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The U.S. Department of Transportation plays a variety of roles in the area of surface transportation noise abatement and control. This paper outlines these roles through a discussion of the research, development, and demonstration programs and accomplishments of the various Departmental organizations, including: The Federal Highway Administration, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the Federal Railroad Administration, the Urban Mass Transportation Administration, the U.S. Coast Guard, and the Office of the Secretary of Transportation.

The Products Liability crisis has an impact on engineering education through the teaching of design courses and, increasingly, through faculty consulting work. This crisis may be only temporary, while legislative reform occurs, but it raises broader questions of the interaction between society and technology and of engineering and the law. This paper reviews the broadening perspective in engineering education from the standpoint of traditional engineering education, design engineering education, and guidelines for professional practice. Also, the present status of the involvement of Products Liability in engineering education is surveyed.

It is the intent of this paper to report on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Noise Regulatory Program for surface transportation vehicles. The motorcycle and railroad noise programs will be highlighted and nine other Surface Transportation Regulatory Programs currently underway will be covered.

A technique has been developed to predict the noise generated by queues of vehicles accelerating directly across a controlled intersection, and comparisons have been made with field measurements. Noise profiles and motion characteristics have been obtained for decelerating vehicles at a controlled intersection, and a computer simulation model has been developed to investigate the effect of sampling rate in the statistical analysis of the noise generated by accelerating heavy vehicles.

This paper reviews general methods of identifying noise sources in machinery and in particular it describes in detail two methods which have been studied by the authors on a truck: near field measurements and the coherence technique. The results of these two methods are compared with results of a third method in which the same truck with different sources wrapped and then sequentially exposed was driven past a microphone using the SAE J366b test. The paper also reviews two different stationary indoor standard tests which have been investigated: the reduced drive-by simulation method, and the sound power method. These tests could be used to supplement (or replace) the standard SAE J366b drive-by test in some cases. Comparisons are made of data from the two tests developed and the SAE J366b drive-by data for the same truck.

A high shear rate, lx106sec-1, viscometer uses a commercial tool post grinder fitted with a three-bearing internal type spindle to drive a one inch (2.54 cm) diameter journal at 10,400 rpm. A 0.0005 inch (0.00127 cm) thick fluid film between the journal and a floating bearing transfers a torque to the bearing. An oil pump built into the journal minimizes temperature and oil flow problems. Torques measured with Newtonian oils provide a torque-viscosity calibration that is used to convert torques of non-Newtonian oils to viscosities. Two bearings are used; one measures viscosities from 1.6 to 5 cp, the other, 3.4 to 10 cp. Less than one hour is required to measure an oil's viscosity over the range of either bearing at temperatures up to 370°F (188°C). This apparatus measures viscosities at the shear rate and temperatures of critical high shear sections of operating engines and hydraulic systems.

To determine the correlation between journal bearing performance and viscosity loss in a capillary, viscosities of eleven base oil-polymer blends were measured in a high-shear, pressurized capillary viscometer (High-Shear Capillary Viscometer, HSCV) at shear rates from 100 to nearly 1 000 000 s-1. Although low-shear kinematic viscosities do not predict bearing performance differences found by Rosenberg with the same oil blends, HSCV viscosities at shear rates near 500 000 s-1 correlate well with the bearing performance data. Differences among polymers are strongly related to molecular weight.

A system combining an oil filter with a supplementary time/temperature additive release package has been developed which provides a non-conventional but very effective means of maintaining the viscosity level in the operating engine. Simultaniously, the system introduces certain other additives important to the engine oil performance. Studies of this system have been conducted to better understand the additive delivery rate as a function of operating conditions in the engine. This data shows that the system is generally beneficial and effective in actual field performance as well as in stationary engine test sequences.

The design engineer must be aware of two sources of human error. First are those which he may commit during the design process. Second are those that the potential user may commit when he attempts to use the product. When called as a witness to defend his design decisions in a product liability suit, the design engineer must be able to show that both concepts of human fault were considered as part of the design process. Additionally, it is essential that he be familiar with methods of preventing these human errors.

This paper was made up from the prepared discussions of the Symposium papers, author closures and pertinent discussions from the floor. The Symposium was held at the Mayo Hotel, Tulsa, Oklahoma on June 7, 1977. The six papers presented at that Symposium were collected into a bound booklet. These discussions and author closures provide a supplement to SAE SP 419 and ASTM STP 621-S1.

This paper is a follow-up to Part 1 of the review on European work in the field of engine oil viscosity relevant to the revision of SAE J 300 classification. The European activity covers both low and high temperature aspects and is coordinated within C.E.C., Investigation Groups IGL-8 and IGL-9 respectively. The IGL-8 activity is well under way and results have already been generated in three main areas: the replies of the European engine builders to the SAE Questionnaire on low temperature practices and experience have indicated that there is quite a scatter in the low temperature viscometric requirements of different engines similar to that shown in the U.S.A. the Borderline Pumping Temperatures determined with four ASTM pumpability reference oils on eight different European engines have shown a wide spectrum of engine sensitivity although the average results are similar to the data generated by ASTM. regarding metrication of SAE J 300, European opinion expressed through the C.E.C.

