CEE 3604: Introduction to Transportation Engineering Fall 2011

Assignment 3: Vehicle Forces and Kinematics

Date Due: September 16, 2011 Instructor: Trani

Problem 1
a) A commuter train with a mass of 305,000 kg. travels downhill at a grade of -2% and 50 mph when the brakes fail. Estimate the
maximum speed the train will achieve downhill if the following parameters apply:

S = 14 m 2 , froll = 0.0018,Cd = 0.75 (dim) and Cl = 0.03 (dim)

b) During normal operations, the train described in part (a) has a tractive force as shown in Table 1. The tractive force was
obtained from actual testing of the vehicle.
Table 1. Tractive Force for Train in Problem 1.

Speed (m/s) Tractive Force (N)

0 180000

20 155000

40 95000

60 65000

80 50000

100 35000

c) Plot the speed vs tractive force data shown in Table 1 using Matlab.
d) Using Matlabs basic fitting capabilities, obtain a third degree polynomial (cubic equation) that relates the tractive force as
a function of speed. Write down the equation of the cubic model. The equation is of the form:

T (N ) = a + bV + cV 2 + dV 3
where V is in m/s and coefficients a to d are correct to produce T in Newtons
e) Under maximum tractive force conditions, what is the maximum speed the train system could reach in flat terrain?
f) Find the maximum speed if the train travels in a section of the guideway with a constant +4% grade.

CEE 3604 A3 Trani Page 1 of 2

Problem 2

Use the bus parameters defined in the section below to answer the following questions:
Ca = 0.027; % Coefficient
C1 = 6.9; % Nondimensional
C2 = 0.055; % Nondimensional
W = 140; % Bus weight in kN
A = 8.1; % Frontal area (square meters)
i = +0; % Grade in percent (%)

% Define bus engine parameters to estimate tractive force

D = 0.90; % Wheel diameter (m)

u(1) = 4.2; u(2) = 2.3; u(3) = 1.5; u(4) = 1.3; % gear ratios in explicit vector form
J = 2.2; % Differential reduction ratio
con1 = .06; % conversion factor (to convert km/hr to m/s) %
con2 = 2650; % conversion factor (to convert hp to N) %
nu = 0.85; % efficiency of engine

P = [90 145 195 245 253 286 340]; % power output vector (HP)
RPM = [800 1400 1800 2400 2800 3400 4200]; % RPM vector

a) Find the maximum acceleration the bus can generate while traveling at 25 km/hr in flat terrain.
b) Repeat for the bus traveling on a road with a +4.5 grade. Comment on the results observed.
c) Find the total travel time between two adjacent bus stations located 400 meters apart. Assume the bus driver uses full
throttle to accelerate the bus to the speed limit of the road. Assume the driver decelerates at 1 m/s from cruise
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speed to zero speed at the final station. The road has a speed limit of 88 km/hr and for this example, assume has the
road has zero gradient. Show me all your work. In solving this problem, you can use the tractive force approximation
demonstrated on page 53 of the class notes.
d) Calculate the fraction of the time the bus is accelerating, cruising and decelerating. Comment on the observed trends.
______________________________________________
Problem 3
A Boeing 757-200 weighs 255,000 lbs. at takeoff from Tampa International Airport. The aircraft acceleration on the runway can
be modeled very closely by a linear decaying deceleration model with parameters:
dV/dt = k1 - k2 * V

where dV/dt = acceleration (m/s-s), V = vehicle speed (m/s), k1 = maximum acceleration (m/s-s) and k2 = slope of dV/dt vs V
(1/s). For the aircraft in question the values of k1 and k2 are 2.8 and k2 = 0.015, respectively.
a) The aircraft needs to reach 175 mph on the runway to lift-off the ground at that weight at sea level conditions. Find the
runway length needed to perform a successful takeoff. The longest runway at Denver is 16,000 feet. Hint: the runway
length needed is the distance traveled to accelerate to 175 mph.
b) One day the pilot detects a malfunction on the Boeing 757-200 while the aircraft travels at 135 mph. Estimate the
distance to accelerate and stop for this aborted takeoff. Assume that during the deceleration maneuver, the pilot applies
full brakes and the aircraft decelerates at 3.2 m/s2.

CEE 3604 A3 Trani Page 2 of 2