Vehicle Idling Research Articles

A Real-Time Application of Modified Inductor Coupled KY Converter Topology in Speed Control of E-Bikes

Congested road network and traffic jam lead to vehicle idling and fuel wastage. An E-bike which is a solution to this is often available with Thumb Throttle Mechanism and single speed operation. A motor controller with multiple output voltage levels and Click Throttle Mechanism is presented in this paper which provides variable speed operation, better power utilization and is highly economical. Proposed modified KY converter utilizes the turns ratio of an On-Line Tap Changer (OLTC) to generate multiple output voltages for variable speed commutation. This possess a stable continuous conduction mode throughout its operation and reduced switching transients when compared to the existing topologies. Mutually independent control variables namely turns ratio and duty ratio, are used here for voltage conversion, which facilitates the flexible transition between multiple output voltage levels. A 15 W prototype of the proposed modified inductor coupled KY converter is realized using Arduino Uno Board.

Idling fuel consumption and emissions of air pollutants at selected signalized intersections in Delhi

The present study was carried at eleven pre-timed signalized traffic intersections in Delhi (India) to estimate idling fuel losses and corresponding emissions. The estimates of idling fuel losses and corresponding emissions were expanded to ∼950 signalized intersections presently operational in Delhi city. In the study, idling fuel consumption tests were carried out using a fuel flow meter set-up on 341 test vehicles of different categories representing the traffic mix of Delhi. Direct greenhouse gases (viz., CO2, CH4, and N2O) and indirect greenhouse gases (viz., CO, NOx, and NMVOC) emissions were estimated using fuel-based IPCC emission factors. The results indicated that every day 9036 liters of petrol, diesel, LPG and 5461 kg of CNG losses occurred due to the idling of motor vehicles at these intersections which is equivalent to nearly 4.5million USD per year. GHG emissions (CO2, CH4, and N2O) estimated were ∼37 tonnes of CO2 eq/day. The present study highlights the methodology that can be used to estimate idling fuel losses and corresponding emission at signalized intersections. Finally, policy interventions and mitigation measures have been suggested to reduce idling emissions and corresponding emissions at these signalized intersections.

METALS IN RESPIRABLE AND INHALABLE DUST AT EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS

Haze episode has always becomes the one of the common reasons for emergency closing of school. Unique approach had been used to collect and examine the toxic metal of the respirable and inhalable dust by combining the latest personal cyclone and seven-hole head sampler together with the latest spectrometer of inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) in a single framework. Iron is found significantly different with the highest concentration at 107.895 ng m-3. The mean ranges of metal in respirable dust found in educational institutions are between 0.005 and 78.629 ng m-3. The findings of this research seen the amount of respirable dust exceeds more than 21.13 per cent than inhalable dust. Analysed metals found are not exceeding the ambient air exposure limit established by Department of Environment Malaysia. Hence, it is understood that the outdoor atmospheric environments of Malaysian educational institutions are non-hazardous for both visitors and occupiers (students and personnel). The high level of iron signify that it is safe for the crossing of children to have a traffic light in front of the school, but the idling of motor vehicles emitted more pollutant that risks health of the school children, teachers and officers. These suggest that when there are schools, there shall be constructed of flyover crossing for long term solution or with certain distance to traffic sources.

METALS IN RESPIRABLE AND INHALABLE DUST AT EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS

Haze episode has always becomes the one of the common reasons for emergency closing of school. Unique approach had been used to collect and examine the toxic metal of the respirable and inhalable dust by combining the latest personal cyclone and seven-hole head sampler together with the latest spectrometer of inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) in a single framework. Iron is found significantly different with the highest concentration at 107.895 ng m-3. The mean ranges of metal in respirable dust found in educational institutions are between 0.005 and 78.629 ng m-3. The findings of this research seen the amount of respirable dust exceeds more than 21.13 per cent than inhalable dust. Analysed metals found are not exceeding the ambient air exposure limit established by Department of Environment Malaysia. Hence, it is understood that the outdoor atmospheric environments of Malaysian educational institutions are non-hazardous for both visitors and occupiers (students and personnel). The high level of iron signify that it is safe for the crossing of children to have a traffic light in front of the school, but the idling of motor vehicles emitted more pollutant that risks health of the school children, teachers and officers. These suggest that when there are schools, there shall be constructed of flyover crossing for long term solution or with certain distance to traffic sources.

