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Japanese safety standards are specified by the Safety Regulations and relevant Circular Notices. MOT had revised the standards according to the first program plan for safety of 1972. Future revisions will be made according to the second program plan issued in 1980. The main emphasis will be laid down on measures for high speed driving, measures to prevent fire and safety measures for trucks. MOT will also seek the way to harmonize its standards with the UN ECE Regulations through positive participation to HP 29 of ECE. Efforts for world-wide harmonization will be made by MOT.

Increasing market penetration of driver assistance systems challenges system suppliers with ACC (Adaptive Cruise Control) and PSS (Predictive Safety Systems) functions with divergent requirements. This paper covers the technical development of a long range radar sensor that can address the requirements for high-performance systems as well as requirements for cost-efficient sensor components with robust and compact design and high quality standards, which are suited for high-volume production.

Excavator is a typical hydraulic heavy-duty human-operated machine applicable in general versatile construction operation, such as digging, ground leveling, carrying loads, and dumping loads [1]. The aim of this article is to establish the design process of a new long reach boom for the Caterpillar excavator (CAT 375) for dredging in harbors and dams. The length of both the boom and the stick in extended mode can reach up to the maximum digging depth of 17.2 m. The capacity of the bucket for this new model of long reach boom is 0.8 m3. Among common reach booms of CAT 375L, the maximum digging depth is 11.68 m [2]. In the current design, the lengths of boom and stick as well as the material properties were selected based on the maximum pressure of hydraulic circuit and stability against overturning of excavator. This special long reach boom excavator was used in Assalouyeh construction harbor.

Vegetable oils are a potential alternative to the partial or total substitution of diesel fuels. It was known that short-term engine tests have been successful with vegetable oils, however, long-term tests have revealed the fuel's limitations regarding lubricating oil contamination, deposits on engine surfaces and injection problems. In this ongoing research study, properties of palm oils and diesel blends were determined and long-term engine tests of palm oils and diesel blends were performed on a modern direct injection diesel engine at a speed of 2500 rev/min under part load condition for almost 250 hours. Results of engine torques, specific fuel consumptions, black smoke emissions and injection pump surface inspection were compared between diesel and palm oil/diesel blends. Engine performance, smoke emissions and fuel consumption were found to change slightly with running time.

A wet clutching/braking mechanism has been designed to operate as prescribed in a patent issued to R. A. Iverson in 1982 (1)*. A key element in this design is to allow high radial oil flow rates through the clutch plate stack to carry the heat generated during power absorbtion away from the clutch disks. A continuously variable transmission incorporating this new clutch was constructed and tested under contract to NASA in which the clutch assembly was found to absorb 5.78 × 10−3 KW/cm2 (0.05 HP/in2) of surface area with no supplemental oil cooling. As a result of the new design, an equal fraction of torque was transmitted through each of the disks in the clutch pack and no wear of the clutch plates was descernable after several hours of high energy rejection operation. As applied to transmissions, this design eliminates the need for torque convertors/fluid couplers and tolerates long duration of slippage.

Today’s value proposition of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV) and battery electric vehicles (BEV) remain expensive. While the cost of lithium batteries has significantly decreased over the past few years, more improvement is necessary for PHEV and BEV to penetrate the mass market. However, the technology and cost improvements of the primary components used in electrified vehicles such as batteries, electric machines and power electronics have far exceeded the improvements in the main components used in conventional vehicles and this trend is expected to continue for the foreseeable future. Today’s weight and cost structures of electrified vehicles differ substantially from that of conventional vehicles but that difference will shrink over time. This paper highlights how the weight and cost structures, both in absolute terms and in terms of split between glider and powertrain, converge over time.

The long-term environmental and mechanical properties of adhesive intensive five door car body, using automotive grades of one component, heat curing rubber based and epoxy based adhesives have been tested and evaluated. The bodies were built in a normal production line in one of Volvo Car Corporation’s factories. The application and assembly aspects of weld-bonding on a large scale are evaluated with respect to work environment and joint quality. Properties after long-term testing of both laboratory specimens and body structures are described as well as analysis of the failure modes as a function of the adhesive bonding systems. Comparisons are made with normal production bodies.

