Automotive Engineering Commons^™

Husker Motorsports Active Drag Reduction System, Creighton Hughes, Evan Killian, Micah Busboom, Aj Johnson, Jude Steffen

Honors Theses

Formula SAE is a multifaceted competition that involves student teams designing and competing with an open-wheel style race car. There are 5 different dynamic events included in the competition. Each event requires a unique aerodynamic setup to have the best performance possible. This design project focuses on a drag reduction system (DRS) that will improve aerodynamic performance, resulting in faster lap times and increased competitiveness. Key features include a direct electronic actuation mechanism that will allow the rear wing to be adjusted during a race. The benefits of the DRS system, include increased speed, improved handling, and greater fuel efficiency …

Estimating Battery Size Requirements For Tractor Electrification Of Row-Crop Planting Operations, Cheetown Liew, Andrew Donesky, Mark Freyhof, Ian Tempelmeyer, Santosh Kumar Pitla

Biological Systems Engineering: Papers and Publications

Power sources such as batteries, used for both on-road and off-road vehicles, are advancing at a rapid pace. Electric batteries are becoming more power dense, thus allowing them to be used as a power source to replace previous diesel or gasoline-powered systems. Efforts are underway to transition off-road agricultural vehicles from Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) vehicles to electric vehicles (EVs); however, the energy requirements of typical agricultural field operations need to be fully understood before such a transition can occur. Theoretical prediction equations available in the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers (ASABE) standards or the use of engine …

Modernization Of Scienttific Mathematics Formula In Technology, Iwasan D. Kejawa Ed.D, Prof. Iwasan D. Kejawa Ed.D

Department of Mathematics: Faculty Publications

Abstract
Is it true that we solve problem using techniques in form of formula? Mathematical formulas can be derived through thinking of a problem or situation. Research has shown that we can create formulas by applying theoretical, technical, and applied knowledge. The knowledge derives from brainstorming and actual experience can be represented by formulas. It is intended that this research article is geared by an audience of average knowledge level of solving mathematics and scientific intricacies. This work details an introductory level of simple, at times complex problems in a mathematical epidermis and computability and solvability in a Computer Science. …

Investigating The Effect Of E30 Fuel On Long Term Vehicle Performance, Adaptability And Economic Feasibility, Adil Alsiyabi, Seth Stroh, Rajib Saha

Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering: Faculty Publications

Due to the drawbacks associated with the use of petroleum derived fuels, the use of more sustainable fuel sources has garnered increasing attention in several sectors including road transportation. However, the transition away from gasoline is often hindered by the inability of currently operating vehicles to efficiently run under alternative fuels. Therefore, the logical short-term alternative is to transition to clean fuel sources including higher-ethanol fuel blends that are compatible with current fuel systems and spark-ignition engines. In this work, the long-term adaptability and economic feasibility of non-flex vehicles to consume a 30% ethanol (E30) fuel blend was investigated. Sixteen …

Development Of An Improved Arterial Roadway Performance Reliability Methodology, Ernest Tufuor

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The need for reliable performance measures of urban arterial roadways is increasing because of the rise in traffic congestion and the high value of travel time. Consequently, travel time reliability (TTR), which combines components of measures of central tendency and measures of dispersion of travel times, has recently received considerable research interest.

The basis of all TTR metrics is the travel time distribution (TTD). Estimating and forecasting arterial TTDs for TTR analysis is the focus of this dissertation. This dissertation proposes a new TTR methodology that is a marked improvement on recent TTR estimation and forecasting methodologies including the current …

The Covid-19 Pandemic And Transportation Engineering, Chris Hendrickson,, Laurence Rilett

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering: Faculty Publications

The COVID-19 pandemic has been an enormous global disruption with immense economic, environmental, and social impacts throughout the world. Only world wars and the flu pandemic of 1918 are comparable in the wide range of consequences, including fatalities, over a relatively short period of time. Unfortunately, we can expect other major disruptions to occur in the future. In this editorial, we intend to discern some lessons for the transportation engineering profession that can be learned from the current catastrophe that can help us prepare for future disruptions. We will ignore nontransportation aspects of the pandemic such as the development of …

Development Of Iowa Dot Combination Bridge Separation Barrier With Bicycle Railing, Chaz M. Ginger

Department of Engineering Mechanics: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The Iowa Department of Transportation typically builds separation barriers between vehicle and pedestrian/bicycle facilities when sidewalks or trails are present on vehicular bridges. Currently, Iowa DOT employs a combination bridge rail that utilizes a concrete parapet that previously had been successfully evaluated to National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) Report 350 Test Level 4 (TL-4) criteria for these situations. While the parapet had been successfully evaluated, the combination bridge rail system as a whole had not been evaluated to any crash test standards. Iowa DOT desired that researchers at Midwest Roadside Safety Facility (MwRSF) design and test a combination bridge …

