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Advanced Vehicle Technologies (AVT), a Ballarat Australia based company, has developed the World's first diesel to 100% LPG conversion for heavy haul trucks. There is no diesel required or utilized on the trucks. The engine is converted with minimal changes into a spark ignition engine with equivalent power and torque of the diesel. The patented technology is now deployed in 2 Mercedes Actros trucks. The power output in engine dynamometer testing exceeds that of the diesel (in excess of 370 kW power and 2700 Nm torque). In on-road application the power curve is matched to the diesel specifications to avoid potential downstream power-train stress. Testing at the Department of Transport Energy & Infrastructure, Regency Park, SA have shown the Euro 3 truck converted to LPG is between Euro 4 and Euro 5 NOx levels, CO2 levels 10% better than diesel on DT80 test and about even with diesel on CUEDC tests.

The demand for improved fuel economy in both cars and trucks has emphasized the need for lighter weight components. The application of high strength steel to wheels, both rim and disc, represents a significant opportunity for the automotive industry. This paper discusses the Ranger HSLA wheel program that achieved a 9.7 lbs. per vehicle weight savings relative to a plain carbon steel wheel of the same design. It describes the Ranger wheel specifications, the material selection, the metallurgical considerations of applying HSLA to wheels, and HSLA arc and flash butt welding. The Ranger wheel design and the development of the manufacturing process is discussed, including design modifications to accommodate the lighter gage. The results demonstrate that wheels can be successfully manufactured from low sulfur 60XK HSLA steel in a conventional high volume process (stamped disc and rolled rim) to meet all wheel performance requirements and achieve a significant weight reduction.

J I Case Company has produced four-wheel-drive agricultural tractors since 1964. In 1984 however, the flagship of the Case fleet changed hands. Rising labor costs and larger farming operations spearheaded the need for a more efficient larger tractor. January 1984 marked the introduction of the largest four-wheel-drive tractor in the history of Case, the 4994, a 400-gross engine horsepower tractor, Figure 1. Sheer horsepower alone however, would not meet the requirements of today's farming operations. Case Engineering realized that tomorrows tractors must have sufficient power to handle the wide variety of attachments available. They also realized that along with the unmatched power must come precise control of the attachment. These advancements in farming have required improvements to the tractor hydraulic system. This paper describes the hydraulic system of the 4994, Case's new flagship.

Over the past several years the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) Standards Association has developed standards for the 5.9 GHz Dedicated Short Range Communications protocols, also known as Wireless Access in Vehicular Environments. These standards consist of IEEE 1609 as well as an amendment to the IEEE 802.11 standard or 802.11p. The 1609 standards were published for Trial Use and these as well as the 802.11p draft have been implemented in a variety of test beds to provide lessons learned and feedback into the standards working groups. Based on ongoing testing, the protocols display a strong capability to address the requirements of crash avoidance and transportation mobility applications. The corresponding test results provide information necessary to update the standards after the first trial phase as industry moves toward commercial implementations.

The story of Power Farming is the great saga of our times. It is a story of free enterprise, perseverance and endurance of the individual, of vision, idealism and cooperation among men, of the lightening of human toil and the release of millions of workers from farms to feed the ever hungry industrial revolution. By no means least, it is the story of producing food necessary to win two global wars, keep our allies alive and millions of the defeated enemy from starvation. FOREWARD By 1915, the Steam Traction Engine had attained its highest development. It was the forerunner, rather than the predecessor, of the farm tractor. The former was the instrument of expansion; the latter, the instrument of progress. The invention of the tractor, following by only sixteen years Otto's practical embodiment application of the Beau de Rochas power cycle to a heat engine, marked the advent of a new order - - the age of Power Farming.

A pin and disc machine has been modified for the evaluation of silver-steel lubrication characteristics of railroad diesel oils. Use of silver pins on polished steel discs at selected loads and rubbing speeds allows good correlation with known engine behavior. In comparison with wear and friction data obtained by the four ball method, this pin and disc test gives better correlation with engine tests than the Modified Four Ball Test.

