Heavy vehicle capabilities on display in Toowoomba

[kscarbel2]

Australasian Transport News (ATN)  /  November 11, 2016

A range of high-productivity vehicles showcased their productivity and safety benefits in a demonstration event held at the Toowoomba Showgrounds on Wednesday.

Administered under the NHVR Performance-Based Standards (PBS) program, the vehicles exhibited their performance benefits and impact on local roads, as well as their contribution to the viability of local businesses.

On display were:                                                                      

• 23m (75ft) 5-axle truck and dog trailer combination
• 26m (85ft) A-Double tanker combination
• 30m (98ft) A-Double combination capable of transporting two 40ft shipping containers
• A new heavy vehicle being rolled out by the Australian Defense Force (ADF).

Part of the ongoing National Local Government Roads and Transport Congress, the open day offered road managers an opportunity to better understand options to tackle their local freight task.

Organised by the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator (NHVR) in association with the Toowoomba Regional Council (TRC), the event was attended by TRC deputy mayor Carol Taylor, TRC infrastructure services portfolio leader James O’Shea, NHVR director – access Peter Caprioli, and Australian Local Government Association vice president and Mayor of Alice Springs Damien Ryan.

"It was great to see trucking industry representatives having a range of conversations with councils to give them a better understanding of the capabilities of these vehicles," NHVR stakeholder specialist Tim Hansen says.

"A number of councils are keen to explore how the vehicles can be part of major projects planned in their areas.

"The event was also a great demonstration of the cooperation between the NHVR, industry and road managers to make gains in productivity and safety in Australia's road freight task."

NHVR says the event was in keeping with the success of another similar heavy vehicle demonstration event held in Bundaberg in August.

Photo gallery - http://www.bigrigs.com.au/photos/big-trucks-come-to-town/46213/#/0

[kscarbel2]

Can the A-double change the trucking industry?

Prime Mover Magazine  /  April 2011

A new type of combination is appearing on our roads, Prime Mover talks to one of the developers of a new design aimed at improving productivity.

When the idea of a system of Performance Based Standards (PBS) was first discussed 20 years ago in the Australian trucking industry, the pioneers of the scheme had some idea of the kind of innovative vehicles which could be developed. In fact, the main thrust of the PBS scheme, as it developed, was to create a space into which innovative thinkers about vehicle engineering could move and come up with the kinds of solutions which were capable of making a quantum leap in productivity improvements for trucking on Australian roads.

However, the Australian trucking industry is aware of the relatively small impact the actual existence of PBS has had on the trucking scene here in Australia. The scheme created a great space for innovation but, so far, nothing has matched the leap in productivity achieved previously by the introduction of the B-double.

Instead, apart from a small number of highly specialised vehicles designed to suit a particular small niche market, most of the PBS approvals on the highway achieved small productivity gains due to incremental dimension changes, adding axles or steering axles. The PBS system has been approving vehicles in steady numbers but the overall productivity of the Australian trucking industry has not been greatly improved.

Back in the 90s, when the system was being developed, the pioneers of PBS were looking for the silver bullet, a new innovative vehicle which could become a game changer. It had to be something which could make genuine productivity gains but also would not take state and local government, the agencies tasked with maintaining road infrastructure, outside of their comfort zone.

Finally, in 2010 a combination vehicle has emerged with the potential to make the quantum shift required to give the PBS system some credibility and, at the same time, give the Australian trucking industry the kind of productivity boost it has been crying out for. Surprisingly, the new innovative design comes from a type of combination which has had many critics over the years.

The A-double is a very basic multiple combination with two semitrailers linked by a converter dolly between the two trailers. It is the simplest of the multiple combinations, using two trailers which can be used individually with the addition of one single extra component, the dolly. In the past, this combination has been seen as a necessary evil in remote areas, but on road performance has made it unsuitable to come anywhere near large centres of population or busy traffic conditions.

In 2010, all that has changed, the A-double is still a simple basic multiple combination, but now, with one small change, it has become a modern, innovative, high productivity safe vehicle. By concentrating all of the new technology in one element of the combination, the converter dolly, Haulmark Trailers may have come up with the kind of game changer those who initiated the PBS process were looking for 20 years ago.

