O objetivo desta tese de doutorado é avaliar o impacto de caminhões na capacidade e nível de serviço de rodovias de pista dupla, a partir de fatores de equivalência veicular. São determinados equivalentes para diversas combinações de comprimentos e magnitudes de greides, volumes de tráfego e porcentagens de caminhões. Os equivalentes são calculados supondo que um fluxo formado só por automóveis é equivalente a um fluxo composto por automóveis e caminhões quando ambos possuem a mesma densidade. A partir de observações de campo, supõe-se que o fluxo de caminhões seja formado por proporções fixas de quatro tipos de caminhões. A relação entre fluxo e densidade para os cenários analisados é obtida através de simulação, utilizando o INTEGRATION. A calibração deste simulador foi feita em duas etapas. Na primeira, um modelo de desempenho, até então inexistente no simulador, foi implementado e, em seguida, calibrado com as características dos caminhões observados em uma balança da rodovia SP 330 (Via Anhanguera). Na segunda etapa, a relação fluxo-velocidade foi calibrada a partir de dados coletados com sensores portáteis instalados também na rodovia SP 330. Os equivalentes são utilizados para a análise de capacidade e nível de serviço dos cenários escolhidos e, em seguida, os resultados desta análise são comparados com os resultados similares obtidos através do método do Highway Capacity Manual - HCM. A comparação mostra que o uso dos fatores de equivalência do HCM superestima o nível de serviço para volumes de tráfego leves e subestima o nível de serviço para volumes de tráfego pesados. / This research evaluates the impact of trucks on capacity and level of service of divided multilane highways by means of truck equivalent factors. The equivalent factors are determined for diferent combinations of grade length and magnitude, traffic flow and truck percentage. Equivalent factors are computed based on the assumption that a basic flow, formed only by passenger cars, is equivalent to a mixed flow, formed by passenger cars and trucks, when both flows have the same density. Density-flow relationships for each scenario are obtained through simulation. The simulator used, INTEGRATION, was calibrated in two steps. First, a truck performance model was implemented in the simulator and then calibrated with parameters of trucks observed on a weigh station located on SP 330 (Via Anhanguera). Further on, a speed-flow relationship was calibrated to data collected by portable traffic detectors installed on SP 330. A comparative analysis of capacity and level of service, using the equivalent factors determined in this research and the Highway Capacity Manual factors, indicates that the use of HCM truck equivalents overestimates the level of service for light flows and underestimates the level of service for heavy flows.

A evolução dos sistemas de transporte no modal rodoviário tem criado novas demandas operacionais devido à crescente concorrência e aumento da pressão para a redução de custos. Em face dessas novas demandas, muitas delas advindas da globalização, geraram uma mudança no perfil da frota de veículos comerciais pesados no mercado brasileiro. Frotas que anteriormente eram compostas por veículos comerciais pesados 4x2 (4 pontos de apoio no solo com tração em 2 pontos) operando com carretas de três eixos com capacidade de transporte de 45 toneladas, passaram a ser gradativamente substituídas por aquelas compostas por veículos comerciais pesados 6x2 (6 pontos de apoio no solo com tração em 2 pontos) com carretas do tipo bi-trem e rodo-trem com capacidade de transporte de 57 e 74 toneladas respectivamente. Esta mudança foi acompanhada pelo aumento da pressão do custo de aquisição dos veículos comerciais pesados, com isso, verificou-se que os principais frotistas brasileiros passaram a adaptar eixos de apoio nos veículos 4x2, aumentando assim as solicitações mecânicas impostas ao sistema de embreagem. Neste trabalho desenvolve-se, portanto, um estudo sobre as falhas ocorridas no sistema de acionamento de embreagem por cilindro escravo concêntrico no mercado brasileiro, avaliando-se a seleção de materiais empregados na construção do sistema através de ensaios químico-laboratoriais e testes de funcionalidade através de ensaios em condições reais de operação com veículos comerciais pesados devidamente instrumentados, mantendo o foco nos novos parâmetros operacionais impostos pelo novo perfil da composição tratora. Como resultado, apontam-se duas alternativas para a solução das falhas encontradas no mercado brasileiro: 1. Proposição de nova solução técnica construtiva para o sistema de acionamento da embreagem a fim de aumentar a robustez do componente de maior suscetibilidade às falhas. 2. Proposição de um modelo matemático para a predição do intervalo mínimo de manutenção para o sistema de acionamento da embreagem por cilindro escravo concêntrico. / The evolution of highway transportation of goods in the brazilian market has created new operation requirements due to the increased competition allied to the cost reduction demands. This new demands, most of them coming from globalization, have generated a significant change on the profile of heavy commercial vehicles. Fleets that were mainly composed of 4x2 tractors coupled to three wheeled semi-trailers with towing capacity of 45 tons, were in small steps exchanged by new compositions of tractors 6x2 coupled to bi-trains and road-trains with total towing capacity of 57 and 74 tons, respectively. This change have been followed by the new purchasing demands from fleet owners by lowering acquisition costs of new heavy commercial vehicles, as a consequence, most of 4x2 trucks have been adapted with tag-axles in order to increase towing capacity, which means increasing the stresses over the clutch system. On this research, a case study is developed about failures on clutch systems actuators by the concentric slave cylinder concept in the brazilian market. The research is developed by the evaluation of types of materials selected to the system components through chemical test and functionality tests carried on actual operation conditions on instrumented vehicles, keeping always the focus on the new operational demands imposed by the new profile of vehicle compositions (bi-trains and road-trains). As a final result, two alternatives are appointed to solve the failures in the brazilian market: 1. By the determination of the most failure susceptible component, it is possible to propose a mathematical and theoretical model to determine the minimum maintenance interval to the clutch actuation system by concentric slave cylinder concept. 2. Proposition of a new technical construction to the system in order to increase the robustness of the component most susceptible to the failures.