A cartridge type pivotal pin and bushing joint has been patented and is being tested and refined both in the laboratory and on construction machinery. It features “dry lubricated” (Teflon) bearings which are assembled and sealed prior to installation. It is suitable for heavy unit loads and use under severe wear conditions, such as in crawler track chains and loader bucket pivotal pin joints. A brief history of U. S. manufactured track pin joints is included to show the progress in extending the service life of these devices.

In the truck industry there is a continuous demand to increase the efficiency and to decrease the emissions. To acknowledge both these issues a waste heat recovery system (WHR) is combined with a partially premixed combustion (PPC) engine to deliver an efficient engine system. Over the past decades numerous attempts to increase the thermal efficiency of the diesel engine has been made. One such attempt is the PPC concept that has demonstrated potential for substantially increased thermal efficiency combined with much reduced emission levels. So far most work on increasing engine efficiency has been focused on improving the thermal efficiency of the engine while WHR, which has an excellent potential for another 1-5 % fuel consumption reduction, has not been researched that much yet. In this paper a WHR system using a Rankine cycle has been developed in a modeling environment using IPSEpro.

Engine mounts are an integral part of the vehicle that helps in reducing the vibrations generated from the engine. Engine mounts require a simple yet complicated amalgamation of two very different materials, steel and rubber. Proper adhesion between the two is required to prevent any part failure. Therefore, it becomes important that a comprehensive study is done to understand the mating phenomenon of both. A good linking between rubber and metal substrate is governed by surface pretreatment. Various methodologies such as mechanical and chemical are adopted for the same. This paper aims to present a comparative study as to which surface pretreatment has an edge over other techniques in terms of separation force required to break the bonding between the two parts. The study also presents a cost comparison between the techniques so that the best possible technique can be put to use in the commercial vehicle industry.

This paper discusses controller development for an active, off-road vehicle suspension system. A brief review of electronic filters and their characteristics is used to provide insight on the difficulties of designing a control algorithm for negotiating hilly and rough terrain at higher speeds. Two controller designs are presented. One was designed by pole placement and causes the suspension response to approximate a Type 1 Chebychev filter. The other was designed using constrained optimization. A comparison and discussion of simulation results leads to the conclusion that the suspension should be adaptively or predictively controlled for arbitrary terrain and velocity conditions.

This paper describes the results of a series of fatigue studies relating the lives of several weld geometries. Rotating beam and axially loaded specimens were used. A comparison between steel and plastic (polyvinylchloride scale models is made. Using plastic scale models of welded structures for fatigue life determination is the ultimate goal of this work.

“Today, wearing parts are regularly subjected to abnormal loading conditions. They must be able to accept these conditions without failure. In continuous operations, unscheduled downtime greatly increases maintenance costs, not to mention the cost of lost production. White iron castings offer premium abrasion resistance for many of these applications, but are often not used due to the possibility of brittle failure and the difficulty of mechanical attachment. This paper discusses the properties and applications of a composite of martensitic white iron and mild steel. This laminate will accept medium to high impact without loss of service failure, and can be installed by mechanical means or with welded attachment.”

A Computer Aided System (CAS) is developed in order to evaluate off-road wheeled vehicle mobility. The system takes into consideration both vehicle technical parameters and the main specifications of the soil on which the vehicle is expected to operate. Thirty seven vehicle technical parameters organized in nine groups are considered. These groups are: weights, engine parameters, dimensions, performance, transmission, steering, brakes, tires, and self recovery means. The main soil specifications of the soil considered are the soil type (clay, silt, or sand) and the shear and bearing resistance represented by the cone index or the gradient cone index. The evaluation process depends on considering a datum value for each vehicle technical parameter. These datum values or norms are obtained from a statistical analysis study of the technical parameters for a sample of 155 off-road wheeled vehicles representing different schools from all over the world [1].

