Small Car Research Articles

Spatiotemporal dynamics of in-use copper stocks in the Jing-Jin-Ji urban agglomeration, China

Copper is ubiquitously used in buildings, infrastructure, transportation, machinery, and other products because of its high conductivity. Massive amounts of copper have accumulated in cities with rapid urbanization. However, the lack of detailed spatiotemporal information on copper stocks presents a challenge for waste management and resource recycling. Here, we took the Jing-Jin-Ji urban agglomeration in China, which has experienced rapid urbanization over the past few decades, as a case study to characterize the spatiotemporal patterns of in-use copper stock. The results showed that in-use copper stocks per capita had reached 61 kg in 2016, about 3.8 times the level it was in 1990. Buildings, electric power transmission and distribution systems, small passenger cars, industrial machinery, and air conditioners dominated the in-use stocks and thus, they were the main reservoirs of secondary resources. Significant economic and population growth stimulated a rapid increase in copper stocks, especially in the megacities (e.g., Beijing, Tianjin, Shijiazhuang, Tangshan, and Handan). Based on the scenarios of urbanization, we estimated that in-use stocks of copper per capita would continue to grow in the Jing-Jin-Ji urban agglomeration until saturation, and that the saturation level might be lower than that of developed countries. High population density was key to promoting copper resource utilization efficiency, particularly in the infrastructure sector. This critical information highlights the urgent need for developing compact cities to reduce the pressure caused by copper resource consumption in China.

Properties of Car-Embedded Vibrating Type Piezoelectric Harvesting System

We investigated the harvesting performance of a double piezoelectric generator, which was embedded into the engine block of a small passenger car. The resonance frequency is approximately between 37 and 52 Hz, where the cantilever showed maximum displacement. In reality, the cantilever has a vibrating characteristic, which dramatically reduces displacement, even when the operating frequency deviates slightly from the resonance frequency. To acquire a large mechanical energy-to-electrical energy conversion, a multiple-piezoelectric generator was employed to absorb the energy even when the vibration switched from a resonance to a non-resonance frequency. In this study, a variable mass box was designed and installed in the engine block of a car. The variable mass box consisted of the serial connection of two masses with different weights. The operating frequency deviated from a resonance to a non-resonance frequency within a few hertz (3~4 Hz); the reduction in vibration was lower, leading to a significant acquisition of the resulting power. This is due to the variable matching of the generator, realized by the action of dual mass. This type of generator was installed in the engine block and produced up to 0.038 and 0.357 mW when the engine was operating at 2200 and 3200 rpm, respectively.

A lifecycle comparison of natural resource use and climate impact of biofuel and electric cars

Here we compare the biomass feedstock use, primary energy use, net CO2 emission, and cumulative radiative forcing of passenger cars powered by different energy pathways. We consider the full lifecycle of the vehicles, including manufacture and operation. We analyze battery electric vehicles (BEVs) powered by standalone electricity generation using woody biomass, with and without CCS, and with integration of wind electricity. We analyze internal combustion vehicles (ICVs) powered by fossil gasoline and by biomethanol derived from woody biomass, with and without carbon capture and sequestration (CCS). Our system boundaries include all fossil and biogenic emissions from technical systems, and the avoided decay emissions from harvest residue left in the forest. We find that the pathways using electricity to power BEVs have strongly lower climate impacts, compared to the liquid-fueled ICV pathways using biomethanol and gasoline. The pathways using bioelectricity with CCS result in negative emissions leading to global cooling. The pathways using gasoline and biomethanol have substantial climate impact, even with CCS. Regardless of energy pathway, smaller cars have consistently lower climate impact than larger cars. These findings suggest that accelerating the current trend toward vehicle electrification, together with scaling up renewable electricity generation, is a wise strategy for climate-adapted passenger car transport.