Reduction of vibration forces transmitted from a radiator cooling fan to a vehicle body

This article presents methods for reducing transmitted vibration forces caused by mass unbalance of the radiator cooling fan during vehicle idling. To identify the effects of mass unbalance upon the vibration characteristics, vibration signals of the fan blades were experimentally measured both with and without an added mass. For analyzing the vibration forces transmitted to the vehicle body, a dynamic simulation model was established that reflected the vibration characteristics of the actual system. This process included a method described herein for calculating the equivalent stiffness and the equivalent damping of the shroud stators and rubber mountings. The dynamic simulation model was verified by comparing its results with experimental results of the radiator cooling fan. The dynamic simulation model was used to analyze the transmitted vibration forces at the rubber mountings. Also, a measure was established to evaluate the effects of varying the design parameters upon the transmitted vibration forces. We present design guidelines based on these analyses to reduce the transmitted vibration forces of the radiator cooling fan.

The effectiveness of eco-driving training for male professional and non-professional drivers

We used a driving simulator study to measure the effectiveness of eco-driving training for both male professional and non-professional drivers. The eco-driving training was from only static knowledge-based information (“static” education) to guided practice driving (“dynamic” coaching). The guided driving behavior test measured participants to start and stop the vehicle, to determine an appropriate speed and display no-idling of the vehicle. A subjective questionnaire was used to generate an eco-driving score that tested the driver’s understanding of eco-driving information. The results indicated little statistically significant difference between professional and non-professional drivers for both driving behaviors and the eco-driving score, however, professional drivers showed a little more rapid start and stop behavior before receiving eco-driving training. Generally, coaching was more effective for the improvement of the subjects’ eco-driving level than education alone, however, non-professional drivers showed a greater willingness to improve their driving behavior than professional drivers. The eco-driving training showed more statistically significant to start the vehicle for professional drivers; while more statistically significant result was seen to stop the vehicle for non-professional drivers. In addition, education alone and coaching after education had a similar and obvious effect to improve both professional and non-professional driver’s understanding of the basic concepts of eco-driving and to reduce vehicle idling. However, the effectiveness of these two training methods between professional and non-professional drivers in driver’s skills to start and stop the vehicle, and determine an appropriate speed, was diverse.

Estimation of fuel loss due to idling of vehicles at a signalized intersection in Chennai, India

The vehicles while waiting at signalized intersections are generally found to be in idling condition, i.e., not switching off their vehicles during red times. This phenomenon of idling of vehicles during red times at signalized intersections may lead to huge economic loss as lot of fuel is consumed by vehicles when they are in idling condition. The situation may even be worse in countries like India as different vehicle types consume varying amount of fuel. Only limited studies have been reported on estimation of fuel loss due to idling of vehicles in India. In the present study, one of the busy intersections in Chennai, namely, Tidel Park Junction in Rajiv Gandhi salai was considered. Data collection was carried out in one approach road of the intersection during morning and evening peak hours on a typical working day by manually noting down the red timings of each cycle and the corresponding number of two-wheelers, three-wheelers, passenger cars, light commercial vehicles (LCV) and heavy motorized vehicles (HMV) that were in idling mode. Using the fuel consumption values of various vehicles types suggested by Central Road Research Institute (CRRI), the total fuel loss during the study period was found to be Rs. 4,93,849/-. The installation of red timers, synchronization of signals, use of non-motorized transport for short trips and public awareness are some of the measures which government need to focus to save the fuel wasted at signalized intersections in major cities of India.

