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The time/distance relationship for heavy trucks starting from a stopped position is often needed to accurately assess the events leading up to a collision. A series of tests were conducted to document tractor/trailer low speed acceleration performance. The vehicles were instrumented with a DATRON speed sensor and engine RPM was also documented. This paper presents the data from these tests and discusses the acceleration profile of heavy trucks in general.

Computer animation and its use in the engineering/scientific community are in their infancy. As this visualization tool becomes more widely used and accepted, individual expectations may differ greatly regarding appropriate usage and documentation of an animation. This paper lays the foundation for establishing guidelines for documenting the data and techniques used in producing an animation. The many elements that make up an animation are discussed, along with their importance to the presentation. The ultimate goal, for using the proposed guideline, is to achieve consistency within the engineering / scientific community when evaluating an animation.

The Human Vehicle Environment (HVE) program, developed by Engineering Dynamics Corporation, combines the vehicle parameters, physics and graphics into a single computer system for use in analyzing motor vehicle collisions, handling issues, studying occupant motion, etc. One of the most valuable assets of the HVE program is the open architecture that allows easy access to the data and graphics capabilities from an independent computer program. Thus, virtually any program that can be recompiled on the Silicon Graphics system can be set up to utilize the HVE tools. HVE is written in two computer languages known as C and C++ pronounced (“C plus plus”), this aids in the graphics processing. Unfortunately, FORTRAN programs do not automatically interface with C or C++ programs. These programs must be modified to allow a two-way data path to and from HVE.

The time/distance relationship for a heavy truck starting from a stopped position is often needed to accurately assess the events leading up to a collision. A series of tests were conducted to document the low speed acceleration performance of a Kenworth T2000 tractor- truck equipped with an auto-shift transmission. The tests included several load configurations and acceleration rates. The vehicle was instrumented with a DATRON speed sensor to measure time, distance and speed. This paper presents data from these tests and discusses low speed acceleration profiles of heavy trucks.

The time/distance relationship for a heavy truck accelerating from a stop is often needed to accurately assess the events leading up to a collision. Several series of tests were conducted to document the low speed acceleration performance of a 2016 Freightliner Cascadia truck tractor equipped with a 12-speed automated manual transmission in Auto Mode. Unlike tests in previous papers, the driver never manually shifted gears. These tests included three trailer load configurations and two different acceleration rates. Data were gathered with both a VBOX and with the Detroit Diesel Diagnostic Link (DDDL) software.

The time/distance relationship for a heavy truck accelerating from a stop is often needed to accurately assess the events leading up to a collision. Several series of tests were conducted to document the low speed acceleration performance of a 2016 Kenworth T680 truck tractor equipped with a ten-speed overdrive automated manual transmission in Auto Mode. Throughout the testing, the driver never manually shifted gears. This testing included three trailer load configurations and two different acceleration rates. Data were gathered with a VBOX and the Cummins INSITE software.

When analyzing the time/distance performance of vehicles accelerating from a stopped position, a constant acceleration rate is often assumed. Acceleration profiles as a function of time are examined in this paper in order to identify errors associated with the constant acceleration assumption for a passenger car and a large truck. The paper also includes acceleration data collected from 219 large trucks measured over distances of 50 and 100 feet. For passenger cars, the assumption of constant acceleration is appropriate when evaluating velocity/distance scenarios with displacements of interest greater than 10 ft. For 5 ft or less, variable acceleration is recommended. When time factors are of special interest, attention must be given to the lag times associated with variable acceleration. The lag time does little to affect the velocity/distance relationship; however, it alters time/distance/velocity relationship by as much as 2 seconds.

The time/distance relationship for a heavy truck starting from a stopped position is often needed to accurately assess the events leading up to a collision. A series of tests were conducted to document the low speed acceleration performance of a Freightliner FLD-120 tractor-truck. The tests including several load configurations and acceleration rates. The vehicle was instrumented with a DATRON speed sensor and the engine RPM was also documented. This paper presents data from these tests and discusses low speed acceleration profiles of heavy trucks