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Title: Statistical Characterization of School Bus Drive Cycles Collected via Onboard Logging Systems

Conference ·
DOI:https://doi.org/10.4271/2013-01-2400· OSTI ID:1107453

In an effort to characterize the dynamics typical of school bus operation, National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) researchers set out to gather in-use duty cycle data from school bus fleets operating across the country. Employing a combination of Isaac Instruments GPS/CAN data loggers in conjunction with existing onboard telemetric systems resulted in the capture of operating information for more than 200 individual vehicles in three geographically unique domestic locations. In total, over 1,500 individual operational route shifts from Washington, New York, and Colorado were collected. Upon completing the collection of in-use field data using either NREL-installed data acquisition devices or existing onboard telemetry systems, large-scale duty-cycle statistical analyses were performed to examine underlying vehicle dynamics trends within the data and to explore vehicle operation variations between fleet locations. Based on the results of these analyses, high, low, and average vehicle dynamics requirements were determined, resulting in the selection of representative standard chassis dynamometer test cycles for each condition. In this paper, the methodology and accompanying results of the large-scale duty-cycle statistical analysis are presented, including graphical and tabular representations of a number of relationships between key duty-cycle metrics observed within the larger data set. In addition to presenting the results of this analysis, conclusions are drawn and presented regarding potential applications of advanced vehicle technology as it relates specifically to school buses.

Research Organization:
National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Vehicle Technologies Office
DOE Contract Number:
AC36-08GO28308
OSTI ID:
1107453
Report Number(s):
NREL/CP-5400-60068
Resource Relation:
Journal Volume: 6; Journal Issue: 2; Conference: Presented at the SAE 2013 Commercial Vehicle Engineering Congress, 1-3 October 2013, Rosemont, Illinois
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English