Vehicle-To-Barrier Communication During Real-World Vehicle Crash Tests, Samil Temel, Mehmet C. Vuran, Mohammad M.R. Lunar, Zhongyuan Zhao, Abdul Salam, Ronald K. Faller, Cody S. Stolle

School of Computing: Faculty Publications

Vehicle-to-barrier (V2B) communication is expected to facilitate wireless interactions between vehicles and roadside barriers in next-generation intelligent transportation systems. V2B systems will help mitigate single-vehicle, run-off-road crashes, which account for more than 50% of roadside crash fatalities. In this work, the characteristics of the wireless channel prior to and during a crash are analyzed using orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) techniques, which has been used in existing vehicular communication systems. More specifically, the performance of OFDM-based V2B links are measured in real-world crash tests for the first time. Three crash tests conducted at the Midwest Roadside Safety Facility, Lincoln, Nebraska, …

Indicators Of Assessing Vehicle Safety Status Under Platoon Conditions At Freeway, Jianan Zhou

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Issue on level freeway segment (Interstate 80) in Nebraska: • High truck percentage (higher than 25%) • Different speed profile - The speed of trucks are set to 67 mph, on average. - The speed of passenger cars are 75 mph, on average. • Result platoons - Approximately 85% of vehicles are observed in platoon. - the degree of freedom to maneuver for drivers are constrained by other in-platoon vehicles. - Vehicles in platoons may face unsafe situation. Goal: Develop indicators to assess the safety status of vehicles under platoon conditions at level freeway segment.

The data were collected at …

Development Of A Test Level 3 Transition Between Guardrail And Portable Concrete Barriers, Robert W. Bielenberg, David Gutierrez, Ronald K. Faller, John D. Reid, Phil Tenhulzen

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering: Faculty Publications

Road construction often requires that work zones be created and shielded by portable concrete barriers (PCBs) to protect workers and equipment from errant vehicles as well as to prevent motorists from striking other roadside hazards. For an existing W-beam guardrail system installed adjacent to the roadway and near the work zone, guardrail sections are removed so a PCB system can be placed. A study was done to develop a crashworthy transition between W-beam guardrail and PCB systems. Design concepts were developed and refined through computer simulation with LS-DYNA. Additionally, a study of critical impact points was conducted to determine impact …

Calibrating The Robertson’S Platoon Dispersion Model On A Coordinated Corridor With Advance Warning Flashers, Zhao Li, Laurence Rilett, Ernest Tufuor

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering: Faculty Publications

Platoon dispersion (PD) is the foundation of traffic signal coordination in an urban traffic network. PD describes the phenomenon by which vehicles depart from an upstream intersection as a platoon and begin to disperse before they arrive at the downstream intersection. Recently, advance warning flashers (AWFs) have been applied in many high-speed corridors. There is a need to update the traditional PD model to include the effect of AWFs. This paper examines the traffic flow dispersion patterns when an AWF is present and tests the hypothesis that the AWF will affect PD on a coordinated signal corridor. Platoon vehicles, which …

Analysis Of Existing Work-Zone Sign Supports Using Manual For Assessing Safety Hardware Safety Performance Criteria, Jennifer D. Schmidt, Ronald K. Faller, Karla A. Lechtenberg, Dean L. Sicking

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering: Faculty Publications

Over the years, numerous work-zone, portable sign support systems have been successfully crash tested according to the Test Level 3 safety performance guidelines provided in the National Cooperative Highway Research Program Report 350 and accepted for use along our nation’s highways. For this study, several crashworthy sign support systems were analyzed to predict their safety performance according to the new evaluation criteria provided in the Manual for Assessing Safety Hardware (MASH). More specifically, this analysis was conducted to determine which hardware parameters negatively affect a system’s safety performance. To verify the accuracy of the analysis, eight systems, four with the …

Obligations And Penalties Under Lemon Laws: Automobiles Versus Tractors, Terence J. Centner, Michael E. Wetzstein

Department of Agricultural Economics: Faculty Publications

Distinctive new provisions of tractor lemon laws which create obligations and provide penalties for defective self-propelled agricultural equipment are contrasted with provisions of automobile lemon laws. Lemon-law obligations involve both producers' guarantees to provide consumers with a serviceable vehicle and producers' promises to remedy defects. Due to fewer manufacturer obligations under the tractor lemon laws as opposed to automobile lemon laws, tractors may be expected to have more defects than automobiles. Yet the tractor lemon laws contain fewer penalties in the form of restitution remedies. The inconsistences of these obligations and penalties suggest tractor laws may be inefficient.