<p>This Thesis is performed in cooperation with Kalmar Industries in Lidhult, Sweden. The</p><p>projects main purpose was to develop a draft design of a test equipment. The equipment</p><p>will simulate and valuate the drive-train and brakes at Kalmar’s bigger forklifts.</p><p>The equipment will be designed so the wheels of the forklift are placed on two rollers;</p><p>these absorb and affect the forklifts brake- and driving force. With this characteristic an</p><p>up- and downhill can be simulated. Today, the forklifts are being tested on a test track.</p><p>This test method is both very time consuming and the repeatability is miscellaneous with</p><p>insecure values as result.</p><p>The thesis has consisted of determining base dimensions like axle load, torque, power</p><p>requirement, etc. Even roller, bearings and axle dimensions was created. Searching for</p><p>proper application to drive and brake the rollers was also done.</p><p>Under the project’s time mechanics- and strengths calculations were made. Even</p><p>investigations of available and existing equipment have been done. The result of the</p><p>project is proposition of a drive/brake equipment and a beginning of primary design.</p>

This Thesis is performed in cooperation with Kalmar Industries in Lidhult, Sweden. The projects main purpose was to develop a draft design of a test equipment. The equipment will simulate and valuate the drive-train and brakes at Kalmar’s bigger forklifts. The equipment will be designed so the wheels of the forklift are placed on two rollers; these absorb and affect the forklifts brake- and driving force. With this characteristic an up- and downhill can be simulated. Today, the forklifts are being tested on a test track. This test method is both very time consuming and the repeatability is miscellaneous with insecure values as result. The thesis has consisted of determining base dimensions like axle load, torque, power requirement, etc. Even roller, bearings and axle dimensions was created. Searching for proper application to drive and brake the rollers was also done. Under the project’s time mechanics- and strengths calculations were made. Even investigations of available and existing equipment have been done. The result of the project is proposition of a drive/brake equipment and a beginning of primary design.

The growth of vehicle travel in the United States has accelerated wear on the interstate highway system leading to frequent pavement repair and rehabilitation projects. The presence of work zones not only causes traffic congestion and backup but also increases the crash risk. Therefore, the FHWA (Federal Highway Administration) has allotted a significant amount of funds to improve work zone traffic safety and operations. This thesis compares truck and automobile crash characteristics in work zones with those of non-work zones and thus identifies engineering countermeasures to improve work zone truck safety. The researcher used a contingency analysis approach in this study. First, he categorized the North Carolina crash data using different variables. Once categorized, the Breslow-Day test is used to compare the odds of truck and automobile crashes between work zones and non-work zones. Overall, the researcher did not find a significant difference between odds of truck and automobile crashes compared to previous studies. The researcher believes that the difference in results between the present study and the previous studies could either be due to differences in the approach used or better truck management techniques employed by the North Carolina DOT (Department of Transportation). The researcher also identified that the maintenance projects performed during the day had a significantly higher odds of truck crashes relative to that of automobiles in work zones compared to control sections when workers were present, either with a lane closure or without a lane closure. The researcher believes that the results from the day maintenance projects and its subcategories are the key findings of this study. Therefore, these key findings are used to identify the possible reasons and countermeasures for any disproportionate change in truck to automobile crashes. The identified list of countermeasures includes the use of law enforcement, a smart work zone system, a dynamic late merge system, CMS (Changeable Message Signs), speed display signs, and a CB (Citizen Band) Wizard. These countermeasures were checked for cost effectiveness using a benefit cost (B/C) analysis. The researcher found that law enforcement, smart work zones with costs lower than or equal to half a million dollars, CMS, speed display signs, and the CB Wizard have B/C ratios greater than one and seem to be worthwhile for deployment in work zones. Smart work zones with significantly higher costs of 2.5 million dollars, for example, could be deployed using a more detailed analysis of work zone characteristics. Finally, dynamic late merge system could be used if the site conditions indicate a crash reduction potential of at least 10 – 15 percent.

