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Innovation in oceangoing freight transportation is paying benefits to the general public, the shipper, the consignee, to direct labor, and to associated industries and their labor. Government, too, is sharing in the fruits of innovation. However, ocean transportation, which constitutes the prime investors, has been denied a fair share of the benefits and has, in fact, been exposed to greater risk when the operation is interrupted for any reason.

New technology placed on specific components within the wheel end system, required modifications to existing tapered wheel bearing adjustment procedures. A new method for vehicles, which use tapered roller bearings, required a procedure addressing new technologies for the wheel end system. OEM and service technicians would benefit from concise procedures. Technologies engineered and developed for ABS (Anti-skid Brake Systems), extended brake blocks and synthetic lubricants, required research for the data base. Research to optimize the operating environment through improved maintenance procedures helped in achieving optimum wheel system operation. A tapered wheel bearing adjustment procedure and visual chart are the results profiting the vehicle manufacturers and field service technicians.

Welding has been used extensively in automotive components design due to its flexibility to be applied in manufacturing, high structural strength and low cost. To improve fuel economy and reduce material cost, weight reduction by optimized structural design has been a high priority in auto industry. In the majority of heavy duty vehicle's chassis components design, the ability to predict the mechanical performance of welded joints is the key to success of structural optimization. FEA (finite element analysis) has been used in the industry to analyze welded parts. However, mesh sensitivity and material properties have been major issues due to geometry irregularity, metallurgical degradation of the base material, and inherent residual stress associated with welded joints. An approach, equilibrium-equivalent structural stress method, led by Battelle and through several joint industrial projects (JIP), has been developed.

The environmental impact from herbicide utilization has been well documented in recent years. The reduction in weed control with out a viable alternative will likely result in decreased per acre production and thus higher unit production cost. The potential for selective herbicide application to reduce herbicide usage and yet maintain adequate weed control has generated significant interest in different forms of remote sensing of agricultural crops. This research evaluated the color co-occurrence texture analysis technique to determine its potential for utilization in crop groundcover identification. A program termed GCVIS (Ground Cover VISion) was developed to control an ATT TARGA 24 frame grabber; and generate HSI color features from the RGB format pixel data, HSI CCM matrices and the co-occurrence texture feature data.

Wear characteristics of four bearing materials have been investigated under different sliding conditions. The bearing materials used were CDA 954, CDA 863, CDA 932, and CDA 938. Using a Taber Wear Tester, a cylinder on a flat geometry was used as a tribo contact pair. All bearing materials in the form of a thick cylindrical disk were subjected to combined sliding-rolling motion against a rotating flat disk. The flat disk was either an abrasive disk, or a very soft steel disk, or a hardened steel disk with and without lubrication. Wear was measured as weight loss after several thousand cycles of rotation. Maximum wear of the bearing materials occurred when the counter body was a very soft steel disk. These results together with the wear rate of each bearing material sliding against four different counter bodies are presented. These results are found to be of practical importance in the design and application of journal bearings made of materials used in this investigation.

After a review of current and future emission legislation for non-road engines (India, Europe, USA), the various options available to reduce the emissions of diesel tractor engines are discussed. Special emphasis is put on naturally aspirated engines in the 37 - 50 kW power range. AVL has recently designed and developed several naturally aspirated heavy-duty diesel tractor engines to comply with current exhaust emissions standards for the Indian domestic and the US markets (EPA Tier 2). In doing so, different levels of technologies were applied. Their impact on mean effective pressure, specific fuel consumption and emissions will be shown. The future non-road engine exhaust emissions legislation in different markets will be addressed (India, Europe and USA). Compliance with the new emission standards will require the introduction of more advanced technology.

The Commonwealth Center for Advanced Manufacturing (CCAM), a non-profit consortium based in Prince George County, Virginia, uses a 3D visualization lab to expand beyond the walls of its 62,000-square-foot brick and mortar facility and deliver a collaborative development for researchers in industry, academia, and government.

The existing instrumentation of a soil bin was retrofitted with virtual instrumentation techniques to achieve improved repeatability and more precise measurements. Current-loop sensors were added to the prime mover for improved speed control. Soil preparation operations were instrumented to determine penetrometer forces as a function of soil penetration depth, soil surface smoothness, compaction force, and soil surface elevation. Test hitch-points for agricultural implements were instrumented with wheatstone bridge force transducers. Implement depth was found with ratiometric linear transducers. Distance and speed determinations utilized an optical encoder with a resolution of 3.0 × 10-4 m. Temperature measurements were also recorded with solid state current transducers.

The commercial operation of the bullet train in 1964 in Japan marked the beginning of a new era for high-speed railways. Because of the huge amount of kinetic energy carried at high speeds, a train may interact significantly with the bridge and even resonate with it under certain circumstances. This book is unique in that it is devoted entirely to the interaction between the supporting bridges and moving trains, the so-called vehicle-bridge interaction (VBI). It provides an up-to-date coverage of research conducted on various aspects of the VBI problems. Using the series of VBI elements derived, the authors study a number of frontier problems, including the impact response of bridges with elastic bearings, the dynamic response of curved beam to moving centrifugal forces, the stability and derailment of trains moving over bridges shaken by earthquakes, the impact response of two trains crossing on a bridge, the steady-state response of trains moving over elevated bridges, and so on.

