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Abstract Nylon polymer with an optimal blend of Kevlar, fiberglass, and high-speed, high temperature (HSHT) Fiberglass offers improved characteristics such as flexural strength, wear resistance, electrical insulation, shock absorption, and a low friction coefficient. For this reason, the polymer composite manufactured by combining HSHT, Kevlar, and fiberglass with nylon as base material will expand the uses of nylon in the aerospace, automotive, and other industrial applications related to ergonomic tools, assembly trays, and so forth. The proposed work was carried out to investigate the continuous fiber reinforcement (CFR) in nylon polymer using a dual extrusion system. Twenty experimental runs were designed using a face-centered central composite design (FCCD) approach to analyze the influence of significant factors such as reinforcement material, infill pattern, and fiber angle on the fabricated specimen as per American Society for Testing Materials (ASTM) standards.

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Abstract Due to their high strength and good flexibility, wire ropes are widely used in various intense applications. A wire rope will present complex wave mechanics, especially under impact conditions. In this article, wire ropes (steel core rope and hemp core rope alternately twisted) were used to study the wave dynamic response of steel wire ropes with preload shock. The transmission law of wire rope shock waves was obtained through actual measurements. The results showed that the compression wave and shear wave were generated and propagated along the rope after impact. The conduction of shear waves had significant reflection characteristics, and the reflected waves overlapped with each other. The conduction velocity of the impact shear wave of the steel core wire rope increased with increasing pretension. The peak tension caused by impact decayed exponentially.

Abstract Electric heavy-duty tractor-trailers (EHDTT) offer an important option to reduce greenhouse gases (GHG) for the transportation sector. However, to increase the range of the EHDTT, this effort investigates critical vehicle design features that demonstrate a gain in overall freight efficiency of the vehicle. Specifically, factors affecting aerodynamics, rolling resistance, and gross vehicle weight are essential to arrive at practical input parameters for a comprehensive numerical model of the EHDTT, developed by the authors in a subsequent paper. For example, drag reduction devices like skirts, deturbulators, vortex generators, covers, and other commercially available apparatuses result in an aggregated coefficient of drag of 0.367. Furthermore, a mixed utilization of single-wide tires and dual tires allows for an optimized trade-off between low rolling resistance tires, traction, and durability.

Abstract Recently, electric heavy-duty tractor-trailers (EHDTTs) have assumed significance as they present an immediate solution to decarbonize the transportation sector. Hence, to illustrate the economic viability of electrifying the freight industry, a detailed numerical model to estimate the battery capacity for an EHDTT is proposed for a route between Washington, DC, to Knoxville, TN. This model incorporates the effects of the terrain, climate, vehicular forces, auxiliary loads, and payload in order to select the appropriate motor and optimize the battery capacity. Additionally, current and near-future battery chemistries are simulated in the model. Along with equations describing vehicular forces based on Newton’s second law of motion, the model utilizes the Hausmann and Depcik correlation to estimate the losses caused by the capacity offset of the batteries. Here, a Newton-Raphson iterative scheme determines the minimum battery capacity for the required state of charge.

Abstract An innovative analysis approach to evaluate heavy-duty vehicle downhill engine brake performance was developed. The vehicle model developed with GT-Drive simulates vehicle downhill control speeds with different engine brake retarding powers, transmission gears, and vehicle weights at sea level or high altitude. The outputs are then used to construct multi-factor parametric design charts. The charts can be used to analyze the vehicle-level engine brake capabilities or compare braking performance difference between different engine brake configurations to quantify the risk of engine retarding power deficiency at both sea level and high altitude downhill driving conditions.