Predicting fatigue performance in concentrated contacts under thin film (or mixed) lubrication conditions has historically involved various empirical approaches. Typically a lubrication parameter is used in an experimentally derived equation to predict the expected rolling contact performance. However, this model doesn't explain the performance improvements. Enhanced finish bearings have exhibited longer life than standard finish bearings, especially when bearings are operated with thin EHL film. In this paper, the contact surfaces of test bearings were analyzed by using a micro-macro contact model in which the macro-contact was elastic contact, and the micro-contact was elastic-plastic contact. The interior subsurface stress maps were calculated from the real contact surfaces, which included the effects of roughnesses, waviness, and profiles.

Current trends in environmental and emissions regulations are driving changes in new engine systems, and increasing the need for more effectively sealed joints in exhaust systems. At the high temperatures in these exhaust systems it is difficult for traditional gaskets to provide an effective seal, as they degrade at high operating temperatures. This paper introduces a coating that has both excellent temperature stability and good compliance, thus forming an excellent sealing enhancement for metallic layers in exhaust system gaskets. Temperature stability data is presented along with sealing data, which illustrate the superior performance of this material compared to current systems.

A Decision Network is an explicit model of the Thinking Breakdown Structure of any complex scientific, engineering, or societal challenge. Each node in the Decision Network represents a fundamental question that must be answered, i.e. a choice that demands a solution. A Decision Network provides an integrated Decision Management framework for any Systems Engineering effort that links business, technology and design choices. Effective Decision Management is the key to Systems Engineering success. This paper will provide an overview of a decision-centric approach to Systems Engineering built around Decision Networks. Lessons learned through the use of Decision Networks in other industries will be extrapolated for use in vehicle Systems Engineering.

A software tool has been developed to aid designers and process engineers in the development and improvement of heat treat processes. This tool, DANTE™, combines metallurgical phase transformation models with mass diffusion, thermal and mechanical models to simulate the heating, carburization, quenching and tempering of steel parts. The technology behind the DANTE software and some applications are presented in this paper.

Paper describes analysis of the design process of modern automotive LPG and CNG containers. Over decade experience in the field of both computer based analysis as well as in the real conditions testing has been collected and presented in the paper. Authors present the potentials of modern FEM methodologies in the optimization and production of lightweight steel containers. It has been proved that the most sophisticated numerical analysis have to be followed by the construction verification, particularly considering direct exposure to fire. Bonfire test have become obligatory for both liquid and compressed gases containers. Properly chosen fire protection system, together with the adequate level of quality of materials applied for its production together with proper directing of the gas flowing out from safety devices are the essential factors defining gas containers fire safety.

Adjuster rings are used in commercial vehicle axle assembly to preload differential bearings and provide support in the axial direction. Adjuster along with the carrier and bearing cap combined to form a threaded joint. Adjuster with external threads engages with internal threads formed in carrier and bearing cap. Preload in differential assembly maintains the system rigidity and helps to maintain an optimized hypoid gear engagement. An adequate preload is important to achieve a desirable bearing life. Reduction in thread engagement at adjuster joint fully or partially will cause a reduction in preload and can lead to gear misalignment. This can cause severe durability concerns. In some cases, it is observed that under vehicle operating loads adjuster ring is backed off from its assembled condition by bending the split pin (split pin is, positive lock, used to maintain adjuster position) and adjuster threads were stripped off.

The need to reduce the injury to pedestrians that are run over or pinned beneath a bus is an ongoing concern for transit authorities and other operators. Occasionally, a pedestrian will be run over by the right rear wheel while exiting the rear door. This accident occurs in various scenarios such as when people exit the bus and become entangled in the door grab bars, or when they fall between the curb and the bus while it approaches or departs. With all scenarios, the S-1 Gard acts similar to a cow catcher, pushing the fallen pedestrian out and away from the rear tire. This paper will: outline various incident scenarios, evaluate the S-1 Gard's performance in a city environment, review installation of the guard as well as its maintenance requirements. The purpose of this paper is to bring to the attention of transit authorities and shuttle operators the overall value of this device.