States are increasingly using toll roads as a means of financing transportation capital needs as well as expanding transportation system capacity. Whether toll roads can attract trucks partially determines the performance of the investment. Unfortunately, the low profit margin in the trucking industry and the relatively high tolls truckers pay leads to their reluctance to use toll facilities. Incentives for truck use of a toll road, State Highway 130 (SH 130) near Austin, Texas, were analyzed in this research. As a parallel toll road to the non-tolled, congested facility Interstate 35 (I-35), SH 130 was projected to carry a lot of traffic, including a significant proportion of trucks. In order to make this tolled facility more attractive to trucks, innovative incentives were considered. The potential truck demand for SH 130 and their potential reactions to the incentives were estimated in this research based on survey data. According to survey responses, different groups of the trucking industry had very different characteristics. Due to the variation of the characteristics among different categories of trucks, truckers’ travel behavior and incentive preference were also different by trucking group. Compared with other groups of truckers, smaller companies (owner-operators) were the least likely to use SH 130, while private carriers were the most likely to use SH 130. It was also found many truckers had already made adjustments both to their time and route to avoid traveling in congested conditions. Among all the categories of truckers, for-hire truckers had the least flexibility. The average value of travel time savings of trucks around the Austin area was $44.20 per hour. As the price of travel time savings went up, the percentage of truckers using SH 130 decreased. Price-related incentives were discovered to be most popular with truckers. Among all of the price-related incentives, off-peak discounts and a free trip after a number of paid trips were the most popular incentives.

The growth of vehicle travel in the United States has accelerated wear on the interstate highway system leading to frequent pavement repair and rehabilitation projects. The presence of work zones not only causes traffic congestion and backup but also increases the crash risk. Therefore, the FHWA (Federal Highway Administration) has allotted a significant amount of funds to improve work zone traffic safety and operations. This thesis compares truck and automobile crash characteristics in work zones with those of non-work zones and thus identifies engineering countermeasures to improve work zone truck safety. The researcher used a contingency analysis approach in this study. First, he categorized the North Carolina crash data using different variables. Once categorized, the Breslow-Day test is used to compare the odds of truck and automobile crashes between work zones and non-work zones. Overall, the researcher did not find a significant difference between odds of truck and automobile crashes compared to previous studies. The researcher believes that the difference in results between the present study and the previous studies could either be due to differences in the approach used or better truck management techniques employed by the North Carolina DOT (Department of Transportation). The researcher also identified that the maintenance projects performed during the day had a significantly higher odds of truck crashes relative to that of automobiles in work zones compared to control sections when workers were present, either with a lane closure or without a lane closure. The researcher believes that the results from the day maintenance projects and its subcategories are the key findings of this study. Therefore, these key findings are used to identify the possible reasons and countermeasures for any disproportionate change in truck to automobile crashes. The identified list of countermeasures includes the use of law enforcement, a smart work zone system, a dynamic late merge system, CMS (Changeable Message Signs), speed display signs, and a CB (Citizen Band) Wizard. These countermeasures were checked for cost effectiveness using a benefit cost (B/C) analysis. The researcher found that law enforcement, smart work zones with costs lower than or equal to half a million dollars, CMS, speed display signs, and the CB Wizard have B/C ratios greater than one and seem to be worthwhile for deployment in work zones. Smart work zones with significantly higher costs of 2.5 million dollars, for example, could be deployed using a more detailed analysis of work zone characteristics. Finally, dynamic late merge system could be used if the site conditions indicate a crash reduction potential of at least 10 - 15 percent.

Thesis (MS)--University of Tennessee, Knoxville, 2002. / Title from title page screen (viewed Sept. 27, 2002). Thesis advisor: Arun Chatterjee. Document formatted into pages (x, 88 p. : ill.(some col.), maps). Vita. Includes bibliographical references (p. 80-82).

Thesis (M. Phil.)--Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, 2003. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 95-104). Also available in electronic version. Access restricted to campus users.

No description available.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Washington, 1997. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves [161]-165).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Minnesota, 1918. / Published also as Bulletin no. 181 of the Minnesota Agricultural Experiment Station. Includes bibliographical references. Also issued in print.