Analysis of Vehicle Type for Roadroid Application

Nowadays, the cheapest and most reliable technology method used to measure IRI (International Roughness Index) value is Roadroid which is an Android application developed from a company in Sweden by using a built-in vibration sensor on a smart phone. This smart phone is placed in the vehicle and the vibration of the vehicle will be recorded and analyze and converted to IRI. In Roadroid application, there are four choices of vehicle types namely motorcycle, small car, medium car, four-wheel drive jeep. Since this is aggregate of many types of vehicles, the accuracy of the result will vary for example different country will have different type of vehicles. This research found that medium car has the highest accuracy rate of 99,7% compare compare to small car and motorcycle

Development of a Non-Gating Guardrail Terminal

Guardrail terminals have evolved to the point where they absorb energy while utilizing tension in the rail to countermand the compression. However, non-gating terminals have yet to be developed. In the present study, the possibility of a non-gating guardrail terminal was investigated. Specifically, the combination of lateral and longitudinal forces that produce non-gating performance were determined from computer simulation. Next, a prototype terminal was crash tested at the research team’s laboratory. A terminal head was designed to deform the guardrail, and its internal structure was adjustable to control the longitudinal force. Posts were designed to control lateral forces by modifying their section modulus. This controlled the force at which the posts buckled in response to a collision. A prototype was subjected to two 15° crash tests using an SUV and a small car. In both tests, the kinetic energy of the test vehicle was fully absorbed and the Manual for Assessing Safety Hardware (MASH) criteria would have been met. Neither vehicle passed beyond the terminal head, making these test results the first of their kind.

Association Between Traffic Count and Cardiovascular Mortality: A Prospective Cohort Study in Taiwan.

BackgroundExposure to traffic-related pollution is positively associated with cardiovascular diseases (CVD), but little is known about how different sources of traffic pollution (eg, gasoline-powered cars, diesel-engine vehicles) contribute to CVD. Therefore, we evaluated the association between exposure to different types of engine exhaust and CVD mortality.MethodsWe recruited 12,098 participants from REVEAL-HBV cohort in Taiwan. The CVD mortality in 2000–2014 was ascertained by the Taiwan Death Certificates. Traffic pollution sources (2005–2013) were based on information provided by the Directorate General of Highway in 2005. Exposure to PM2.5 was based on a land-use regression model. We applied Cox proportional hazard models to assess the association of traffic vehicle exposure and CVD mortality. A causal mediation analysis was applied to evaluate the mediation effect of PM2.5 on the relationship between traffic and CVD mortality.ResultsA total of 382 CVD mortalities were identified from 2000 to 2014. We found participants exposed to higher volumes of small car and truck exhausts had an increased CVD mortality. The adjusted hazard ratio (HR) was 1.10 for small cars (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.94–1.27; P-value = 0.23) and 1.24 for truck (95% CI, 1.03–1.51; P-value = 0.03) per one unit increment of the logarithm scale. The findings were still robust with further adjustment for different types of vehicles. A causal mediation analysis revealed PM2.5 had an over 60% mediation effect on traffic-CVD association.ConclusionsExposure to exhaust from trucks or gasoline-powered cars is positively associated with CVD mortality, and air pollution may play a role in this association.

Identification of Priority Areas of Improvement for Small Passenger Car Segment in Indian Market

The present study reports an investigation on identification of priority areas of improvement for small passenger car segment in the Indian market. A total of 750 responses on importance and satisfaction rating of 16 attributes in a 7-point Likert-type ordinal rating scale were collected from small car owners in Delhi using a paper and pencil instrument. Revised importance-performance analysis with fuzzy c-means clustering algorithm was used to identify the priority areas of improvement in small passenger cars. The analysis technique effectively identified the factor structure of consumer satisfaction and derived various management schemes for small passenger cars by analysing consumers’ importance and satisfaction data. The priority areas of improvement were obtained by comparing the factor structure with the management scheme. The results indicate that safety, security and advanced vehicle technology options are the priority areas of improvement for small passenger cars. The study identified that the consumers are satisfied with the performance of purchase price, driving range, annual fuel cost, annual maintenance cost, top speed, seating comfort, appearance/style, emission, acceleration time and resale value in small cars, indicating the need to retain these attributes at their present levels to maintain competitive advantage. The engine power is identified under ‘possible overkill’, which indicates an opportunity for automobile manufacturers to possibly reduce the engine power to save some resources and reallocate the same for improvement of priority attributes. The findings of the present study provide valuable insight into the product specifications that the automobile manufacturers should focus on, to make new-generation small cars more attractive to Indian consumers.

