The final ARTSA Institute report into dynamic load couplings fitting to High Productivity Freight Vehicles (HPFVs) and PBS combinations have been released and has found conventional couplings can be used on increasingly heavy combinations.
The study, which was conducted by ARTSA-I with the Australian Trucking Association (ATA), Truck Industry Council (TIC) and Heavy Vehicle Industry Australia (HVIA) was funded by the NHVR’s Heavy Vehicle Safety Initiative and supported by the federal government.
It utilised an instrumented dolly in different positions of a Direct Haul bulk fuel road train so forces at different locations could be measured.
Results of the study included:
- The forces experienced by the couplings were similar whether the dolly was underneath the second, third or fourth trailers. This result was contrary to conventional understanding as reflected in the current Australian Standards.
- The peak forces were reasonably well predicted using the existing formulae in the Australian Standards.
- There was no evidence of a maximum force plateau that could be expected as road trains get longer. Instead, the peak forces appear to increase in proportion to the overall mass.
- By far the most common occurrence of very high forces was when a vehicle was at very slow speeds or coming to a stop – when braking, shunting, or manoeuvring the long combination vehicle.
- The highest peak forces were measured while underway at low speed over floodways.
ARTSA-I Char Dr Peter Hart says the study could see cost and logistical benefits spread across the Australian heavy vehicle sector.
“The benefits of the study for industry are many as there are huge cost and logistical advantages in using regular coupling sizes on increasingly heavy combinations,” Hart says.
“It is hoped the study findings will enable road train drivers and operators to safely utilise conventional couplings on heavy road train fleets into the future.
“Engineers from the various coupling manufacturers in Australia and Europe also contributed their knowledge, with Ringfeder/VBG engineering input of immense value given their recent experience with similar coupling integrity testing in Sweden.
“This project would not have been possible without this coordinated, industry-supported approach.”
Hart adds that Australia’s extensive use of heavy combinations means the study has real-world application all over the globe.
“The project has international significance because Australia leads the world with the use of long and heavy multi-combinations.”
The full report is available here.
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