Logging Truck Vehicle Performance Prediction for Efficient Resource Transportation System Planning: Computer Modelling Approach
Authors
Zhen-Wei Feng
University of New Brunswick
Robert A. Douglas
University of New Brunswick
Abstract
Transportation systems, characterized by extremely heavy logging trucks running on low standard roads, are critical to Canadian woodlands operations. Because predicting logging vehicle performance is essential to planning efficient forest road transportation systems, a Heavy Vehicle Performance Model (HVPM) was developed which takes into account the characteristics of forest road transportation system components in order to predict vehicle performance parameters such as speed and fuel consumption.
Two independent field test data sets were used to verify the HVPM. Verification results showed that the average speed predicted by the HVPM was as much as 17 percent lower than the average observed speed, while predicted fuel consumption was as much as 20 percent higher than the field observations.
Implementation of the HVPM is presented by showing how it is used to solve three forest road transportation problems: a practical application is given in a case study comparing the performance of two specified trucks on two proposed road alignments, the selection of truck components using vehicle performance predictions from the HVPM is illustrated, and the HVPM is used to predict truck performance on different classes of roads.