“The whole thing started in late 2006 after Haulmark had been involved in the PBS process for many years,” says Haulmark’s National Sales and Marketing Manager, Mark Johnston. “We had built a number of PBS approved vehicles, steerable extendable trailers and a 52 foot trailer without a steering axle.

“The concept of PBS had been to provide that quantum step for the industry. The A-double is that solution which comes up with the very elusive quadruple bottom line. It offers considerable improvement in productivity, emissions, congestion and safety for everyone. Those four things provide a huge step forward, the game changer.”

Developing vehicles for PBS requires a deep understanding of how a vehicle performs. Designers need to know where it performs well and where it doesn’t perform well. They have to identify what needs to be worked on and improved to meet the standards. Understanding the dynamics of these vehicles leads to developing the technology to provide solutions.

“We are trying to find solutions for the growing freight task, control emissions, deal with congestion, all of those things,” says Mark. “We take the principles of PBS, our understanding of the dynamics of vehicles and then we try to apply technology to a range of those vehicles to see what was actually going to come up with the real trump card.

“We came up with the A-double concept because it gives us a significant step up in mass, a significant step up in trailer length and by doing that we significantly improve emissions and congestion with a safer vehicle. We had looked at a range of potential vehicles – B-doubles, quads – but every time I looked at it, it didn’t convince me as being the way to go. The vehicles are very specialised and limited by their mass. A quad/quad B-double will only give you a 77 tonnes GCM but when we looked at the A-double we could get 85 tonnes.”

For many years there have pocket road trains running in Western Australia, into Perth and around the industrial areas. They are a different to the design Haulmark has come up with but they do demonstrate their effectiveness in terms of productivity and compatibility with the urban environment.

“The A-double just kept coming up as the one with the most potential,” says Mark. “Then we needed to work out exactly what we needed to do to the dynamics of that vehicle to make it work really well. It’s all to do with the high-speed performance of these vehicles, that’s where the technology is required to make it do what you need. You need to keep the trailers in line and compliant with the standards.

“The important thing is, it’s not just about getting something to theoretically comply, it’s about getting something you know really does work. With that technology, as we have developed it, we have vehicles up to 30m long but also others with shorter overall lengths. Because of their manoeuvrability we have got them operating in areas where they will not let B-doubles operate. They are being allowed there because of their performance.

“Urban distribution is more about low speed and manoeuvrability. It’s about negotiating roundabouts and going into particular streets, those sorts of things. The 27m long A-doubles we are running have a swept path which matches that of a normal six axle semitrailer. That’s Level I PBS performance and it is only precluded from some roads by its length.”

As part of the PBS development process, computer modelling was done and a range of simulations, where Haulmark took a basic non-steering A-double, put it through the system and worked out where it didn’t comply. Haulmark’s priority was not to develop a system which just complied, it was looking for something with which it could say, ‘hand on heart’, was the right vehicle for the job.

A few practical priorities were also identified. It was looking for a solution which could use a standard B-double prime mover and normal trailers with ABS. Dimensions of the trailer would be vital to getting the system to work. However, the plan was to concentrate all of the technological improvements and gadgetry in the dolly.

Keeping the smarts, as much as possible, contained on the dolly, gives operators the opportunity to utilise existing equipment within fleets. This also meant the technology could be expanded to be used with trailers in the wider industry, tankers and bulk tippers, trailers Haulmark don’t make. However, it would be able to supply a dolly which other people could use to make a compliant A-double.

The basic principle of the technology uses sensors to tell the steering dolly which way the first trailer is moving when following the prime mover. This information is then used by the steering control to move the second trailer across to follow the first. At high speed this steering anticipates any ‘whip’ from the trailer and keeps the combination in a straight line. At slow speeds the steering dolly tries to take the second trailer in a wider arc around the corner to follow the first without ‘cutting in’.

“Once we got to the point where we really understood the dynamics of the vehicle, we realised the A-double was the one which was going to work,” says Mark. “It was going to give us the mass and it was going to give us the length. The more we looked, it became really clear this was the area we needed to concentrate on.

“Looking at the overall design you get the dimensional parameters right, so it fits within the 30m. Then you have to look at weight distribution, to make sure it will be able achieve the masses required. We also knew it would be vital for the vehicle to be capable of carrying two 40 foot containers and compete easily with options like the Super B-double.