Research on a small rice car for Southwest China

According to the special terrain of terraced fields in the southwest, a small integrated rice cart is designed, which consists of rice cutting device, rotating guide device, transmission device, rice beating device and vibrating screen device. The whole device is coordinated and cooperated with each other, which integrates rice cutting, rice feeding, rice beating and rice collection, improves working efficiency, reduces labor intensity and saves manpower and material costs. Rice cutting device, rice beating device, etc. can complete the whole process of rice cutting and collection, and thresh directly, so as to avoid the loss of grains caused by too many intermediate steps. The design of triangular wheel treads makes the rice cart convenient for cross-floor operation and more suitable for terraced terrain. The whole integrated rice cart not only breaks through the constraints of environmental factors such as terrain, but also avoids the complicated process of manual rice harvesting. Moreover, the device is relatively small in size and quality, has strong adaptability, improves the efficiency of harvesting rice, reduces the labor intensity, avoids the loss of seeds caused by intermediate processes such as transportation operations and field operations, and has good energy saving and emission reduction benefits.

Evaluate the accuracy of vehicle type on road surface condition survey using roadroid application

Poor road surface conditions influence the continuity of sustainable transportation such as congestion, the assessment stages road surface conditions are by evaluating the existing road conditions. One of the pavement performance parameters that can be determined objectively is International Roughness Index (IRI). Nowadays, the cheap and reliable technology used to measure IRI value is Roadroid which is an Android application developed from a company in Sweden by using a built-in vibration sensor on a smart phone which is placed on the vehicle and the old manual method is called Surface Distress Index (SDI) which is based on visual observations using the RCS method. With the variation of flexible and rigid pavement consist of good and bad road conditions and using motorcycle, sedan and sport utility vehicle, it is found that the correlation between the IRI value using Roadroid and SDI value using visual observation shows high correlation where the highest r2 values by using Sport Utility Vehicle (SUV) compare to small car and motorcycle. It concludes that Roadroid can be used as database for road maintenance planning purposes.

Service time variability at manual operated tollbooths under mixed traffic environment: Towards level-of-service thresholds

Abstract Comprehending the variation in service time is essential for evaluating the capacity and level of service of the toll-plaza and developing policies for effective management of tollbooth operations. The present study analyzes the variation in service time using statistical distribution at manually operated toll plazas in India. For this purpose, traffic video data were collected for five toll-plazas in India. The vehicles approaching the toll plaza are divided broadly into seven different categories. The service time of different vehicle classes was extracted manually from the recorded video. The variation in service time for a total of 13 leader-follower pairs (small car as leader and follower) were modeled using statistical distributions. Based on the Chi-squared, Anderson Darling (AD), and Kolmogorov-Smirnoff (KS) test statistics, log-normal distribution was found as the best-fitted distribution among other potential statistical distributions. Investigations revealed that traffic composition, vehicular characteristics, variation in toll rates, drivers' and tollbooth operators’ behavior significantly influence the variability in service time. The important outcome of this study is the development of service time based level of service (LOS) criteria, which were developed using k-mean clustering technique. The developed LOS thresholds can be very useful to field engineers and practitioners for evaluating the existing performance of tollbooth and accordingly facilitating the development of appropriate policies for effective management of toll plaza operations.

Comparison of different plant layouts and fuel storage solutions for fuel cells utilization on a small ferry

In the path towards the decarbonization of the maritime sector, Low Temperature Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cells (LT-PEMFC) fed by hydrogen are gaining attention as they could guarantee zero local emissions propulsion. In this study, a process simulation model is implemented to analyze the influence of peak shaving in a hybrid LT-PEMFC/lithium-ion battery power plant for the propulsion of a small size RoRo car and passenger ferry in different operative conditions. Results show that battery peak shaving could allow a reduction of FC installed power of up to 72%. As for compressed H2 storage, the results show that for sailing time in the range of 5–10 min, Type I cylinders at 250 bar are a viable option. For longer routes, Type III cylinders at 350 bar or Type IV cylinders at 700 bar should be considered in order to avoid excessive reduction in the pay-load.

