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Abstract The use of appropriate loads and regulations is of great importance in weld fatigue assessment of rail on-track maintenance equipment and similar vehicles for optimized design. The regulations and available loads, however, are often generalized for several categories, which proves to be overly conservative for some specific categories of machines. EN (European Norm) and AAR (Association of American Railroads) regulations play a pivotal role in determining the applicable loads and acceptance criteria within this study. The availability of track-induced fatigue load data for the cumulative damage approach in track maintenance machines is often limited. Consequently, the FEA-based validation of rail track maintenance equipment often resorts to the infinite life approach rather than cumulative damage approach for track-induced travel loads, resulting in overly conservative designs.

Abstract An accurate and rapid thermal model of an axle-brake system is crucial to the design process of reliable braking systems. Proper thermal management is necessary to avoid damaging effects, such as brake fade, thermal cracking, and lubricating oil degradation. In order to understand the thermal effects inside of a lubricated braking system, it is common to use Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) to calculate the heat generation and rejection. However, this is a difficult and time-consuming process, especially when trying to optimize a braking system. This article uses the results from several CFD runs to train a Stacked Ensemble Model (SEM), which allows the use of machine learning (ML) to predict the systems’ temperature based on several input design parameters. The robustness of the SEM was evaluated using uncertainty quantification.

Abstract Off-highway equipment are subjected to diverse environmental conditions, severe duty cycles, and multiple simultaneous operations. Due to its continuous, high-power adverse operating conditions, equipment are exposed to high thermal loads, which result in the deterioration of its performance and efficiency. This article describes a model-based system simulation approach for thermal performance evaluation of a self-propelled off-highway vehicle. The objective of developing the simulation model including thermal fidelity is to quantify the impact of thermal loads on vehicular system/subsystems performance. This article also describes the use of simulation models for driving architectural design decisions and virtual test replication in all stages of product development.

Abstract The article considers the issues of a systemic approach to studying safety levels in transport operations and ways to increase the safety of the operator-machine system in Russian transport. The principal and problematic issues of reducing the risk of injury by preventing traffic accidents and reducing the severity of their impact have not been sufficiently addressed. When performing transport operations, there are often disagreements between the elements of the “Operator, Machine, and Environment” technological system due to the influence of external conditions and parameters of the constantly-changing environment in the workplace. This leads to a sharp increase in the number of failures of system elements, which reduces the level of safety of transport operations.

Abstract To protect ship equipment of river and sea transport, it is suggested to use polymeric protective coatings based on epoxy diane oligomer ED-20, polyethylene polyamine (PEPA) curing agent and filler, which is a departure from industrial production. Thus the purpose of the work is analysis of major dependency of the properties on the content of fillers that allowed to revealed the critical filler content (furnace black) in composites to form a protective coating with the required set of characteristics. The infrared (IR) spectral analysis was used to investigate the presence of bonds on the surface of particles of the PM-75 furnace black, which allows us to assess the degree of cross-linking of the polymer. The influence of the content of dispersed furnace black on the physicomechanical and thermophysical properties and the structure of the protective coating is investigated.

Abstract Heavy commercial vehicles play an important role in creating the trade and economic balance of countries. Also, the durability and safety of heavy commercial vehicles come to the fore. Heavy commercial vehicles consist of two parts. These are the chassis area with the equipment that allows the vehicle to move and the cabin section where the driver is located. The cabin area is the most important area that ensures the highest level of driver safety. Considering that the production of trucks is increasing day by day, it is inevitable for companies to increase their R&D activities in the field of cabin and cabin suspension systems for much safer, durable, and comfortable trucks. This study aims to determine the safe torque value of the fasteners and their assembly sequence of the Cab Suspension Console, which is one of the most important connection parts in a truck and which can cause a fatal accident by breaking.

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Abstract Parking an articulated vehicle is a challenging task that requires skill, experience, and visibility from the driver. An automatic parking system for articulated vehicles can make this task easier and more efficient. This article proposes a novel method that finds an optimal path and controls the vehicle with an innovative method while considering its kinematics and environmental constraints and attempts to mathematically explain the behavior of a driver who can perform a complex scenario, called the articulated vehicle park maneuver, without falling into the jackknifing phenomena. In other words, the proposed method models how drivers park articulated vehicles in difficult situations, using different sub-scenarios and mathematical models.

Abstract Brake systems are one of the essential components of vehicles ensuring the safety of roads and passengers as well as accident prevention. Faulty brake systems, however, can cause inevitable accidents. Fatality analysis reporting system of NHTSA (National Highway Transport Safety Association) has reported that heavy and light trucks, which are obliged to be equipped with dual-circuit air brake system, were, respectively, involved in 8.8% and 38.0% of fatal crashes in the United States, during 2017. Number of heavy vehicle accidents due to complete failure of brake system is far less than accidents due to deficiencies such as worn out brake linings, out-of-adjustment push rod strokes, and leak in the circuits. Severe leakages due to ruptured air hoses or punctured reservoir are highly unlikely to be replenished by compressor and would be distinguished through pressure indicator.