<p>This thesis is a study of how cooling fan control can be improved by using road topography information. Two such controllers are presented, one that uses information available in vehicles produced today, and one that combines GPS-information with digital topographic maps to use information about the road ahead of the vehicle.</p><p>Simulations show that significant energy savings can be obtained, especially during warm conditions and hilly roads. Compared to conventional fan controllers, energy consumption can be cut by up to three quarters. Moreover, this is possible without any hardware redesign.</p>

by Henry Gabbay. / Work performed under Contract N00014-67-A-0204-0076, Office of Naval Research, Multilevel Logistics Organization Models, NR 347-027, MIT/OSP 81138. / Bibliography: leaves 19-21.

The Swedish Road Administration (SRA) is responsible for maintenance of the state-run roads in Sweden. The SRA also has an overarching responsibility for the state of the environment in the road transport sector. The overall aim of this thesis is to examine the implementation of environmental requirements in SRA road maintenance contracts and to develop an improved model for the implementation of environmental requirements, making it easier for the SRA to establish an optimal contracting strategy for routine road maintenance. Using several qualitative methodologies, the thesis is mainly based on a content analysis of 18 tender documents, two case studies consisting of five cases and a questionnaire. The study shows that the SRA have stipulated environmental requirements in procurements of routine road maintenance since 1997. The formulation of the environmental requirements was initially carried out at the Regional Road Management Directorates. However, in the case of trucks and construction vehicles relevant organisations were given the opportunity to actively participate in the development of environmental requirements. The contractors in the study fulfil about three-quarters of the environmental requirements in the contracts. The main reasons for not complying with the environmental requirements are: i) absence of consultation with municipalities and competent authorities, and ii) inadequate communication of environmental requirements to subcontractors. The benefit to the environment of laying down environmental requirements for road maintenance is difficult to assess, due to unclear environmental requirements and the fact that the SRA does not systematically follow up the environmental requirements. The findings of the research indicate that the SRA have made a serious effort to integrate environmental aspects in their maintenance contracts through the use of environmental requirements. However, the SRA need to adopt a more systematic approach towards road maintenance contracts in order to make green procurement an effective tool for environmental adaptation of road maintenance. The thesis proposes an improved process for development, implementation and follow-up of environmental requirements. The proposed process can be summarised in five criteria that need to be fulfilled in order to achieve an environmentally efficient application of environmental requirements: i) the environmental requirements have to be based on legislation, environmental quality objectives, identified environmental problems and/or research, ii) environmental indicators and baselines have to be established in order to facilitate follow-up of compliance with the requirements, iii) the environmental requirements have to be stated clearly in order to limit misinterpretations and to facilitate follow-up, iv) the contractors have to develop working processes, routines and training based on the environmental requirements, v) routines for following-up compliance with the requirements and the environmental effectiveness need to be developed, and there has to be a feedback of the results. Furthermore, the purchasing function needs to be integrated with the implementation of the contracts. Although, having faced several problems during the introduction of environmental requirements, the SRA have managed to meet the main arguments that are used for justification of green procurement. However, if slightly changed, the process of green procurement has the potential of becoming an important tool in the work for enhancing the environmental performance of the SRA. / QC 20101012