The U.S. Department of Transportation's Comprehensive TS&W Study addressed the safety impacts of potential changes to TS&W limits from two perspectives: (1) the assessment of crash information and exposure data (vehicle miles traveled), and (2) the evaluation of stability and control performance of several truck configurations in terms of static roll stability, rearward amplification, and load transfer ratio. This paper addresses the analytical approach used to evaluate safety impacts from the latter perspective. The vehicle performance measures were estimated using simulation models. Several vehicle parameters were varied in a large parametric analysis for use in the study.

This paper will focus whining noise on rear axles applied in mid-size trucks. Vehicle integration changes during development affect directly the gear noise perception, in which it may be intensified. Also, gear material and heat treatment choices for the rear axle need to be done carefully, taking into consideration the integration changes and also the driver usage. A lessons learned collection over the diverse aspects of a rear axle whining noise will be the basis of this paper.

The Future Combat System Operational Requirements Document requires that manned and unmanned ground vehicles be capable of negotiating gaps 1.5- to 4.0-meters wide. Gaps include both natural and manmade obstacles. Overcoming battlespace gaps requires the ability to effectively conduct four tasks: prediction, definition, avoidance, and defeat. The inability to overcome gaps within the theater of operations will significantly impair the Future Force's responsiveness, agility, and sustainability. Researchers at the US Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC), working in the field of vehicle mobility have developed methods to predict the physical interactions of vehicles with terrain mechanics. This physics-based simulation method uses research conducted at the ERDC to combine historical empirical laboratory and field evaluations with lumped parameter and numerical analysis to develop a simulated environment of the terrain.

There have been many studies regarding the stability of vehicles following a sudden air loss event in a tire. Previous works have included literature reviews, full-scale vehicle testing, and computer modeling analyses. Some works have validated physics-based computer vehicle simulation models for passenger vehicles and other works have validated models for heavy commercial vehicles. This work describes a study wherein a validated vehicle dynamics computer model has been applied to extrapolate results to higher event speeds that are consistent with travel speeds on contemporary North American highways. This work applies previously validated vehicle dynamics models to study the stability of a five-axle commercial tractor-semitrailer vehicle following a sudden air loss event for a steer axle tire. Further, the work endeavors to understand the analytical tire model for tires that experience a sudden air loss.

Prior research has tested the validity of Cycles Engine render in Blender for the creation of physically correct lighting models; however, a research gap still exists in examining the use of Arnold render engine in 3DS Max for accident reconstruction and other forensic settings [1]. Specifically, the process presented in this paper utilizes the Arnold render engine within 3DS-Max to analyze the lighting models. Arnold is a physically-based render (PBR) engine and can be used to recreate an accident scene geometry and lighting conditions. The goal is to create light sources within Arnold that represent the real-world light sources. The light sources in Arnold are quantified by several variables, including intensity, color, and size. The intensity and size variables determine the self-emitted radiance of the light source and require further explanation to determine the relationship between these variables in Arnold and real-world lighting quantities.

Outboard Marine Corporation (OMC) developed its own vacuum die casting process to produce true T6 heat treatable aluminum die castings. This process was initiated by OMC Research and developed jointly with OMC Waukegan. The project began 1990 and was put into production in 1992 on the outboard motor lower mount bracket shown in figure 1. OMC is producing vacuum die cast aluminum parts made with 356.0 alloy and T6 heat treated which meet or exceed the strength of similarly alloyed and processed permanent mold or lost foam cast parts. The application of this process is being expanded within the realm of structural outboard motor parts to include other mounting brackets, as well as fuel system components. An automotive die caster is using the technology and equipment provided by OMC to produce leak tight air conditioner compressor housings.

The importance of autonomous vehicle operation to satisfy future safety and productivity requirements is emphasized by the current National plans for IVHS and AHS development and deployment. Daimler-Benz Research, in cooperation with Freightliner Corporation, is developing a research vehicle VECTOR (Vision Enhanced/Controlled Truck for Operational Research) which currently is undergoing testing of a vision-based control system for lateral guidance. This effort is building on experience from prior Daimler-Benz and PROMETHEUS projects, including the test vehicles VITA (VIsion Technology Application) and OSCAR (Optically Steered CAR). The paper describes this work and future expansion plans to incorporate longitudinal control systems in VECTOR.

Several methods have been developed which use rapid prototyping techniques to assist in the creation of prototype metal castings. Methods exist for a number of casting processes such as sand casting, die casting, investment casting, and evaporative pattern casting. In many cases, these methods can reduce both the time and cost required to create prototype castings.

The conceptualization, design, analysis, prototyping, and testing of a steel casting are described. The methods used include 2D CAD, 3D solid modeling, finite element analysis, Solid Ground Curing rapid prototyping, and laboratory prototype testing. The part was successfully delivered to field testing on time. The use of the MCAE techniques provided a more optimal part more quickly than the use of standard CAD techniques would have provided. A minor cost penalty was paid for the prototype pattern versus conventional prototyping.

A knowledge-based system has been constructed to act as an assistant in the design of hydraulic valves. It has been constructed on a small system (PC). This is a research installation aimed at gaining an understanding of the processes involved in developing expert design systems. It appears that an industrial version of the system developed here would be a useful addition to a standard CAD system being used for valve design. Autocad is used as the Cad system with the knowledge-based assistant developed in Autolisp which is a dialect of Lisp. A valve spool design is discussed as an example.