Exploration Of New Methods In Long Distance Transportation Data Collection And Tourism Travel In Vermont

ABSTRACT Human transportation patterns have continued to shift and increase in rate as technology has made travel between spatially disparate locations more feasible. These movements are responsible for approximately one third of global carbon emissions, and account for one half of Vermont’s greenhouse gas output. Modeling transportation behaviors is difficult due to changing travel patterns and issues of surveying human participants. Long distance travel patterns are especially difficult and have not received the attention that urban mobility has within the literature. In this Masters thesis, I describe current methods of transportation data collection and propose new methods, as well as attempt to quantify the impact on Vermont’s roadways of the transportation-based tourism sector. In the first chapter of this thesis, I describe a GPS-based travel survey conducted over the course of one year, coupled with interview data of long distance trips undertaken by 10 participants. Long distance travel has historically been underrepresented in travel surveying due to its infrequency, resulting in decreased likelihood of capturing a long distance trip in a short travel study. By extracting points at intervals from the GPS dataset, it becomes possible to determine accuracy of trip matching between the two datasets with adjusted data collection methods. The second chapter examines transportation related to tourism in Vermont. As one of Vermont’s largest industry sectors, economic impact has been of particular interest to state planners. However, limited analyses of the transportation impacts of this sector are currently available. My research models route choice of drive through tourists, whom constitute 40% of visitors, attempting to begin quantifying tourist mileage and CO2 emissions within the state. Together, these studies expand knowledge on long distance transport data collection and the role of tourism in Vermont’s transportation mileage

Life Cycle Energy Assesment of Advanced Fiber Reinforced Composite Design and Manufacturing Methodologies

Automotive industry at large is focused on vehicle light-weighting since a 6%-8% increase in fuel efficiency can be achieved with a 10% reduction in vehicle weight [1]. With the growing demand for cost-effective and sustainable light weighting of automobile structures, interest has increased in the application of fiber reinforced plastic (FRP) composites for use in the Body-in-White (BiW), which can account for up to 40% of the total vehicle weight. Traditional FRP composite manufacturing processes like vacuum assisted resin transfer molding, autoclave consolidation or use of automated fiber placement have been successfully used for marine and aerospace applications. However, these processes are not suitable for the automotive industry due to the low production rate, need for highly skilled labor for manufacturing and quality control, and poor joining with traditional structural materials like steel. This necessitates the use of higher throughput outof-autoclave (OOA) processes like high pressure resin transfer molding (HP-RTM), wet compression molding (WCM) or even fiber reinforced thermoplastics (FR-TP) forming. The transition to these OOA processes face two major challenges: a) the time-consuming iterative design and thermal profiling process required for metal tools which increases cost; and b) the lack of a low-cost, scalable, and sustainable multi-material joining pathways that can enable integration of FRP composite parts with traditional metal structures. This is because existing composite joining methods necessitate significant redesign of existing OEM infrastructure, incur high capital costs, and produce weak joints between metal and composite components. iii To address the first challenge, a new paradigm where additive manufacturing of thermoplastic filament reinforced with continuous fiber is used to develop a low-cost and sustainable composite tool, is investigated. Furthermore, additive manufacturing can enable faster tool design turn-around times and allows for designing of complex tool geometries with embedded sensors and conformal cooling channels. This opens greater avenues for process and design optimization and will enable manufacturers to gain a better understanding of the process based on sensor data gathered in real time from the embedded sensors. To address the later challenge, a highly integrated multi-material, FRP-intensive BiW design was developed using unique multi-material transition joints which retain existing OEM joining infrastructure [2]. It incorporates multi-material transition joints where continuous dry fibers are laid through machined looped channels in a metal substrate and additional metal layers are additively manufactured on top of the looped fiber and metal substrate to embed the fibers within the metal and create a strong metal – fiber mechanical interlocking bond. The fibers are then infused with a thermoset matrix that fills out the loops as well, forming a string FRP-metal transition [3]. Thus, the resulting CFRP component with metal tabs can be spot welded to other metal components without piercing, drilling, or punching holes - significantly increasing the mechanical performance of the multi-material joints. To ascertain the advantages of these multi-material designs and the use of state-of-the-art additively manufactured smart tools, their life cycle impact must be investigated and compared with existing technology. The results from the LCA can provide vital understanding of the energy requirements of the new processes methodologies and can help iv quantify the benefits offered by transitioning to this new proposed paradigm of composite design and manufacturing from a sustainability and emission reduction standpoint. To best of the authors knowledge there have been no studies that address the LCA for each of the proposed solutions. Thus, this work, conducts two comparative life cycle analyses on the proposed additively manufactured smart composite tool for OOA processes and for the multi-material designs for automotive structural components. Different scenarios are studied for both the LCAs to consider the existing FRP production processes as well as the production process of traditional materials

Mastering the Production of Electric Vehicles as One of the Modern Instruments for the Development of the Iranian Automotive Industry

The article analyzes the problems of introducing electric vehicles, as wellas their difference from cars with internal combustion engines. This type oftransport has long been included in our everyday life. Today, in the era ofthe heyday of technology, a person understands that cars with an internalcombustion engine (ICE) are almost on the edge of their existence. Atpresent, the development of the production of electric vehicles should beconsidered as a promising direction of the Iranian automobile industry. Atthe moment, this market in Iran is not yet occupied by foreign companies,and therefore national companies have a chance to use the strategy of“growth together with the market”

Project54 vehicle telematics for remote diagnostics, fleet management and traffic monitoring