The performance of single grade and multigrade oils and synthetic oils, has been evaluated in terms of friction power loss using an engine running on the test bed according to a modified Morse procedure. The results obtained show a good correlation between the engine performance and the rheological properties of the lubricants. The very low friction power loss experienced when using lubricants containing polymer can be explained by introducing the concept of anisotropic effective viscosity. Based on the good correlation between the measured and calculated friction generated in main bearings, a method has been devised for evaluating the temporary viscosity losses of multigrade oils by measuring the engine friction power loss and bearing temperatures.

As part of the Department of Energy activities to reduce petroleum consumption, Detroit Diesel Allison (DDA) is conducting a program aimed at advancing the state-of-the-art of utilization of ceramic components in highway vehicle gas turbine engines to reduce fuel consumption by permitting increased gas turbine operating temperatures. Initial components and engine tests of three components are underway at an engine operating temperature 65°F (18°C) above the baseline all metal DDA 404 industrial gas turbine engine. Engine experience totals over 1000 hours on a set of silicon carbide nozzle vanes, 100 hours on a silicon nitride tip shroud and 3000 hours on aluminum silicate regenerators.

The concept of the variable stroke engine (VSE) is explained and the problems related to its use are discussed. Single cylinder combustion data are combined with published multi-cylinder VSE friction data to formulate engine model. This engine model is coupled with a vehicle model to make projections of 55/45 fuel economy and NOx g/mile which are compared with similar projections for a throttled engine. At an NOx level of 0.93 g/km (1.5 g/mile), VSE fuel economy improvements ranged from 2 to 20%, depending upon the frictional losses and vehicle power-to-weight ratio used in the models.

The Ford PROCO stratified charge engine combines the desirable characteristics of premixed charge and Diesel engines. The outstanding characteristics of premixed charge engines are their high specific output, wide speed range, light weight and easy startability but they exhibit only modest fuel economy and relatively high exhaust emissions. The desirable characteristic of the Diesel engine is its outstanding fuel economy. However, the disadvantages of the Diesel, which include noisy operation, limited speed range, exhaust odor, smoke, hard startability, and particulate emissions have tended to limit their acceptance. In the gasoline fueled, PROCO stratified charge engine, direct cylinder fuel injection permits operation at overall lean mixture ratios and higher compression ratio. These features enable the PROCO engine to achieve brake specific fuel consumption values in the range of prechamber diesel engines.

The operational characteristics of low noise, low vibration, and inherent reliability of the Stirling engine make it highly desirable as the power source for a total energy system in a motor home. In this application, the Stirling engine has made possible the development of new electrical, heating, and air conditioning systems offering much higher levels of comfort, convenience, and reliability to the motor home user. As an auxiliary power source in the motor home, the Stirling engine generates electricity to operate all-electric appliances and recharge batteries, provides efficient hot water baseboard heat to the interior of the motor home, and eliminates the need for LP gas usage in the motor home. And integrated into the cooling system for the Stirling engine is a new, low noise air conditioning system.

This article reviews the fundamentals of vibration theory and discusses how the concepts used in describing the motion of single mass-spring-damper system can be extended to describe the motion of structures and systems via modal analysis. The material presented progresses from a discussion of a single mass-spring-damper system to modal properties of multi degree of freedom systems to frequency response and mode superposition methods. Although these techniques are not new, the intent is to present the fundamentals of modal analysis for those not already well acquainted with the theory and techniques involved.

For some time now, the Department of Energy (DOE) has been involved in the development of new heat engine systems to power cars, buses, and trucks. This paper will present how the author views the major issues affecting advanced automotive propulsion systems. In addition, the roles of industry and Government will be described, goals and objectives for the DOE Heat Engine Program will be defined, and how DOE plans to meet these goals will be discussed. Lastly, a market projection will be presented that will show how and when these advanced heat engine technologies could reach the consumer.

In the business of engineering today's trucks, the design evaluation has become very complex and continues to increase in complexity through a variety of factors. The size and diversity of the truck product offering, the requirement to meet government specifications, the increase in design evaluation costs, and the complexity of new technology combine to create this complexity. An approach to solving the complexity of truck design evaluation is an organized three phased attack that integrates vehicle on road testing, physical laboratory testing, and analytical evaluation into a combined effort that will maximize design evaluation output.

A review of some factors influencing the development of vehicle legislation in Britain during the last 25 years with particular reference to their effect on the work of vehicle engineers in the Government Service.