Abstract In this article, safe driving methods for large articulated vehicles passing roundabouts are presented using the design of experiment (DOE) method. First, the roundabout driving safety evaluation based on the rollover propensity index calculated with the tire loads was performed through various PC-Crash simulation analysis. And, using the Taguchi method, which is a representative DOE method, major factors affecting the rollover index were set by type and the sensitivity analysis results were quantitatively obtained. Finally, safe driving methods at roundabouts for large articulated vehicles through systematic reduction of rollover propensity were presented, demonstrating that they can be directly applied to advanced driver assist systems.

Abstract The present work deals with the damage life correlation of vehicle-level testing results of an axle housing for different road load conditions with the accelerated bench testing experiment results to reduce product development time. Also failure analysis is carried out to overcome the mechanical strength losses caused by the hot forming process during the manufacturing of housings. Commercial vehicle torture test tracks are built to reflect the forces similar to vehicle usage conditions from lighter to severe loadings. Strain data and calibrated force values are captured at the critical loading points in the axle for one cycle, at actual vehicle-driven speeds, to reflect the accelerated load values on five different track conditions. Damages estimation carried out based on the road loads reflects there will be no failure of axle housings till the acceptance of 120 repeats in different track combinations.

Abstract HVAC systems of passenger cars and especially their air purification performance got more and more in focus during the last years. One reason is the overall increased attention to air quality and its effect on human health. Recently, the WHO further tightened the recommended values for many pollutants. This will likely intensify the trend to more complex systems for improving the air purification functionalities. But, up to now there is no standard method for air purification performance testing. Existing standards cover the vehicle cabin air quality only regarding material emissions. Several studies address assessing the performance of air purification functionalities in most cases by real driving tests typically performed in urban areas. This approach results in proper values for the basic efficiency of single systems.

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.

Abstract Several accidents on the highways are due to strong crosswind conditions. The effectiveness of wind-break fences on a sudden strong crosswind has been investigated for a generic truck model. Two wind-break fences have been designed for stretching the rise time of aerodynamic loads. The dynamic response of the vehicle to crosswind while exiting a tunnel is simulated. Moving mesh CFD simulations and vehicle dynamics simulations are used to assess the effectiveness of the fences based on a safety index and the maximum lateral displacement of the vehicle. The proposed fences mitigate sudden aerodynamic loads and avoid the rollover of the vehicle.

Abstract The objective of this article is to evaluate the effects of different blast protective modules to military vehicle structures and occupants. The dynamic responses of the V-shape integral basic armor, the add-on honeycomb sandwich structure module, and the anti-shock seat-dummy system were simulated and analyzed. The improvements of occupant survivability by different protective modules were compared using occupant injury criteria. The integral armored cab can maintain the integrity of the cab body structure. The add-on honeycomb sandwich armor reduces the peak structural deformation and velocity of the cab floor by 34.9% and 47.4%, respectively, compared with the cab with integral armors only. The integral armored cab with the anti-shock seat or the honeycomb sandwich structures reduces the occupant shock responses below the injury criteria. For different blast threat intensities, the selection of appropriate protective modules can meet protection requirements.

Abstract As electric vehicles (EVs) begin to increase their market share in the transport sector, the efficiency of battery packs becomes critical to their performance. Within large battery packs, cell variations occur due to manufacturing processes but can also become prominent during operation due to ineffective thermal management and accelerated degradation of some cells. A battery management system (BMS) will generally account for variations in state of charge (SOC) for cells in series through balancing, but conventional BMSs do not tend to consider the imbalances of cells in parallel as their SOCs should eventually converge themselves. This can, however, lead to cells experiencing higher currents and therefore increased degradation compared to other cells within the pack.

Abstract Due to their large volume structure, when a heavy vehicle encounters sudden road conditions, emergency turns, or lane changes, it is very easy for vehicle rollover accidents to occur; however, well-designed suspension systems can greatly reduce vehicle rollover occurrence. In this article, a novel semi-active suspension adaptive control based on AdaBoost algorithm is proposed to effectively improve the vehicle rollover stability under dangerous working conditions. This research first established a vehicle rollover warning model based on the AdaBoost algorithm. Meanwhile, the approximate skyhook damping suspension model is established as the reference model of the semi-active suspension. Furthermore, the model reference adaptive control (MRAC) system is established based on Lyapunov stability theory, and the adaptive controller is designed.

Abstract In India, vehicle population increases every day along with road accidents by 2.5% every year. About 7.7% of accidents are caused by wheel separation, 60% of which are due to nut-related problems. Wheel separations in vehicles occur due to fastener issues and fatigue failures in bolts. A study of the reasons for and mechanisms of nut loosening showed that left-hand side wheels detached and fracture failure occurred in right-hand side studs. Fatigue life of wheels with Nord-Lock washer and without washer is determined by using numerical analysis as per the IS 9438 cornering fatigue test. These numerical results are compared with experimental results.