Experimental Analysis of Residential Photovoltaic (PV) and Electric Vehicle (EV) Systems in Terms of Annual Energy Utilization

Electrification of powertrain systems offers numerous advantages in the global trend in vehicular applications. A wide range of energy sources and zero-emission propulsion in the tank to wheel significantly add to electric vehicles’ (EV) attractiveness. This paper presents analyses of the energy balance between micro-photovoltaic (PV) installation and small electric vehicle in real conditions. It is based on monitoring PV panel’s energy production and car electricity consumption. The methodology included energy data from real household PV installation (the most common renewable energy source in Poland), electric vehicle energy consumption during real driving conditions, and drivetrain operating parameters, all collected over a period of one year by indirect measuring. A correlation between energy produced by the micro-PV installation and small electric car energy consumption was described. In the Winter, small electric car energy consumption amounted to 14.9 kWh per 100 km and was 14% greater than summer, based on test requirements of real driving conditions. The 4.48 kW PV installation located in Poznań produced 4101 kWh energy in 258 days. The calculation indicated 1406 kWh energy was available for EV charging after household electricity consumption subtraction. The zero-emission daily distance analysis was done by the simplified method.

Physico-mechanical and tribological characteristics of composites used for brake pads

Brake pads are a crucial component of the braking system in an automotive vehicle. It is a primary factor in ensuring the normal driving of motor vehicles and the safety of passengers. Therefore, the research and study of the brake pads are extremely important. The materials which used in the manufacturing of brake pads should be environmentally friendly as harmful substances releases during operations by asbestos containing brake pads, which pollute the environment and thus harmful for human so becomes a primary reason of acceleration for research and development of new materials for brake pads. Composite materials have required excellent properties, so it is gaining an important position in this field. In this research, composite materials with coconut fibre are produced in the laboratory which can be used to produce brake pads for braking systems of the medium-performance small car. This research aims primarily towards producing the composite material which consists of the best proportion of organic fibre to have superior physical-mechanical and tribological characteristics. To achieve these goals, the following steps have been taken, the laboratory manufacturing of organic composite materials, technological analysis of the samples, improving the qualitative characteristics of friction materials, determination of the physical-mechanical and tribological characteristics of the materials according to the standards in force. This paper provides a detailed investigation on the characteristics of composite materials made with coconut fibre for brake pads.

WITHDRAWN: Effect of approach width on performance of signalized intersections

Saturation flow (SF) will be affected by the geometric, operating, traffic and environmental factors. This study analysis dealing with LOS at signalised intersections, effect of approach width on SF and passenger car units (PCU). Due to fundamental variations in traffic characteristics, the relations proposed by different ranchers to estimate the SF, initial time lost and PCU were not appropriate for heterogeneous conditions, due to variations in static and dynamic characteristics of vehicles with poor lane discipline. The main objective of the current research is to analyse the effect of approach width and right turning radies on SF and PCU, subsequently evaluated LOS under existing signal operating conditions. The data was collected at three signal controlled intersections in Visakhapatnam city and all the vehicles are categorized in to six classes. PCU values were estimated by taking small car as a standard vehicle by using Chandra’s formula. The relation of PCU value with approach width and turning radius is examined and represented graphically. PCU value has a linear relationship with approach width for through approaches. And PCU values of Right Turn (RT) vehicles are exponentially vary with RT radies. From the results observed that the other than two-wheeler remaining right turn vehicle, PCU’s are varies negative exponentially. LOS measured under existing fixed signal cycle time, mostly all the approaches were obtained LOS-D and only one approach of north bound of NAD intersection was obtained LOS-F. The LOS is assigned by using delay in sec., asper HCM-2010.

Effect of direction of lip spoiler on the aerodynamic performance of a small passenger vehicle

Drag and lift are two important parameters to evaluate the aerodynamic performance of a passenger vehicle. Lesser drag and lesser lift (greater downward force) is required for satisfactory performance of a car. The addition of spoiler at rear part of car is used to achieve the requirements. Lip-type spoiler is frequently used for small car. A small car with lip-type spoiler at different directions is investigated computationally. Computational fluid dynamics is applied to obtain drag and lift. Decreasing trend of drag is found with increase in spoiler angle, while lesser lift is found at small spoiler angle and further increase in lift is found with increase in spoiler angle. However the lift at greater spoiler angle is less than the lift of base car (car without spoiler). A compromise of drag and lift is required to achieve satisfactory performance of car in term of power requirement and fuel economy (due to drag force) as well as stability of the car (due to lift). The spoiler angle 60-100 is found optimal one to use benefits of both reduced drag and lift.