“The big dynamic benefits are available when you put the technology on the dolly, especially at high speed. That’s why we went down the path of the steering dolly. We needed to take the whip out of the dolly, controlling the dynamics throughout the combination. You need to control the rearward amplification and the high-speed transient off tracking when the combination makes a lane change. There is also a test called a pulse steer where the steering wheel is shifted, held and then returned to the starting position.”

During the development process, Haulmark found there was a possibility the combination could meet the low speed of tracking requirements of PBS without a steering dolly. However, the steering capability was already in place so could be utilised to improve low speed performance. The final A-double out on the road now has a swept path performance better than most 26m B-doubles.

These new combinations are a major step up in vehicle performance, this is not just a design which squeezes into compliance and meets the standards by a small margin. For Haulmark, it was important to demonstrate a considerable safety improvement and show the A-double exceeds the requirements by a clear margin.

“We wanted to put a vehicle on the road which was the pinnacle of road safety and by fitting things like ABS, side underrun protection and spray suppression equipment we have achieved that,” says Mark.

As the ideas for an A-double were coming to fruition on the technical side for Haulmark, it was approached by a customer in the Newcastle area, hauling steel, to have a look of an application which it felt justified a PBS vehicle.

The customer was given a number of options including a B-double and a single trailer with five axles, but Mark did inform them that the A-double looked like the best option. The longest product they were carrying was only 9m long and they were wanting to travel over general access routes so Haulmark would only need to build the combination to a length of 27 m.

Word-of-mouth then got around about what Haulmark was doing and other potential customers expressed an interest in the ideas. Haulmark now has 15 of these combinations on the road, both 27 and 30 metre versions, working in both New South Wales and Queensland. This experience has allowed them to work through all of the reliability issues and have a lot more knowledge about what the combinations are like and how they work.

Before the first customer had approached Haulmark, in late 2006, Haulmark already had its first A-double going through the approval process for the PBS scheme. This is the initial process whereby the vehicle is assessed as to whether or not its performance meets the criteria for the PBS access for which it is intended.

“Back then, they wouldn’t do a route assessment for your proposal until you had an approved vehicle,” says Mark. “This was a bone of contention for me because they were expecting me to go out and spend the money to develop the vehicle without knowing whether the vehicle would be acceptable for the route it was intended to use. The bureaucrats didn’t understand we could change the vehicle to suit the route requirements.

“The route assessment for these trucks was a very long and drawn out process. Although I have to say, in NSW, the Roads and Traffic Authority and the Newcastle Council were very good to deal with. This was probably because the road transport industry is particularly important to the local economy and they could see the 50% reduction in truck trips along with the other benefits in emissions and safety as benefitting all.

“The process of getting route assessments has highlighted the fact these jurisdictions have very little knowledge of their infrastructure and its capabilities. The jurisdictions need to make a more committed effort to analyse their assets. The real issue is for them to develop freight routes for PBS vehicles. The roadblock for us now is route assessments, operators cannot tender for major contracts with innovative vehicles because they don’t know how long permission to use a route will take.

“All the bridges on our highways are not going to be upgraded overnight. We need the information from the jurisdictions to enable us to alter the design of the vehicles to suit the infrastructure we are hoping to use. Sometimes, if we are lucky, the authorities are willing to upgrade bridges on a route. This is what happened with our application for a route between Port of Brisbane and Toowoomba.”

By the end of this year the bridge upgrade work will have been done and A-doubles up to 85 tonnes GCM will be able to use the route. This means they can carry two 40 foot containers, each weighing 31 tonnes from Toowoomba to the Port of Brisbane. It was only when Queensland Transport and Main Roads had to do the route assessments for the PBS application, it realised these particular bridges needed improvement.

“There is a collaboration required between those of us who are designing vehicles and jurisdictions who are responsible for the infrastructure, to get the best out of the infrastructure and identify where it needs to be improved,” says Mark. “We’re not looking for policy change, that’s all in place – it’s all been accepted. It’s just a matter of getting a better focus on the requirements of the trucking industry and directing resources into these departments to develop the networks on which these innovative vehicles can run.

“In the past, it has taken people, like me, who have been willing to make a fuss, thump the table and generally be a nuisance to get some of the progress we have achieved. Now, that time is over, there are routes which have been approved. All we are doing is accessing a system of which all of the regulators have approved.

