a freight truck as a very versatile heavy-duty, long-range vehicle. Electro-fuels are not considered as a viable option due to their inefficient formulation, elevated costs, and problematic handling (Hydrogen).

In line with the Paris agreement, Sweden has set up a national emission reduction target for the transport sector; to reduce the emissions by 70% by 2030, relative to levels in 2010. This entails that large shares of road transport will be electrified, including shares of the national truck fleet. In parallel with this, the Swedish transmission grid suffers from power capacity shortages, limiting the amount of electricity that can be distributed to a regional and local level, especially in urban areas, such as Stockholm. In line with this, the aim of this thesis is to investigate the trends of truck electrification in the Stockholm region and to assess its potential impact on the electrical grid based on truck operation characteristics. To achieve this, three objectives were set; to investigate truck fleet operators’ operations and view in relation to electrification, examine truck manufacturers' views on truck electrification and to analyse the truck electrification’s potential impact on the electrical grid in future scenarios. Quantitative and qualitative methods were used to fulfil the research objectives including interviews and casestudy modelling. The results from the interviews show that both manufacturers and truck fleet operators see the electrical grid and deployment of charging infrastructure, as well as the economy of the electric truck as the main barriers to overcome in relation to truck electrification. The truck manufacturers have taken on a leading role and are together with early adopters pushing the development forward. Nonetheless, they cannot create all the right conditions themselves, as for instance charging opportunities in relation to the electric grid is a complex problem. The industry agreed upon that city transports will be electrified first followed by regional transport and lastly long-distance transport. Furthermore, 2030 was identified as a key year for truck electrification. Finally, manufacturers and truck fleet operators urge the government to act and implement necessary measures to support the transition. The results from the case-study modelling show that lunchtime charging of city transport coincides with already critical hours for the electrical grid. Moreover, the afternoon charging of city, regional and long-distance transports generates a peak during the most critical hour around 6 PM, implying that it could entail challenges for an already congested grid. In line with this, proper night-time charging is considered as crucial both from an operational (in terms of minimising the daily stops) and grid point of view (in terms of avoiding grid congestion during critical hours). In addition, it is recommended to prioritise charging of long-distance transport during the day as they often are operative around-the-clock. Although this study resulted in general charging profiles, this gives a good indication on what impact the truck electrification might have on the electrical grid. Furthermore, it gives a general picture of how the electrification of trucks could play out in Stockholm, which can be applied in other urban areas in Sweden that are facing similar challenges. / I linje med Parisavtalet har Sverige satt upp nationella utsläpps reduktionsmål för transportsektorn; att reducera utsläppen med 70% till 2030, relativt nivåerna 2010. Detta medför att stora delar av transportsektorn kommer att elektrifieras, inklusive stora delar av den nationella lastbilsflottan. Parallellt med detta lider det svenska transmissionsnätet av kapacitetsbrist vilket begränsar mängden elektricitet som kan överföras till en regional och lokal nivå, speciellt i urbana områden såsom Stockholm. I linje med detta har syftet med denna studie varit att undersöka trender inom lastbils-elektrifiering i Stockholmsregionen och att utvärdera dess potentiella inverkan på elnätet baserat på lastbilars operativa mönster. För att uppnå detta sattes tre mål upp; att undersöka lastbils-operatörers verksamhets mönster och deras syn på elektrifiering, att undersöka lastbilstillverkares syn på elektrifiering och att analysera lastbils-elektrifieringens potentiella inverkan på energisystemet i framtida scenarier. Kvantitativa och kvalitativa metoder användes för att uppnå studiens mål inklusive; intervjuer och fallstudie modellering. Resultaten från intervjuerna visar att både lastbils-operatörer och tillverkare ser elnätet och utbredningen av laddinfrastruktur, såväl som totalekonomin av den elektriska lastbilen som de huvudsakliga barriärerna att överkomma vid en elektrifiering. Lastbilstillverkare har tagit en ledande roll och driver utvecklingen av elektriska lastbilar framåt med hjälp av så kallade early adopters. Däremot kan de inte skapa alla förutsättningar själva då till exempel laddnings möjligheter i relation till elnätet är en komplex fråga. Industrin är eniga om att city transporter kommer att elektrifieras först, följt av regionala och till sist fjärrtransporter. Vidare kunde 2030 identifieras som ett nyckelår för elektrifieringen. Slutligen uppmanar både tillverkare och lastbils operatörer regeringen att implementera nödvändiga åtgärder för att stötta och påskynda omställningen. Resultaten från modelleringen i fallstudien visar att lunch-laddning för city transporter sammanfaller med redan kritiska timmar för elnätet. Dessutom genererar eftermiddagsladdningen av city, regionala och fjärrtransporter, en effekttopp runt klockan 18 vilket skulle kunna medföra utmaningar för ett redan överbelastat elnät. I linje med detta anses natt-laddning vara avgörande både från en operativ synpunkt (i form av att minimera de dagliga stoppen) och från ett elnäts perspektiv (i form av att undvika överbelastning av nätet under redan kritiska timmar). Därtill, rekommenderas att fjärrtransporter prioriteras för dagtids-laddning då de ofta är operative dygnet runt. Trots att denna studie resulterade i generella ladd-profiler kan dessa ge en god indikation för vilken inverkan lastbils-elektrifieringen kan komma att ha på elnätet. Vidare, ger studien en generell bild över hur lastbils-elektrifieringen kan komma att se ut i Stockholmsregionen vilket kan tillämpas i andra urbana områden i Sverige som står inför liknande utmaningar.

