ORNL launches nation wide U.S. truck test
A United States truck test involving special monitoring equipment
on six instrumented tractors and nine instrumented trailers.
The project was launched by the NTRC (National Transportation
Research Center) - a joint transportation research facility
involving the U.S. Department of Energies Oak Ridge National
Laboratory and the University of Tennessee.
During the year, the specially equiped tractor-trailers owned by the
Schrader Trucking Company of Jefferson City, Tenn., will be hauling
freight across the U.S. on regular truck runs.
Data acquisition systems will be on board to measure each vehicle`s
performance, including vehicle and engine speed, engine torque and
fuel consumption. Performance data will also take into consideration
such physical factors as wind speed, precipitation and other
conditions.
One of the prime areas to be studied is tire performance with the
use of new generation wide-based single tires produced by Michelin.
Standard dual tires mounted on drive and trailer wheels -- along
with steer tires mounted on tractor steer axles -- will also be
tested for comparison purposes on some of the trucks.
Data collected will support modeling efforts for trucks of the
future, and will be made available to automotive engineers in the
trucking industry.
Source: science.monstersandcritics.com
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