The Project54 system was developed to introduce advanced technologies into the operations of the New Hampshire Department of Safety and other law enforcement agencies. The application of computing, sensing and telecommunication technologies within the Project54 system enables advanced telematics services that can provide benefits to vehicle operators, fleet managers and the public. This thesis describes the implementation of remote diagnostics and fleet management services for the Project54 system and investigates the use of radar equipped police vehicles as traffic probes. Aftermarket diagnostic hardware has been integrated in the Project54 system and software applications have been developed to control the hardware and record diagnostic information. An electronic data entry form has been created for tracking vehicle operating expenses and a vehicle status reporting system is described. Additionally, a traffic congestion scoring method using information from traffic radar units is presented

New trends in electrical vehicle powertrains

The electric vehicle and plug-in hybrid electric vehicle play a fundamental role in the forthcoming new paradigms of mobility and energy models. The electrification of the transport sector would lead to advantages in terms of energy efficiency and reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, but would also be a great opportunity for the introduction of renewable sources in the electricity sector. The chapters in this book show a diversity of current and new developments in the electrification of the transport sector seen from the electric vehicle point of view: first, the related technologies with design, control and supervision, second, the powertrain electric motor efficiency and reliability and, third, the deployment issues regarding renewable sources integration and charging facilities. This is precisely the purpose of this book, that is, to contribute to the literature about current research and development activities related to new trends in electric vehicle power trains.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

A Major Study of American (Ford) Compared with Japanese (Honda) Automotive Industry: Their Strategies Affecting Surviabilty

Understanding the role of technology, in the automotive industry, is necessary for the development, implementation, service and disposal of such technology, from a complete integrated system life cycle approach, to assure long-term success. This dissertation provides a unique complete characterization of the system life (cycle) business major cost elements of the automotive industry the subsystems, cost elements, interplay and interdependencies that affect the total real life cycle cost and value the various stated product, organizational, and process initiatives intended to produce significant improvements in the American automobile industry, as compared to the Japanese. This dissertation adds a perspective, understanding, and new insights of the drivers of business/technology changes and challenges that are likely to occur over the next 5-10 years. Research was carried out by an extensive review of publications, technical journals, articles, government agency documents, industry publications, annual reports and company bulletins, data and announcements. Results were generated and compared with past industry leaders\u27 effort

Study of challenges in technology development and market penetration of hybrid electric vehicles in Canada

Growing concerns of the economic and environmental impact of petroleum combustion by on-road transportation have accelerated the development of alternative fuel vehicles; of these, the hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) is currently the most commercially successful technology. It integrates an electric drivetrain to the internal combustion engine for optimized engine operation giving significantly higher fuel efficiency and lower emissions. However, despite their well recognized benefits, Canadian consumers have shown reluctance in adapting HEVs so far. This thesis discusses the immediate need for Canada to adopt more efficient and eco-friendly transportation systems and analyzes the cost effectiveness and tailpipe emissions of HEVs that offer a suitable alternative. The factors inhibiting market acceptance of hybrids are have been reviewed and a set of comprehensive policy guidelines and measures have been proposed to provide financial incentives, enforce emission regulations and support technology development of hybrid vehicles. As part of the highlighted target, challenges in key areas of HEV technology have been discussed and one such challenge is addressed by proposing a more robust electric motor drive for vehicle traction

Intelligent and Efficient Transport Systems

The aim of this book is to present a number of digital and technology solutions to real-world problems across transportation sectors and infrastructures. Nine chapters have been well prepared and organized with the core topics as follows: -A guideline to evaluate the energy efficiency of a vehicle -A guideline to design and evaluate an electric propulsion system -Potential opportunities for intelligent transportation systems and smart cities -The importance of system control and energy-power management in transportation systems and infrastructures -Bespoke modeling tools and real-time simulation platforms for transportation system development This book will be useful to a wide range of audiences: university staff and students, engineers, and business people working in relevant fields

The health effects of automobile fuel economy through improvements in air quality

In this dissertation, I evaluate the health effects of the automobile (or vehicle) fuel economy. Automobile fuel economy is regulated by the Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards put into effect in 1975 in the United States primarily to reduce the oil consumption and dependency on oil import in response to the Oil Embargo in the 1970s. The health benefit was not thoroughly analyzed in policy analyses of CAFE standards. I hypothesize that better automobile fuel economy results in less mobile source air pollutants such as fine Particulate Matters (PM2.5), Carbon Monoxide (CO), and Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2), and hence improves air quality, which in turn reduces air pollutant related diseases such as asthma. Thus, CAFE standards have health benefits because CAFE standards increase the on-road vehicle fleet fuel economy. I seek empirical evidence of the health effects of automobile fuel economy through the improvement of air quality. Using vehicle registration and fuel consumption data, air pollutant data, health survey data, and other relevant data in the United States, I apply statistical mediation analysis techniques to assess the variation of asthma with respect to the changes of automobile fuel economy over time through the air pollutants mechanism. The empirical analysis results, under certain assumptions and with some limitation due to the data, support my key hypotheses: 1) there is a clear negative correlation between the automobile fuel economy and mobile source air pollutants over time; 2) there is a negative correlation between the fuel economy and asthma prevalence through the air pollutants mechanism; 3) empirical evidence supports that the air pollutants are the mediators through which automobile fuel economy affects health. This dissertation provides the empirical evidence of the health effects of automobile fuel economy improvement through improvements in air quality. It contributes to the literature and knowledge to the research community in two aspects: first, by identifying the health benefits of automobile fuel economy and an additional support to tighten the automobile fuel economy standards; second, by applying statistical mediation methods in econometric analysis