Road tanker design: its influence on the risk and economic aspects of transporting gasoline in Michigan

Thesis/Dissertation · Thu Dec 31 23:00:00 EST 1981

OSTI ID:6064890

Mallikarjunarao, C

The influence of vehicle design on both the hazards and costs of transporting gasoline within the State of Michigan is evaluated. The study addresses only vehicle configurations which would be compatible with Michigan's road-use laws. Since rollovers are the principal cause of gasoline spills and fires, attention is focused primarily on the static and dynamic roll response properties of tank vehicles and the influence of these properties on the frequency of a rollover event. Mathematical models used for evaluating the static and dynamic roll behavior of articulated vehicles are developed. The study shows that the rollover thresholds of the alternative designs in steady turning can be significantly improved by: using tank profiles which lower the c.g. height of the tank; increasing the width of the trailer from 96 to 102 inches; limiting lash in the suspension springs; and replacing dual tires with widebase singles. Further, the dynamic roll behavior of the various designs is found to be superior to that exhibited by the conventional MC306 tanker, as used nationwide. An analysis of transportation costs showed that, despite the higher initial cost of the alternative designs, all but two of the smallest capacity vehicles are more economical to operate than the MC306 tanker. In addition, truck accident data were used to estimate the number of rollovers per year that could be expected to occur if each of the alternative designs were used exclusively to transport gasoline in Michigan. The fire and explosion hazards associated with each of the alternative designs have been defined in terms of a single risk numeric. By plotting this numeric as a function of operating cost, one finds that it is possible to design tank vehicles which not only reduce the fire and explosion hazards associated with the transportation of gasoline, but are also more economical to operate than the conventional MC306 tanker.

• OSTI ID: 6064890
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

02 PETROLEUM
022000 -- Petroleum-- Transport
Handling
& Storage
32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATION
320203* -- Energy Conservation
Consumption
& Utilization-- Transportation-- Land & Roadway
33 ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS
330601 -- Vehicle Design Factors-- Body & Chassis
ACCIDENTS
COST
DESIGN
FEDERAL REGION V
FUELS
GASOLINE
HAZARDS
LAND TRANSPORT
LIQUID FUELS
MICHIGAN
NORTH AMERICA
PETROLEUM PRODUCTS
SAFETY
TRANSPORT
TRUCKS
USA
VEHICLES