This paper describes improvements achieved with regard to the long term stability and the system integrability of a previously described thick film NOx sensor for gasoline lean burn and diesel applications. (1, 2, 3) Durability test up to 1000 hours consisting of a temperature cycle have been carried out by a stoichiometric operating gasoline engine test bench. The NOx sensor demonstrates the NOx output shift in terms of the NOx sensitivity less than 5 % on a model gas apparatus and ± 7 % measuring accuracy in practical operating condition on a diesel engine after 1000 hours that is equivalent to approximately 60K miles driving. The integration of the control electronics for the sensor in its connector is achieved for the sensitive measuring current in the μA-range or less on vehicle applications. The developed electronics functions closed-loop controls for a tip temperature and oxygen pumps as well as a diagnosis of sensor malfunctions.

A newly developed simulation methodology for a long term, transient tractor cabin cool-down is presented in this paper. The air flow was simulated using a Lattice-Boltzmann Equation (LBE) based 3-dimensional flow solver. The conduction and radiation effects on the solid parts as well as the average cabin air temperature evolution were solved by the thermal solver, which also includes a human comfort model. The simulation results were compared with the measured experimental test data and good agreement was observed validating the developed simulation approach. The developed methodology can be applied to all other ground vehicles cabin comfort applications.

EXTENSION of motorcoach services over routes of 100 miles or more in length in all parts of the Country is shown by a map, and figures are given of the number of routes, the miles of highway over which the services are operated, running time, rates of fare charged and like data. Facilities and operating methods differentiating long-distance from suburban services are mentioned and the similarity to railroad practice pointed out. A characteristic of routes ranging from several hundred to nearly 1500 miles is that service is afforded continuously for 24 hr. per day seven days per week and many passengers ride day and night. Such long runs are broken into stages so that a driver does not work more than 8 to 10 hr. as a rule and vehicles are changed at the end of a run of a certain distance, which may vary from about 200 to nearly 750 miles.

THE creation of additional operating divisions and maintenance units, based on the California Transit Co. system originally operated by the author, which had proved successful in long-haul passenger transportation on the Pacific Coast, expanded the business so that the Yelloway Pioneer Stages, Inc., now includes about 9000 miles of route. The design of the equipment for the service was developed to meet the severe operating conditions, which demand that the same vehicle run satisfactorily over a sea-level desert and through mountainous country having an average altitude of more than 5000 ft. and, at the same time, that safety and comfort be provided for the passengers. This requires factors of strength and safety that are greatly in excess of those possessed by the ordinary commercial motorcoach.

Annual fuel use for sleeper cab truck rest period idling is estimated at 667 million gallons in the United States, or 6.8% of long-haul truck fuel use. Truck idling during a rest period represents zero freight efficiency and is largely done to supply accessory power for climate conditioning of the cab. The National Renewable Energy Laboratory’s CoolCab project aims to reduce heating, ventilating, and air conditioning (HVAC) loads and resulting fuel use from rest period idling by working closely with industry to design efficient long-haul truck thermal management systems while maintaining occupant comfort. Enhancing the thermal performance of cab/sleepers will enable smaller, lighter, and more cost-effective idle reduction solutions. In addition, if the fuel savings provide a one- to three-year payback period, fleet owners will be economically motivated to incorporate them.

The authors have developed a long range version human body sensing module. This module has a high measurement accuracy with a capacitance of less than two femto Farads and can detect more distant human bodies compared with conventional sensors. Furthermore, optimizing the electrode structure of this module, noise tolerance and directivity have been improved. We produced some prototypes of this sensor module and evaluated the sensitivity of them in a vehicle. The results show that the prototype can detect a hand at the distance of 300 mm from the sensor electrode.

Research has shown that there are many factors that affect the long-term performance of nitrogen oxides (NOx) control systems used in diesel engine applications. However, if the NOx emissions can be accurately monitored, it might be possible to restore performance by making adjustments to the control systems. This paper presents results from a study that tested the durability of 25 NOx sensors exposed to heavy-duty diesel exhaust for 6,000 hours. The study, conducted by the Advanced Petroleum-Based Fuels - Diesel Emission Controls (APBF-DEC) project, tested the sensors at various locations in the exhaust stream.

