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Hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) are worldwide recognized as one of the best and most immediate opportunities to solve the problems of fuel consumption, pollutant emissions and fossil fuels depletion, thanks to the high reliability of engines and the high efficiencies of motors. Moreover, as transport policy is becoming day by day stricter all over the world, moving people or goods efficiently and cheaply is the goal that all the main automobile manufacturers are trying to reach. In this context, the municipalities are performing their own action plans for public transport and the efforts in realizing high efficiency hybrid electric buses, could be supported by the local policies. For these reasons, the authors intend to propose an efficient control strategy for a hybrid electric bus, with a series architecture for the power-train.

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 SAE standard establishes the minimum construction and performance requirements for a 15 Pole Connector Between Towing Vehicles and Trailers, for trucks, trailers, and dollies in conjunction with SAE J2742. The connector accommodates both power and ISO 11992-1 signal circuits along with dual ground wires to accommodate grounding requirements within the constraints of the SAE J2691 terminal capacity.

A Microprocessor Data Acquisition System has been designed to be cab-mounted in vehicles or used in laboratories to acquire up to 16 channels of test data. This data may be acquired as time-at-level histograms in one or two dimensions with min-max-mean data recovery, time histories, or peaks and valleys stored on digital tape. The system includes a microcomputer-based Playback/Support Box that simplifies playback of data tapes for computer analysis or stand-alone data plotting using a graphics terminal.

Fixed displacement pumps will continue to be a popular choice for hydraulic system designers for decades to come. These pumps are used in almost every industrial and mobile market segment and are generally less expensive than comparable variable displacement type pumps. Fixed displacement “Vane Type” pumps are especially popular because of their low noise characteristics as well as their inherent repair features. The demand for “Vane Type” fixed displacement pumps continues to grow in all market segments. Because of this continued demand, a new design of “fixed displacement vane pumps” is being developed. These pumps, designated the VPF Series, are targeted to offer continuous operating pressures up to 280 BAR with displacements from 40 to 215 cc/rev.

Abstract Due to the increasing requirements for efficiency, the wide range of characteristics and the improved possibilities of modern development and production processes, compressors in turbochargers have become more individualized in order to adapt to the requirements of internal combustion engines. An understanding of the working mechanisms as well as an understanding of the way that losses occur in the flow allows a reduced development effort during the optimization process. This article presents three-dimensional (3D) Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) investigations of the loss mechanisms and quantitative calculations of individual losses. The 3D-CFD method used in this article will reduce the drawbacks of one-dimensional calculation as far as possible. For example, the twist of the blades is taken into account and the “discrete” method is used for loss calculation instead of the “average” method.

Two new 4 X 4 drivetrain systems have been developed for highway tractors that are used to pull multiple trailer combinations. The first one is a 4 X 2 that automatically becomes a 4 X 4 when conditions exist that require 4 X 4 operation. The second one is a full-time 4 X 4 that proportions the drive torque 36% to the front axle and 64% to the rear axle. A unique front driving steering axle has also been developed that permits a 4 X 4 system to be installed in a standard 4 X 2 truck. There is no need to relocate any major components to make space available for a front driving steering axle.

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.

Diesel injection equipment is required to be more accurate and higher in pressure to meet the increasingly strict emission, fuel consumption regulations and higher engine performance. It also needs to achieve a number of requirements such as robustness against diversified market fuels, easy installation to engine, etc.

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.

This paper presents a multidimensional approach to the hydraulic components design by means of an open-source fluid dynamics code. A preliminary study of a basic geometry was carried out by simulating the efflux of an incompressible fluid through circular pipes. Both laminar and turbulent conditions were analyzed and the influence of the grid resolution and modeling settings were investigated. A qualitative description of the internal flow-field distribution, and a quantitative comparison of pressure and velocity profiles along the pipe axis were used to asses the multidimensional open-source code capabilities. Moreover the results were compared with the experimental measurements available in literature and with the theoretical trends which can be found in well-known literature fundamentals (Hagen-Poiseuille theory and Nikuradse interpolation). Further comparison was performed by using a commercial CFD code.

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.

In the recent years, Electric-mobility has been a trending aspect in the transportation sector. Increase in the air pollution by the use of combustion vehicles resulted in the initiation of various subsidiaries and norms by the governments across the world. To bring an eco-friendly transportation, many cities across the world are trying to incorporate the electric vehicles in the public transportation system. In India, State Road Transport Undertakings (SRTU’s) have started adopting electric buses. One of the critical requirement for successful operation of electric vehicles is charging infrastructure, which is required for charging the vehicles. There are various charging technologies available in the industry. This paper presents a case study for evaluating pantograph based electric bus charging systems for Patna project and compares the charging schedule, charger infrastructure sizing, CAPEX and OPEX with respect to traditional proven CCS2 charging technology.

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.

Engine mounts are an integral part of the vehicle that helps in reducing the vibrations generated from the engine. Engine mounts require a simple yet complicated amalgamation of two very different materials, steel and rubber. Proper adhesion between the two is required to prevent any part failure. Therefore, it becomes important that a comprehensive study is done to understand the mating phenomenon of both. A good linking between rubber and metal substrate is governed by surface pretreatment. Various methodologies such as mechanical and chemical are adopted for the same. This paper aims to present a comparative study as to which surface pretreatment has an edge over other techniques in terms of separation force required to break the bonding between the two parts. The study also presents a cost comparison between the techniques so that the best possible technique can be put to use in the commercial vehicle industry.

Despite the general similarity of U.S. and European heavy trucks, there are differences in design properties that affect braking and turning performance. A European tractor-semitrailer was studied for the purpose of comparing its properties to those of U.S. vehicles and assessing the comparative performance. Mass, suspension, and braking system properties of the European tractor and semitrailer were measured in the laboratory and on the proving ground. Turning and braking performance qualities were evaluated by computer simulation and by experimental tests. In turning performance the European combination had a 9 percent advantage in rollover threshold, compared to a generic U.S. vehicle with properties that were in the midrange of U.S. design practice. Higher suspension roll stiffness and higher chassis weight on the European tractor and semitrailer accounted for the higher threshold.

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.

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.