Modelling the cost-effectiveness of interventions to reduce traffic-related air-pollution

BackgroundAir pollution causes around 40 000 early deaths per year in the UK and has a substantial role in many chronic conditions such as cancer, asthma, heart disease, and dementia. Road transport is one of the major sources of air pollution. This study aimed to assess the cost-effectiveness of local interventions to reduce traffic-related air pollution. MethodsAn economic model was developed for comparing costs and benefits to health and other sectors for eight different interventions aimed at reducing traffic-related air pollution against a background of do nothing. Modelled costs include annualised capital and operating costs. Health benefits were modelled with the damage-cost approach, which appraises the damages for each pollutant through different health endpoints (eg, mortality, morbidity). Results were reported as benefit-cost ratios (BCR) and incremental costs per quality adjusted life-year (QALY). Sensitivity analyses explored the uncertainties associated with various model parameters including costs, effectiveness, and risk of harm. FindingsThe benefits were much higher than the costs for some of the interventions: off-road cycle paths in urban areas where they are likely to be widely used by cyclists (£5075 per QALY, BCR 14); street washing and sweeping in densely populated urban areas with relatively low rainfall (£441/QALY); and motorway speed restrictions where the road passes through densely populated areas (£1293/QALY). Owing to quality or availability of key modelling data (eg, size and density of affected population, financial costs) there was less certainty for bypass construction (£6971/QALY), motorway barriers (£25 199/QALY, 3), road closures (cost per QALY, BCR not calculated), low emission zones (£2465/QALY), and vehicle idling (£1572/QALY). Relative size of the population impacts that would be achieved under different interventions could not be modelled because of wide variability in location-specific characteristics between the case-study areas. InterpretationThe analysis suggests that the interventions assessed could be highly cost-effective in some settings. However, the effect and cost of any intervention will be highly dependent on factors specific to the local setting, so cost-effectiveness may vary considerably from the case studies. FundingNational Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE).

How eco-driving training course influences driver behavior and comprehensibility: a driving simulator study

Eco-driving behavior has been treated as one of the most cost-effective way in reducing vehicle fuel consumption and emissions. In this study, the effects of eco-driving training on different driving behaviors in start, stop, speed choice and no-idling from different levels of training, from receiving only static information (EDUCATION) to guided practicing (COACHING after EDUCATION), were thoroughly evaluated and compared. The drivers’ comprehensibility with eco-driving information was examined through eco-driving questionnaire surveys. The results indicated that EDUCATION alone was effective to improve driver’s comprehensibility with the basic concepts of eco-driving, to reduce the percentages of vehicle idling and to help drivers to avoid rapid starts slightly. EDUCATION alone did not significantly improve the driving behaviors of stop and speed choice, while COACHING after EDUCATION was found to enhance the effectiveness of these two elements of eco-driving. COACHING after EDUCATION did not introduce much additional benefit for more fuel-efficient starting pattern. In addition, eco-driving training led to more consistent driving behavior as evidenced by smaller standard deviation values on all measures related to fuel efficiency.

A Real-Time Vibration Suppression Strategy in Electric Vehicles

In electric vehicles (EVs), the source of noise, vibration, and harshness (NVH) involves various components inside/outside of the vehicle. Besides the vibration from each NVH source, the resonances between multiple sources contribute even more significant vibrations. This paper proposes a generalized real-time suppression strategy to mitigate the coupling vibration during vehicle idling and cruising. Using a high-performance field-oriented-controlled electric motor drive, a relatively small amount of rotation velocity offset can be added to the traction motor to significantly reduce the resonant vibration with negligible impact to vehicular speed. In this paper, torsional and bending coupling vibrations between traction motor and driveline are investigated because these two are the most common forced vibrations due to resonances. The system is simulated using MATLAB/Simulink, and the results of the vibration suppression are presented. The strategy proposed in this paper presents a simple and robust way to suppress the coupling vibration in EVs with no additional hardware requirement.