In order to reduce oil consumption resulting from leakage via valve guides, spring tensioned lip seals are applied. By the choice of oil side lip contact angle, degree of garter spring leverage, radial sealing force, and surface roughness of the valve stem, the metered oil leakage may be controlled and optimised. The application of an elastomer with greater wear resistance in a Fluoro-polymer basis (FKM) ensures correct functioning over the working life of vehicle engines.

Ceramic honeycomb structures have been used successfully as catalyst supports in gasoline-powered vehicles for the past ten years. They are currently the leading candidate for trapping and oxidizing the carbonaceous particulate emissions in diesel-powered vehicles. In both of these applications the long term durability of the ceramic substrate is of prime importance. This, in turn, depends on the physical properties of cellular structure, cyclic nature of service loads and design of the mounting assembly. This paper examines the nature and dependence of both the mechanical and thermal stresses in the substrate on its geometry, properties, mounting parameters, and the operating conditions. It also compares the observed failure modes with those predicted by the theory. The paper concludes with a set of recommendations for optimal systems design and acceptable operating conditions which will promote the long term durability of the ceramic substrate.

A multi-year technology validation program was completed in 2001 to evaluate ultra-low sulfur diesel fuels and passive diesel particle filters (DPF) in several different diesel fleets operating in Southern California. The fuels used throughout the validation program were diesel fuels with less than 15-ppm sulfur content. Trucks and buses were retrofitted with two types of passive DPFs. Two rounds of emissions testing were performed to determine if there was any degradation in the emissions reduction. The results demonstrated robust emissions performance for each of the DPF technologies over a one-year period. Detailed descriptions of the overall program and results have been described in previous SAE publications [2, 3, 4, 5]. In 2002, a third round of emission testing was performed by NREL on a small subset of vehicles in the Ralphs Grocery Truck fleet that demonstrated continued robust emissions performance after two years of operation and over 220,000 miles.

Intersection collisions currently account for approximately one-fifth of all crashes and one-sixth of all fatal crashes in the United States. One promising method of mitigating these crashes and fatalities is to develop and install Intersection Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (I-ADAS) on vehicles. When an intersection crash is imminent, the I-ADAS system can either warn the driver or apply automated braking. The potential safety benefit of I-ADAS has been previously examined based on real-world cases drawn from the National Motor Vehicle Crash Causation Survey (NMVCCS). However, these studies made the idealized assumption of full installation in all vehicles of a future fleet. The objective of this work was to predict the reduction in Straight Crossing Path (SCP) crashes due to I-ADAS systems in the United States over time. The proportion of new vehicles with I-ADAS was modeled using Highway Loss Data Institute (HLDI) fleet penetration predictions.

Mechanical property information is presented for the composite system, chopped glass fibers plus polypropylene matrix, where effective fiber-to-matrix adhesion has been achieved. The data presented were developed to serve three major purposes: to establish coupled glass reinforced polypropylene (coupled GRPP) as a material of a different class than conventional GRPP, to provide long-term data (creep and stress relaxation) for coupled GRPP which might form the basis for engineering design, and to illustrate the effects of such process-related factors as coupling, glass fiber concentration, fiber length, and fiber orientation on the structural properties of coupled GRPP systems.

It has been known for more than 50 years that some diesel engines could be fueled for short periods with vegetable oils, either neat or with hydrocarbon fuel additives. World overproduction of soybean oil is increasing its potential as an economical diesel fuel extender. The subject test program was undertaken to determine long-term effects of this alternate fuel on a modern, high-speed diesel engine. The choice of a vegetable oil (soybean oil) as an alternative diesel engine fuel or fuel extender rather than the other major biomass motor fuel (ethanol) is related to the relative properties of these fuels. The common U.S. vegetable oils are much closer to hydrocarbon (No. 2D) diesel fuel than is ethanol in both cetane rating and volumetric energy content. Unlike ethanol, the vegetable oils can be blended 1:1 with No. 2D fuel to produce engine power and volumetric fuel consumption levels practically identical to those obtained with 100% No. 2D fuel.