published_or_final_version / abstract / Industrial and Manufacturing Systems Engineering / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Civil Engineering / Eugene Russell / It has been well documented that roundabouts can offer several safety and operational benefits over signalized and stop controlled intersection alternatives. However the growing use of roundabouts and their benefits could be greatly diminished because they may not be well designed for large trucks, or to accommodate oversize/overweight (OSOW) vehicles which may be essential to a state’s industry and economy. This dissertation addresses concepts to better design roundabouts for use by owners/operators of typical large trucks, and that will also accommodate OSOW vehicles where appropriate. Roundabout safety generally decreases with increased roundabout size, wider lanes and larger radii, the geometric parameters that benefit large trucks and OSOW, thus a better balance is needed. This study accomplishes this balance by initially reviewing and incorporating those portions of the study “Accommodating Oversize Overweight Vehicles at Roundabouts” that were researched, completed and written by the author of this dissertation, and which compiled current practice, research and concerns by various U.S. states and concerns of the trucking industry, by conducting four different surveys. Then to meet these concerns expressed by survey respondents, a great number of possible accommodation, strategies and design templates were developed by using existing design software. An evaluation method was also developed. Two additional, needed studies, not previously reported in any published literature, addressed : 1. a vertical, ground clearance analysis, and 2. a study of the use of roundabouts in urban freight networks to incorporate their inherent benefits ,such as, reducing congestion, delay and pollution. The first analysis described above was conducted by using software with 3D analysis capabilities to check and recommend critical vertical grades and maximum dimensions for a range of large truck types and OSOW vehicle configurations. Guidelines were developed to avoid problems of low, ground clearance vehicles scraping roundabout surfaces (“hanging up”). The second study used existing software that relates intersection types to intersection traffic flow efficiency and related pollution, on a number of routing scenarios to test the hypothesis that integration of roundabouts in these freight networks improves traffic flow, and decreases delay, congestion and pollution. The results were mixed but the procedure is sound and should be beneficial for future use by researchers and decision makers.

A heavy-duty vehicle can benefit from the height control of the chassis that anair suspension provides. For example, to retain a pitch angle parallel to the road,regardless of what load it carries. For the purpose of developing a controller,a model of the air suspension provides evaluation and testing opportunities aswell as it gives the option for more advanced model based controller algorithms.Furthermore, a model can provide with an accurate axle weight estimation. Inthis thesis, both physical and statistical models are developed and parametersare estimated by solving minimization problems. They are then evaluated usingdata collected from a Scania truck, comparing normalized mean-root error valuesas well as residual analysis of each model.

Este trabalho avalia a influência de veículos de grande porte na capacidade de interseções rodoviárias em nível não semaforizadas, verificando as variações no comportamento de caminhões e ônibus durante manobras de cruzamento, em função de seu comprimento e de sua relação potência/peso. Foram realizadas análises das distribuições dos tempos de cruzamento e da aceitação de \"gaps\" por diferentes tipos de veículos, sendo utilizados modelos Logit para representar o comportamento desses veículos nos cruzamentos. Estes modelos serviram como base na elaboração de um simulador, para determinar a capacidade potencial das interseções e para calcular os fatores de conversão de veículos de grande porte em veículos de passageiro. / This study assesses the influence of heavy vehicles on the capacity of unsignalized rural intersections. This is done through the study of vehicle behavior during crossing maneuvers that can be attributed to length and power-to-weight ratio. Crossing time distributions and gap acceptance of diferent types of vehicles were analysed, and Logit models were used to represent their behavior. These models and a simulation model were used to determine the potencial capacity of intersections and to calculate factors to convert heavy vehicles into passenger vehicles.

Este trabalho avalia a influência de veículos de grande porte na capacidade de interseções rodoviárias em nível não semaforizadas, verificando as variações no comportamento de caminhões e ônibus durante manobras de cruzamento, em função de seu comprimento e de sua relação potência/peso. Foram realizadas análises das distribuições dos tempos de cruzamento e da aceitação de \"gaps\" por diferentes tipos de veículos, sendo utilizados modelos Logit para representar o comportamento desses veículos nos cruzamentos. Estes modelos serviram como base na elaboração de um simulador, para determinar a capacidade potencial das interseções e para calcular os fatores de conversão de veículos de grande porte em veículos de passageiro. / This study assesses the influence of heavy vehicles on the capacity of unsignalized rural intersections. This is done through the study of vehicle behavior during crossing maneuvers that can be attributed to length and power-to-weight ratio. Crossing time distributions and gap acceptance of diferent types of vehicles were analysed, and Logit models were used to represent their behavior. These models and a simulation model were used to determine the potencial capacity of intersections and to calculate factors to convert heavy vehicles into passenger vehicles.