To reduce the probability of secondary accidents caused by the direction deviation, body rollover, and excessive deceleration of runaway vehicles during braking on a truck escape ramp (TER), the ...safety of the occupants and the vehicles must be ensured. Based on the momentum theorem, an intelligent control method for a TER is proposed. In the method, a slope aggregate with a small rolling resistance coefficient is used on the original escape lane, and the information acquisition, braking device control, and braking modules are established. Through these modules, the operation parameters and control parameters of the out-of-control vehicle are obtained in advance, to control the operation state of the runaway vehicle. Achieve the purpose of reducing the braking effect of the slope bed aggregate and ensuring maximum utilization of the braking ramp. Finally, the proposed control method is simulated on the MATLAB/Simulink simulation platform. The results show that the control method can realize safe braking of an out-of-control vehicle at various speeds and different mass conditions, and it can play a highly significant role in the braking of high-speed and heavy-duty vehicles.
The stopping distance of the runaway vehicle on the mountain road directly affects the length design of the arrester bed. Since the subsidence depth of runaway vehicle wheel on the arrester bed is ...neglected in the past researches, the stopping distance estimated by the vehicle driving equation is not accurate. The purpose of this paper is to supplement the influence of subsidence depth on rolling resistance and the influence of mountain highway altitude on air resistance, and improve the estimation accuracy through improved vehicle driving equation. Firstly, the formula for fitting the subsidence depth is established, and the formula for calculating the pushing resistance and compaction resistance is added. Considering the influence of the altitude of the mountain road on the air resistance, the formula for calculating the corrected air resistance and the air lift is added too and the improved vehicle driving equation is generated. Secondly, a simulink model is established based on the improved vehicle driving equation and determine the attester bed entering position and the initial entering speed of the runaway vehicle. Finally, the simulation model is run and analysed. The results show that the error rate of the simulation results is less than 8.0% compared with the full-scale test data. Compared with original equation, the shortening rate of the stopping distance is up to 85.59%.
Emergency escape ramps (EERs) is an infrastructure of mountain freeways to stop runaway vehicles. As the last defence of vehicle occupants' safety, the performance of EERs in reducing crash injury ...severity is a concern for stakeholders of road safety. Based on crash records collected on a mountain freeway equipped with five EERs, this study compared the injury severity of crashes on EERs and other road sections, and identified the factors that significantly influence injury severity in the two conditions. Estimations of the parameter coefficients and marginal effects of a random parameters ordered probit model were used to infer EER performance under the impacts of various factors. The results confirm the effectiveness of EERs on the reduction of crash injury severity. The protection function of EERs is weakened by nighttime, the rollover status of crashed vehicle, multi-vehicle collisions, improper design or installation of the roadside infrastructure, drivers' unfamiliarity with local driving conditions, and crashed vehicle weight. The paper compares the findings with those of previous studies and proposes some recommendations to improve EER performance for occupant and property protection on mountain freeways.
The load-bearing capacity of pebble aggregates plays a pivotal role in influencing the operational performance of uncontrolled trucks on arrester beds. The complexity of this phenomenon stems from ...the nonuniformity in the shapes of the pebbles and their stochastic arrangement within the beds, presenting notable challenges for traditional mathematical modelling techniques in precisely evaluating the contact dynamics of these aggregates. This study leverages the discrete element method (DEM) to extensively analyse the arrester bed aggregate of a standard truck escape ramp. The aforementioned mechanism entails the gathering of morphological parameters of irregularly shaped aggregate particles and introduces a novel method for constructing random shapes that adhere to the observed distribution characteristics. A discrete element model, grounded in the physical properties of these aggregates, is formulated. This study focuses on the aggregate’s load-bearing capabilities, scrutinising the mechanical behaviour of the aggregate particles at the macroscopic and microscopic scales. These insights offer substantial scientific contributions and practical implications for assessing the safety of escape ramps and determining essential parameters for the brake bed design.
Due to imperfect design norms and guidelines for China's truck escape ramp, previous studies have not been able to reflect the effect of wheel subsidence process on the deceleration of runaway ...vehicles. A discrete element method was used to establish an aggregate discrete element and a wheel discrete element. The three-dimensional discrete element model for an aggregate-wheel combination was established based on a particle flow code in three dimensions on a software platform using the "FISH" language. The microscopic parameters of the aggregate discrete element particles and wheel discrete element particles were calibrated using a simulated static triaxial compression test and real vehicle test data, respectively. Four sets of numerical simulation tests were designed for analyzing the influence of the aggregate diameter, grade of the arrester bed, truckload, and entry speed on the wheel subsidence depth and stopping distance of runaway vehicles. The results indicate that the smaller the aggregate diameter and entry speed and the greater the truckload and grade of the arrester bed, the more easily the wheel falls into the gravel aggregate, the better the deceleration effect, and the smaller the stopping distance. As the wheel subsidence depth increases, the speed at the unit stopping distance decreases more quickly. The maximum subsidence depth mainly depends on the truckload. The research results can provide a theoretical basis for the design of the arrester bed length and the thickness of the aggregate pavement in a truck escape ramp.
The design method of truck escape ramps (TERs) presented by the Transportation Association of Canada and other organizations is deterministic and assumes fixed values of the design speed, rolling ...resistance, and ramp grade. This paper presents a reliability-based method for TER design based on the first-order second-moment (FOSM) method and the advanced FOSM (AFOSM) method. These methods rely on the distribution of the component random variables. Each method was used to analyze a TER with one grade and two grades. The FOSM is simple and can be easily used by practitioners, even with calculators. The AFOSM is more complicated but more accurate as it considers the design points in determining the probability of failure. The AFOSM method was used to establish design graphs for the required length of TERs. Application of the proposed method is illustrated using actual TERs in the United States and considering a hypothetical design scenario.
Introduction:
Although the fall protection net installed at the end of the truck escape ramp has a protective effect on trucks and drivers, but lacks sufficient theoretical basis and verification ...method.
Objectives:
The primary objective of this paper was to design a fall protection net that meets the regulations and research its protection performance.
Methods:
The finite-element method was used to design the overall size, material, mesh length, mesh type, shape, and supporting structure of the fall protection net installed at the end of truck escape ramp, then dummy and truck models were used to impact the fall protection net to verify the rationality of the design. After the design completed, the truck model was used to impact the fall protection net twice to research the cumulative protection performance.
Results:
A fall protection net with a width of 6000 mm, a span of 6000 mm, a depth of 5196 mm, a mesh length of 150 mm, a mesh type of diamond mesh, a shape of 60-degree V-shaped, a supporting structure of steel pipe supporting has a better effect on energy absorption and protection. Within the two consecutive impacts, the residual plastic deformation and stress of the fall protection net generated in the first impact severely affect the protection performance in the second impact.
Conclusion:
It is feasible to use the finite-element method to design and research the fall prevention net installed at the end of the truck escape ramp, and the fall protection net can indeed protect the trucks and drivers, and it should be inspected and maintained after impact to ensure the protective performance in subsequent use.
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