A macroscopic theory of two-lane rural roads

A macroscopic theory for predicting the operation on two-lane, two-way roads is proposed. In this theory, the interaction between fast and slow vehicles obeys Newell’s kinematic wave theory of moving bottlenecks. Calibration is not required as all parameters are fully observable. Closed-form expressions for the capacity, average speed, percent time spent following and overtaking rates are proposed and the biases of current practice are identified. Comparisons between the proposed theory and empirical data are also included.     

Optimal Active Suspension Design Using a Frequency-shaping PID Filter

By the incorporation of frequency-shaping into the linear quadratic methods used in active suspension design it is possible to achieve improvements in both body frequency response and road-holding. The use of a PID filter for this purpose also leads to robustness of the system to disturbance forces. Zero steady-state deflections are achieved for applied body loads by the integral action with excellent attenuation of the transient response. The resulting system consists of a hydraulic actuator in parallel with a body spring of arbitrary stiffness and is optimal with equivalent full state feedback.     

Dynamic simulation of train–truck collision at level crossings

Trains crashing onto heavy road vehicles stuck across rail tracks are more likely occurrences at level crossings due to ongoing increase in the registration of heavy vehicles and these long heavy vehicles getting caught in traffic after partly crossing the boom gate; these incidents lead to significant financial losses and societal costs. This paper presents an investigation of the dynamic responses of trains under frontal collision on road trucks obliquely stuck on rail tracks at level crossings. This study builds a nonlinear three-dimensional multi-body dynamic model of a passenger train colliding with an obliquely stuck road truck on a ballasted track. The model is first benchmarked against several train dynamics packages and its predictions of the dynamic response and derailment potential are shown rational. A geometry-based derailment assessment criterion is applied to evaluate the derailment behaviour of the frontal obliquely impacted trains under different conditions. Sensitivities of several key influencing parameters, such as the train impact speed, the truck mass, the friction at truck tyres, the train–truck impact angle, the contact friction at the collision zone, the wheel/rail friction and the train suspension are reported.     

How to Write a Literature Review Paper?

This paper discusses the question about how to write a literature review paper (LRP). It stresses the primary importance of adding value, rather than only providing an overview, and it then discusses some of the reasons for (or not) actually writing an LRP, including issues relating to the nature and scope of the paper. It also presents different types of LRPs, advises on reporting the methodology used for the selection of papers for review, and the structure of an LRP. An important conclusion is that the heterogeneity in LRPs is very large. This paper also presents some of the aspects that the authors feel are important structural and contextual considerations that help produce high-quality review papers.     

Automobile aerodynamics influenced by airfoil-shaped rear wing

Computational model is developed to analyze aerodynamic loads and flow characteristics for an automobile, when the rear wing is placed above the trunk of the vehicle. The focus is on effects of the rear wing height that is investigated in four different positions. The relative wind incidence angle of the rear wing is equal in all configurations. Hence, the discrepancies in the results are only due to an influence of the rear wing position. Computations are performed by using the Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes equations along with the standard k-ε turbulence model and standard wall functions assuming the steady viscous fluid flow. While the lift force is positive (upforce) for the automobile without the rear wing, negative lift force (downforce) is obtained for all configurations with the rear wing in place. At the same time, the rear wing increases the automobile drag that is not favorable with respect to the automobile fuel consumption. However, this drawback is not that significant, as the rear wing considerably benefits the automobile traction and stability. An optimal automobile downforce-to-drag ratio is obtained for the rear wing placed at 39 % of the height between the upper surface of the automobile trunk and the automobile roof. Two characteristic large vortices develop in the automobile wake in configuration without the rear wing. They vanish with the rear wing placed close to the trunk, while they gradually restore with an increase in the wing mounting height.     

融合可持续理念的交通规划方案比选方法——以亚特兰大大都市区为例

越来越多的机构开始为交通系统的可持续发展定义,并试图将这一概念融入区域交通规划过程.然而,只有极少数的区域规划机构意识到了交通系统和土地利用变化给经济、环境和社会生活质量(这三者通常被认为是可持续交通系统的三个基本方面)带来的广泛影响.首先,论述了使用多个可持续发展指标的多准则决策方法,并应用其评估亚特兰大大都市区的三...     

Experimental investigation using CFD for thermal performance of ventilated disc brake rotor

In the present work, different ventilated disc brake rotor configurations were analysed to enhance the heat transfer rate and obtain the uniform temperature distribution in the rotor. CFD code used in this work was validated at using experimental results obtained by conducting experiments on a test rig. The experimental analysis was performed to calculate the mass flow rate and heat dissipation through the rotor. Further, different types of rotor configurations viz. straight radial vane (SRV), tapered radial vane (TRV), alternate long and short vane (ALSV), variable diameter circular pillars (VDCP) were considered for the analysis. A rotor segment of 20° was considered for the numerical analysis due to its rotational symmetry. CFD results were in good agreement with the experiments. The maximum deviation of the numerical results were about 12 % from the experimental results. It is found from the analysis that among the different types of rotor configurations; variable diameter circular pillars (VDCP) rotor gives better rate of heat dissipation with more uniform temperature distribution in the flow passages. Hence for modern high speed vehicles VDCP rotor may be more appropriate.     

Estimation of road profile variability from measured vehicle responses

When assessing the statistical variability of fatigue loads acting throughout the life of a vehicle, the question of the variability of road roughness naturally arises, as both quantities are strongly related. For car manufacturers, gathering information on the environment in which vehicles evolve is a long and costly but necessary process to adapt their products to durability requirements. In the present paper, a data processing algorithm is proposed in order to estimate the road profiles covered by a given vehicle, from the dynamic responses measured on this vehicle. The algorithm based on Kalman filtering theory aims at solving a so-called inverse problem, in a stochastic framework. It is validated using experimental data obtained from simulations and real measurements. The proposed method is subsequently applied to extract valuable statistical information on road roughness from an existing load characterisation campaign carried out by Renault within one of its markets.     

Quasi steady-state aerodynamic model development for race vehicle simulations

Presented in this paper is a procedure to develop a high fidelity quasi steady-state aerodynamic model for use in race car vehicle dynamic simulations. Developed to fit quasi steady-state wind tunnel data, the aerodynamic model is regressed against three independent variables: front ground clearance, rear ride height, and yaw angle. An initial dual range model is presented and then further refined to reduce the model complexity while maintaining a high level of predictive accuracy. The model complexity reduction decreases the required amount of wind tunnel data thereby reducing wind tunnel testing time and cost. The quasi steady-state aerodynamic model for the pitch moment degree of freedom is systematically developed in this paper. This same procedure can be extended to the other five aerodynamic degrees of freedom to develop a complete six degree of freedom quasi steady-state aerodynamic model for any vehicle.