A Decomposition Algorithm for the Consistent Traveling Salesman Problem with Vehicle Idling

The consistent traveling salesman problem aims to identify minimum-cost routes to be followed by a single vehicle so as to provide a set of customers with service that adheres to arrival-time consistency across the multiple time periods of a planning horizon. In this paper, we address this problem via a new, exact algorithm that decomposes the problem into a sequence of single-period traveling salesman problems with time windows within a branch-and-bound search procedure. The new algorithm is highly competitive, as it is able to solve to guaranteed optimality instances with up to 100 customers requiring service over a five-period horizon, effectively doubling the size of instances that were solvable by the previous state of the art. Furthermore, and in contrast to all previous approaches, the new algorithm accounts for route duration limits, whenever applicable, as well as incorporates the flexibility for the vehicle to idle before providing service to a customer. We in fact show that, for the benchmark instances we considered, the cost of implementing consistent routes can be reduced significantly if the vehicle is allowed to idle en route, further motivating the need for algorithmic schemes to incorporate this realistic option.

Assessment of PM10 in Aurangabad City of Central India

Almost 670 million people comprising 54.5% of our population reside in regions that do not meet the Indian NAAQS for fine particulate matter. Numerous studies have revealed a consistent correlation for particulate matter concentration with health than any other air pollutant. Aurangabad city a rapidly growing city with population of 1.5 million is home to five major industrial areas, the city is also known for its historical monuments which might also be adversely affected from air pollution. Therefore, this research aims at estimating PM10 concentrations at several locations across Aurangabad. The concentration of PM10 was highest at the Railway Station followed by Waluj (an industrial zone) and City chowk is the centre of the city which has high population, tall buildings, few open spaces which causes high congestion and does not allow the particulates to disperse. Other locations with high concentrations of PM are Mill corner, Harsul T-point, Kranti Chowk, Seven Hill, TV centre and Beed Bye pass. All these locations have narrow roads, high traffic density, poor road condition with pot holes and few crossing points which cause congestion and vehicle idling which are responsible for high pollution. Therefore, it is evident that air pollution is a serious issue in the city which may be further aggravated if it is not brought under control. Hence, strategies have to be adopted for combating the menace of air pollution.INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTVolume-5, Issue-2, March-May 2016, Page :61-74

Socio Economic Valuation of Traffic Delays

Travel time is one of the largest categories of transport costs, and time savings are often claimed to be the greatest benefit of transport projects such as roadway and public transit improvements. Therefore the study of impact of delay at intersections in monetary terms is important. It has been a normal tendency that, when the vehicles are waiting for a ‘GO’ signal at the intersection, the drivers normally keep the engines of their vehicles “ON” and these results in extra fuel consumption. Small amount of fuel wasted, aggravated over number of cycles per day, number of days per month become a huge quantity. The delay time is such that the cost incurred on the travel time loss is greater as it includes travel time costs. This is an opportunity cost which also includes travel time variability losses arising from unpredictability of the journey time and vehicle operating costs which includes fuel loss that arise due to the idling of vehicles. Along with this, there is another form of cost associated, which is environmental externality. This refers to the cost due to increased emissions of pollutants due to slower speed and stop-and-go situation of the vehicles in traffic congested condition. Thus total cost incurred will be greater. This paper discusses the estimates in monetary terms, the cost of traffic delay-increased travel time, increased fuel consumption and increased pollution, taking one of the corridors in Thiruvananthapuram, the capital of Kerala, India as a case study.

MOVES model for idling emission of signalised junction in developing country

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to estimate total emission during idling of vehicles and validate emission results from real-world data. Design/methodology/approach – Motor Vehicle Emission Simulator (MOVES)2010b emission model is customised for developing country like India and a case study of the Ashram intersection in Delhi has been selected in order to measure the emissions of vehicles during idling. Findings – Results show that 3.997 mg/m3 of hydrocarbon, 1.82 mg/m3 of NOx and 17.688 mg/m3 of carbon monoxide is emitted from the cars, trucks and buses, respectively, at Ashram intersection in one day. As there are 600 intersections throughout Delhi, a total of 2,398.055 mg/m3 of hydrocarbon, 1,087.068 mg/m3 of NOx and 10,612.612 mg/m3 of carbon monoxide is emitted from cars, trucks and buses in a day in all of Delhi. Originality/value – Knowledge of idling emission and fuel loss is very little for Indian traffic condition during delays.