This thesis is a study of how cooling fan control can be improved by using road topography information. Two such controllers are presented, one that uses information available in vehicles produced today, and one that combines GPS-information with digital topographic maps to use information about the road ahead of the vehicle. Simulations show that significant energy savings can be obtained, especially during warm conditions and hilly roads. Compared to conventional fan controllers, energy consumption can be cut by up to three quarters. Moreover, this is possible without any hardware redesign.

This dissertation focuses on improvements in vehicle routing that can be gained by allowing multiple vehicles to service a common load. We explore how costs can be reduced through the elimination of the constraint that a load must be serviced by only one vehicle. Specifically, we look at the problem of routing vehicles to service loads that have distinct origins and destinations, with no constraint on the amount of a load that a vehicle may service. We call this the Pickup and Delivery Problem with Split Loads (PDPSL). We model this problem as a dynamic program and introduce structural results that can help practitioners implement the use of split loads, including the definition of an upper bound on the benefit of split loads. This bound indicates that the routing cost can be reduced by at most one half when split loads are allowed. Furthermore, the most benefit occurs when load sizes are just above one half of vehicle capacity. We develop a heuristic for the solution of large scale problems, and apply this heuristic to randomly generated data sets. Various load sizes are tested, with the experimental results supporting the finding that most benefit with split loads occurs for load sizes just above one half vehicle capacity. Also, the average benefit of split loads is found to range from 6 to 7% for most data sets. The heuristic was also tested on a real world example from the trucking industry. These tests reveal the benefit of both using split loads and allowing fleet sharing. The benefit for split loads is not as significant as with the random data, and the various business rules added for this case are tested to find those that have the most impact. It is found that an additional cost for every stop the vehicle makes strictly limits the potential for benefit from split loads. Finally, we present a simplified version of the PDPSL in which all origins are visited prior to any destination on a route, generalizing structural results from the Split Delivery Vehicle Routing Problem for this problem.

Over-height trucks are not only a hazard to the over-height trucks themselves, but they pose a threat to the bridges they come into contact with, and most importantly the other drivers on the road way when a collision takes place with a low clearance structure. Therefore, there is a need for an over-height detection system that is affordable yet also reliable. At this time there exist over-height detection systems using laser and infrared beam devices however, they are expensive. This high cost makes it impossible for Department of Transportations across the nation to implement these systems at all low-clearance headroom roadways. In this research a machine vision based system is proposed to detect the height of trucks and provide a warning for over-height vehicles. The height determination will be completed using line detection and blob tracking; these two methods will be overlapped where an upper point of the truck can be compared to a lower point on the ground. These 2D coordinates will then be translated into 3D world coordinates that will provide an approximation of the truck height. If the truck is over the set height then a warning will sound. The accuracy of the test proves that the method is a reliable method of height determination, achieving a 96.59% accuracy rate for measured trucks. The method does have an error rate of 3.3%. The merit of this work is the creation of an automatic image based method which can provide height determination of trucks and is a low cost alternative to the current expensive laser and infrared detection systems.

A solution to reduce exhaust emissions from heavy commercial vehicles are to haul the vehicles completely or partially electric. This means that the vehicle must contain a significant electric energy source. The large capacity of the energy source causes the vehicle to either sacrifice a large part of its up time to charge the source or apply a higher charge power at the cost of power losses and lifetime of the energy source. This thesis contains a pre-study of high-power DC-charge of hybrid batteries from existing infrastructure suited to electric hybrid cars. Following parts are included in the thesis: modeling of a battery pack and a DC-DC converter, formulation of a MPC controller for the battery pack, analysis of charging strategies and battery restrictions through simulations. The thesis results shows that a longer charging time increases the energy efficiency and reduces the degradation in the battery. It also shows that a charging strategy similar to constant-current-constant-voltage charging should be used for a full charge of an empty battery.

published_or_final_version / abstract / Industrial and Manufacturing Systems Engineering / Master / Master of Philosophy