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Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG, is a byproduct of both natural gas processing and crude oil refining. As a chemical, propane (C3H8) is a nontoxic, colorless, and virtually odorless hydrocarbon. It is economical to store and transport in liquefied form. Due its availability and adoptability as engine fuel, propane is quickly becoming one of the viable alternatives fueling 17 million vehicles worldwide. So far, there are about 270,000 propane fueled vehicles in the U. S. This number represents about 1.6 percent of the world propane fueled vehicles. In this paper, a commercial viability a multi-year cost study of captive fleet buses is conducted for LPG as alternative mass transportation fuel in comparison with gasoline and diesel. The study is based on more than four million of recorded mass transportation service miles.

Large hood mounted plastic trim components are subjected to complex and often extreme loading conditions. Typical loading conditions include solar and thermal cycling, as well as road and powertrain induced vibrations, aero lift and buffeting, and mechanical loads such as car wash. For the above components understanding and classifying the typical loading conditions is an essential and important step in achieving long term quality. This paper discusses different approaches to the design, analysis, development, and testing of plastic trim components. Samples of analysis and test results are presented to demonstrate how to identify and prevent the loss of the part function. Some useful guidelines and practices for addressing thermal expansion, dimensional variation, and redundancy in attachments are also discussed.

Automotive manufacturers are facing continuously changing Global environment. Traditionally, these manufacturers relied on structural and general durability tests to validate vehicles. For these tests to remain representative of customer usage in a Global environment, the overall surface conditions of the Global road systems must be studied. Understanding and classifying these road systems conditions is an important step in dealing with vehicle durability in the Global environment. In this paper, an approach to mapping the world road systems into Established Roads (ER) and Developing Roads (DR), utilizing Statistical Discriminant Analysis (SDA), is presented. The classification of Global regions as DR and ER road systems can be effectively used to recommend appropriate development and validation tests for each road system. A few examples are presented to demonstrate how the ER vs.

The ultimate goals for developing hybrid power train systems are improving fuel economy, reducing emissions and providing commercially viable alternative low cost transportation solutions. To achieve these goals, during hybrid system design and development, a well defined set of targets and specifications are needed. These targets and specifications are necessary for optimizing the power train subsystems, components, successful system integration, and the development of proper control system. For developing a set of well defined targets and specifications, especially when dealing with hybrid power train systems, valid and reliable road load data and duty cycle profiles are required. This data is one of the most critical elements in sizing and control of the hybrid system components such as engines, batteries, generators, and motors.