Frequency-based Vehicle Idling Detection

Continuous increases in fuel prices and environmental awareness have raised the importance of reducing vehicle emissions, with many national governments passing anti-idling laws. To reduce air pollution and fuel consumption, we propose a frequency-based vehicle idling detection method to remind drivers to turn off the engine vehicle idling exceeds a certain time threshold. The method is implemented in existing handheld devices without any modification to the car or engine, making the solution cheap and simple to implement in any type of motor vehicle. Experimental results show the proposed method can effectively differentiate idling, engine-off, and moving conditions. Two implementation cases are presented to demonstrate the feasibility and performance of the proposed method.

Fleet Vehicle Idling - Are Supplemental Hybrid Idling Reduction Systems the Answer?

Fleet Vehicle Idling - Are Supplemental Hybrid Idling Reduction Systems the Answer?

Estimation of Carbon Footprint of Fuel Loss Due to Idling of Vehicles at Signalised Intersection in Delhi

Carbon footprint has become a broadly used term. CO2 emissions results in the global warming and subsequently climate change. It is one of the most significant of the six greenhouse gases (carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, hydrofluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons and sulphur hexafluoride). Transportation sector is one of the sources of GHG emissions. All means of transportation, apart from walking and cycling, which are negligible, cause emissions. In 2007, the transport sector emitted 142.04 million tons of CO2 eq. Road transport, being the dominant mode of transport in the country, emitted 87% of the total CO2 equivalent emissions from the transport sector. The main objective of this research is to quantify the carbon footprint due to fuel loss at signalized intersection. The methodology adopted is: i) Assortment of intersections with high, medium and low volumes ii) Examine the delays taking place at each intersection for individual modes of travel (car, buses, 2-wheeler and 4-wheeler) iii) Fuel consumption during idling of vehicles at signalised intersection has been calculated iv) Estimation of total carbon footprint of fuel loss in Delhi during idling of vehicles at selected intersections using IPCC Guidelines. The scope of the study is limited to the signalized intersections only. The results indicate that idling CO2 emission contribute 9% of the total emissions from transport sector in Delhi in 2004.Delay causes fuel loss, time loss and emissions. Thus to curb these losses it is very important to adopt proper policies and mitigation measures.

Estimation of Delay and Fuel Loss during Idling of Vehicles at Signalised Intersection in Ahmedabad