EPAS Fail-Safe Control using Differential Braking

One of the main systems for ground vehicles is the Electric Power Assisted Steering (EPAS). Due to its importance, a redundant system is usually implemented. This solution remain however expensive, especially for small urban cars. This paper proposes an alternative fail-safe control algorithm using this time differential braking. Controlling each brake apart generates a yaw moment enabling turning the vehicle. Optimal coordination is ensured due to the importance of this maneuver. Results show that differential braking, that already exist in most of passenger cars, is able to generate a sufficient additional yaw moment to help the driver steer his/her vehicle. This can reduce the space and the cost of the vehicle.

Design of Two Wheeled Vehicle Steering Structure

With the growing interest in small passenger cars without an internal combustion engine, with the electric motor, new requirements for driving characteristics and appearance are also emerging. In this paper, we will try to design a universal steering structure for a two-wheeled vehicle by arranging the wheels in parallel inside the vehicle construction. The paper describes a current and position loop with PI and PD regulators suitable for a two-wheeled vehicle. By simplifying the steering, a structure for a single-wheeled vehicle can be achieved. Finally, the results and recommendations of the adjustment for further work with the proposed structure are evaluated.

A Small Simulated Logistics Transfer Robot Car Structure Design

As a new product of the development of modern science and technology, the research and development of logistics robot has become the focus of social attention. Robot sorting and handling is the designated project of Jiangsu University Robot Competition. According to the requirements of the competition, this paper designs a kind of logistics robot trolley which can identify and grab materials according to a given path and transport them to a predetermined location. The mechanical structure design, driving motor selection and mechanical checking calculation of the car are mainly completed. According to the later experiments, the results show that the desired results can be achieved.

Developing Policy Framework of Dynamic Toll Pricing in India

There are 543 toll plazas across the National Highways and State Highways in India and most of them are currently operating under Manual Toll Collection (MTC) system. The Government of India has recently adopted Electronic Toll Collection (ETC) system over MTC system, but, due to the technical constraints of toll plazas, they are either operating with both ETC and MTC systems or with MTC system only. The motive of switching from MTC to ETC is to reduce congestion and delay time. However, due to the fix toll charges for a vehicle type and heterogeneity in traffic mix, the peak hour traffic causes congestion that ultimately returns to enormous delay to users. The present study proposes the policy framework of Dynamic Toll Pricing (DTP) that alleviate the congestion at toll plazas by consisting of shifting traffic volume from peak/congested hours to off-peak/non-congested hours. This type of pricing proved to be one of the methods to control the traffic by elevating the toll in peak hours and thus giving discounts in off-peak hours. Such type of study about dynamic toll is not yet carried out for Indian scenario where traffic is highly heterogeneous. Hence, the main goal of the present study is to evaluate the DTP for the Indian condition and thus to examine the effect of discount and time saving on the shift in peak hour traffic demand. The observations revealed that most of the respondents are willing to shift in the morning peak hour than evening peak hour. The maximum shift was observed for small cars and for 25 % discount in toll charges. Further, the price elasticities of demand are calculated and are found to vary between -0.03 and -1.19 i.e. with 1 percent of discount the traffic volume changes between 0.03 % to 1.19 %. The output of the present study may set up a framework for DTP in India and may be used for analysing the travel choice behaviour models in future studies.

Do electric vehicles need subsidies in the UK?

We analyse the total cost of ownership of petrol, diesel, hybrid electric vehicles, plug-in hybrid electric vehicles and battery electric vehicles in the UK over 2017–2029. We do this for large, medium and small cars, under assumptions of 0%, 6%, 30% and 60% discount rates. We find that some electric car models from mass market brands are close to reaching cost parity with their petrol, diesel and hybrid counterparts, but subsidies would accelerate their uptake, especially for impatient consumers with high discount rates. Plug-in hybrid electric vehicles are not worth the effort because, although relatively low, their CO2 emissions are non-zero, and their purchase price is as high or even higher than that of battery electric vehicles. A subsidy of £4,500 or an exemption from the 20% VAT, perhaps capped at £4,500, would accelerate mass market penetration of battery electric vehicles in the UK. If decarbonising road transport were not as urgent as it is, the market for battery electric vehicles could be left to develop on its own, without government intervention. However, because the cost of batteries is not falling fast enough, subsidies are needed in the short term.