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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.

This paper summarizes the techniques and guidelines which were used to reduce the driver perceived noise level of a 145-210 HP series of agricultural tractors. Graphs of case study test results and comments on subjective noise quality are provided to guide the acoustic novice through the complexities of the vehicle sound environment in a methodical problem solving format.

The potential contributions of acoustical technology to manufacturing companies pervade nearly all of its functions from marketing and product planning to design engineering and quality control. Despite this, however, companies generally feel uneasy when they embark on programs to use acoustics in their operations because the technology seems complicated and somehow harder to “get a handle on” than it is in other cases. But the issues of product sound, and the benefits of acoustics on a diagnostic tool are too important to ignore, so in this paper we discuss these issues in a “20 questions” format to help planners, engineers and managers as they proceed to implement acoustical technology in their organizations.

Contact the appropriate representative of the 2023 Noise and Vibration Conference and Exhibition.

Health related problems in over populated areas are a major concern and as such, there are specific legislations for noise generated by transport vehicles. In diesel powered commercial vehicles, the source for noise are mainly related to rolling, transmission, aerodynamics and engine. Considering internal combustion engine, three factors can be highlighted as major noise source: combustion, mechanical and tailpipe. The tailpipe noise is considered as the noise radiated from the open terminations of intake and exhaust systems, caused by both pressure pulses propagating to the open ends of the duct systems, and by vortex shedding as the burst leaves the tailpipe (flow generated noise). In order to reduce noise generated by vehicles, it is important to investigate the gas interactions and what can be improved in exhaust line design during the product development phase.

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.

The new 5480 Reach Truck, designed at Dynamic Industries, introduces a movable frame between the main frame and the telescopic boom. The use of this movable frame allows the usually fixed boom pivot to be elevated for greater lifting heights with smaller boom sections. By combining the motions of the boom and the movable frame, horizontal motion at the boom tip is possible without moving the truck. With the movable frame, the total machine height and length can be reduced for a given lifting goal. Another advantage of the movable frame is the ability to reach further below grade than is now possible in the industry. The 5480 Reach Truck has a maximum lift of 54 feet (16.5 meters) and can reach 24 feet (7.3 meters) below-grade.

The LTL-900 Transi-Lift crane features front and rear crawler-mounted load platforms connected with a hoist-supporting five foot diameter pipe section. The pin-together main boom is available in lengths up to 400 feet and completely disassembles for ease of transport to and from the jobsite. The crane requires three operators and can hoist, boom, swing and travel simultaneously with maximum loads. Upending, moving and setting large refinery vessels is facilitated by the mobility of the crawler-supported crane on unprepared surfaces. Up to 1000 tons of 36 ton concrete beams or equivalent are required as counterweight to develop the ANSI B30.5 approved capacities.

A unique shuttle bus is being constructed by Minicars, Inc., and Walter Vetter Karosserie-werk for Denver’s Transitway/Mall. The bus is designed for frequent stop, low speed service in a downtown pedestrian environment. It features a very low floor and multiple wide doors for rapid passenger boarding and deboarding. Two versions will be supplied for comparative evalation, a low noise diesel configuration and a battery-electric configuration. Either version can subsequently be converted to the alternative propulsion system.

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.

Current trends in application technology indicate an increasing realization on the part of manufacturers and users of agricultural chemicals of the important role that application techniques and/or equipment play in the overall success of pesticide application. The trends that are most significantly influencing the way chemicals are currently applied include: increased emphasis on improving the accuracy of application increased use of low volume application (3-8 GPA) renewed interest in use of granular application increased use of conservation tillage increased emphasis on reduction in environmental contamination, both within and outside the target area increased use of highly active cam-pounds

Close-range photogrammetry (CRP) is traditionally based on a network captured with the camera lens at a fixed focal length. A zoom lens is not desirable without solving the intrinsic camera parameters for varying focal length and lens distortion. When using a zoom lens camera, multiple focal lengths can be used if the camera is calibrated for each varying focal length, but most consumer grade lenses are not designed to accurately return to (or stay at) mid-range focal lengths. Similarly, using close-range photogrammetric software systems to accurately recover three-dimensional (XYZ) data from Point and Shoot (PAS) digital cameras has been problematic when the images were not intended for CRP. PAS cameras are automatically refocused and easily zoomed so the focal length and lens distortion are typically unknown for CRP mensuration purposes. In such circumstances, traditional CRP analysis can be both laborious and difficult without the correct camera parameters.

The paper addresses some aspects of an ongoing research on a commercial compact excavator. The interest is focused on the analysis and modelling of the whole hydraulic circuit that, beside a load sensing variable displacement pump, features a stack of nine proportional directional control valves modules of which seven are of the load sensing type. Loads being sensed are the boom swing, boom, stick and bucket, right and left track motors and work tools; instead, the blade and the turret swing users do not contribute to the load sensing signal. Of specific interest are the peculiarities that were observed in the stack. In fact, to develop an accurate AMESim modelling, the stack was dismantled and all modules analysed and represented in a CAD environment as 3D parts. The load sensing flow generation unit was replaced on the vehicle by another one whose analysis and modelling have been developed using available design and experimental data.

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.

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.

Frequency domain testing has had limited use in the past for durability evaluations of automotive components. Recent advances and new perspectives now make it a viable option. Using frequency domain testing for components, test times can be greatly reduced, resulting in considerable savings of time, money, and resources. Quality can be built into the component, thus making real-time subsystem and full vehicle testing and development more meaningful. Time domain testing historically started with block cycle histogram tests. Improved capabilities of computers, controllers, math procedures, and algorithms have led to real time simulation in the laboratory. Real time simulation is a time domain technique for duplicating real world environments using computer controlled multi-axial load inputs. It contains all phase information as in the recorded proving ground data. However, normal equipment limitations prevent the operation at higher frequencies.

Regulatory requirements in the European Union (EU) for off-road machines and road vehicles are different. Vehicles which transport passengers and goods, along with attached trailers, as well as road motorcycles must meet EEC type-approval requirements. All other types of self-propelled machines must meet the requirements of the Machinery Directive (Council Directive 98/37/EC), and the Electromagnetic Compatibility (EMC) Directive (Council Directive 89/336/EEC) and possibly other directives. This includes such categories as agriculture and forestry machines, construction machines, industrial trucks and similar products. The various directives outline the different processes for demonstrating compliance with the EU requirements. The intent of this paper is to summarize a few of the requirements that are of interest to off-highway equipment manufacturers and to identify some sources of information about the regulatory requirements.

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.