“Coming out of using these vehicles are really great productivity improvements, a direct reduction in traffic congestion, a reduction in emissions and a direct improvement in road safety. Once transport operators see this is working properly, they will be willing to invest capital to make it work and improve their productivity. There is no reason why everybody shouldn’t embrace this.”

[kscarbel2]

Modular A-Double Trailer Combination Delivers Rewards

MaxiTRANS Press Release  /  December 10, 2015

MaxiTRANS has delivered four innovative PBS A-double combinations to growing Victorian transport company, Porthaul. A collaborative effort by two MaxiTRANS brands, Freighter and Hamelex White, the combinations maximise payload while their modular design means they can be used for a variety of purposes.

The ongoing cooperative efforts between MaxiTRANS and growing transport company Porthaul has produced some innovative Performance Based Standards-approved combinations in the last few years, thanks in large part to the adventurous approach of Porthaul General Manager, James Williamson.

Son of company founder, Brian Williamson, James says one of the most exciting projects he has been working on with MaxiTRANS is a modular PBS A-double concept – a project that has now come to fruition.

The combinations consist of Hamelex White aluminium tubs, similar to those found on a grain tipper, mounted on lightweight skels from Freighter, with Freighter dollies, creating a modular combination produced entirely by MaxiTRANS. “The fact that all parts of the trailer came from MaxiTRANS made the process a lot cleaner than going to two or three different suppliers to provide the separate dolly, skel and bin components. It meant I only needed one company who could coordinate the whole job for me. They put a team of engineers at my disposal to work together on the project, from a dedicated PBS expert to skel and tipper engineers,” says James. “Using their Solidworks 3D CAD design software, MaxiTRANS was able to simulate the trailers in action, ensuring they would work as intended before manufacturing began.”

The innovative combination is designed to allow the trailers to “tip through” their contents when loaded onto the tipping ramp in Portland, Victoria. The sliding dolly allows the front trailer to be backed up directly onto the rear trailer. The doors of the front and rear trailer then swing open together when the tipping ramp is raised to allow product to tip through from the front trailer, all the way out the rear door of the rear trailer.

The modular design also allows the trailers to be used in different combinations based on the type of application they will be put to, providing Porthaul with increased diversity without purchasing extra equipment. “We work a lot with woodchips, transporting around two and a half million tonnes a year. But there are only two tipping ramps we work with in Victoria and if they break down we need to be able to put our equipment to different uses,” says James.

“These A-doubles can transport pretty much anything we want, from hauling woodchips, grain or fertiliser in the tubs, to removing the tubs to transport logs. We’ve diversified but haven’t had to add more equipment. In fact, we’ve taken about 20 per cent of our combinations off the road, because this configuration gets it done.”

Adding to that saving, James says he has achieved a total of 81 tonne GCM – an additional 7 tonne gain over his previous quad quad Super B-doubles and 14 tonne more than a standard B-double. “With the help of MaxiTRANS and its PBS expertise, we have now maximised the total payload available to us on Victorian roads,” he says.

At James’ request, MaxiTRANS has packed the trailers full of the latest technology, including full auto greasing, Electronic Braking System (EBS), Central Tyre Inflation (CTI) and weight gauges. “We purposely sourced the best products to go into these trailers, which have now got pretty much everything you can imagine in them,” James says. “Most of the technology also helps improve our driver safety, like the weight gauges, which send readings directly to the driver via a display in the cab, so they don’t have to get out into the forest when we’re working in the plantations.”

The inventive design of Porthaul’s modular A-double combination earned the company a nomination for an ‘Investment in Technology’ award as part of the VTA Australian Freight Industry Awards – a just reward for having the confidence to take on a new concept. James is satisfied that the financial rewards delivered by the trailers will be equally as good.

.

[TeamsterGrrrl]

Useful technology, with this we could even run double 53' trailers in the US on the interstates and have them fit in the lanes around the cloverleaf loops. Hallmark wants a pretty hefty price for their technology though, last I checked they wanted almost as much for their dolly as a fleet truck sells for! That price will likely come down though, I suspect Hallmark does not have an exclusive on the trailer steering software. The next step will be a hybrid electric powered dolly that charges it's batteries on braking and gives that power back on uphills and for acceleration.