The fuel consumption of the vehicles is increasing day by day as a result of enhanced trip lengths, personal mode of transport and congested intersections. When the vehicles are waiting for their turn to cross the intersection at signals, the drivers normally keep their vehicle's engine on and a result of this extra fuel is consumed. This small amount of fuel wasted aggregated over a number of cycles per day, number of days per year and number of signalized intersections results in a huge quantity of fuel. Measuring delay is important in computing the level of service provided to road users at signalized intersection. Intersection delays may include queue delay and control delay. The signalized intersection capacity and LOS estimation procedures are built around the concept of average control delay per vehicle. Control delay is the portion of the total delay attributed to traffic signal operation for signalized intersections and this delay can be categorized into deceleration delay, stopped delay and acceleration delay. In India mainly two methods were using to estimate control delay those are field measurement and theoretical/analytical measurement. Field measurement of control delay includes the use of test-car observations, path tracing of individual vehicles, and the recording of arrival and departure volumes at Intersection but this expensive for long period. Analytical delay models of traffic systems are structured in a demand-supply framework and these models deals with the macroscopic method to estimate delay measurements. Whereas micro simulation based models are capable to estimate the individual delay of each vehicle at intersection and these models works on car following theory. The main objective of present study is to estimate delay and fuel loss during idling vehicles at signalized intersections in Ahmedabad city. For estimation of delay at intersections, typical corridor on drive in road in Ahmedabad city has been considered. Drive in road is one the busiest urban arterial corridor and this corridor connects the traffic coming from Thaltej intersection to Vijay Char Rasta Intersection.16hours classified traffic volume count surveys were conducted at four intersections falls in study corridor to observe the traffic volume and traffic composition. GPS based Velocity-Box (V-Box) apparatus was fitted in car to identify the existing speed and delay characteristics on the study corridor. VISSIM micro simulation software was adopted to simulate the traffic movement on the study corridor and to estimate the total delay including idling delay at the intersection. Base Case model was developed for the study corridor and the model has been validated on statistical grounds by using GEH statistics. The GEH is a widely used statistics for comparing the modelled values and observed values evolved through simulation tools. After validation, the developed model has been deployed to estimate the idling delay of each vehicle type at the intersection and this was compared with the observed data collected through floating car method. Fuel loss due to idling of vehicles at each intersection was estimated by considering available fuel loss data exists with CSIR-CRRI. Mitigation measures such as grade separated intersection were proposed in this study to reduce the fuel consumption on the study corridor. Further these mitigation measures were implemented in VISSIM model to quantify the reduction in fuel loss due to idling at each intersection. Comparative evaluation was made between base case and proposed scenario for the study corridor. It can be concluded that the micro simulation based technique is the most suited approach to estimate idling delay at the intersection. It was concluded from the study that minor geometric improvements and stabilizing the signal timings suggested for the corridor seems to reduce the delays and idling time drastically on the study corridor.

Development and Effectiveness of Private Parking Information Algorithm

Super high-rise buildings of combined use such as large shopping malls and multiplex etc. have larger parking facilities than general buildings and are characteristic of an increase in the number of the entrance and the exit connecting internal external space of the parking lot. These features cause a congestion of internal traffic by increasing car driving distance in the parking lot, and vehicle idling increases by drivers wander the parking lot in order to find parking space. In addition, they make drivers suffer from lots of difficulties due to parking including increasing their walking line after parking. Therefore, in this study, we developed individual parking information provision algorithm to specify the optimal parking place for drivers according to the purpose of visiting a building and the drivers` moving path, and selected new construction site for the second lotte world in order to evaluate the algorithm developed and performed evaluation. As a result of the evaluation, it was analyzed that in the case of applying the individual parking information provision algorithm compared to the existing parking information provision algorithm, moving distance in the parking lot decreases around 7.43~83.4%, and that in the case of emission, it decreased about 47.7% on average, which indicates that the efficiency resulted from application of the individual parking information provision algorithm is very high as the application effects are tested.

Idling Emission at Intersection and Exploring Suitable Mitigation Measures

Variety of road based transport modes catering to the transport demand ply in large number on the road system of urban India. As a result, the traffic and transportation problems are aggravating day by day. These problems manifest in the form of increased traffic congestion, increased air and noise pollution, accidents, delays etc. The consumption of fuel is on the increase due to enhanced trip lengths, shift of modal share towards personalized modes of travel and at signalized intersections due to idling of vehicles during stoppage phases. The results of a study conducted by CRRI in 2005 estimated that fuel worth of Indian Rupees. 1, 0000 Million is wasted every year in Delhi by vehicles idling at 600 signalized traffic signals and was around 15% of the total fuel consumed annually in Delhi. In addition, the time loss to the commuters is also associated with the delays. The running engines during idling also generate emissions, which are harmful both for human health and ecology. One of the ways to conserve fuels is to minimize its wastage. It is necessary to understand the amount of fuel loss and emissions generated at signalized intersections in the country. By applying various engineering / management measures the fuel wastage and associated emissions can be reduced. Presently there is no model that can give the amount of fuel loss and emissions in relation to the type of vehicle and delays. In this paper a review of the study for exploring suitable mitigation measures to improve the signalized intersections are presented. 