Browsing by Subject "Snowplows"
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Item Adaptive Management to Improve De-Icing Operations(Minnesota Department of Transportation, 2021-03) Baker, Lawrence A.; Wilson, Bruce; Klimbal, Doug; Furuta, Dan; Friese, Melissa; Bierman, JacobRoad de-icing is a major cause of chloride impairment in Minnesota's urban waters. The goal of our study was to develop an adaptive management (AM) strategy to reduce chloride impacts caused by de-icing operations. The AM process was informed by our analysis of chloride movement in a residential watershed, providing feedback to the street department of our collaborator, the City of Edina. A key finding was that most the chloride movement occurred during a small number of events, with half of annual chloride movement occurring in less than 50 hours during each of the two years of study. This observation means that targeting these events might be a more effective way to reduce chloride impacts than more generalized approaches. We also found that a significant amount of chloride added to streets during de-icing accumulated in roadside snow piles, likely contributing to groundwater contamination. To address this concern, we developed a spreadsheet tool to estimate steady-state (long-term) chloride concentrations in groundwater. Scenario analyses indicated that groundwater chloride levels in highly urbanized watersheds would eventually exceed water quality standards. We developed a second model, intended for use by urban planners, to estimate the impact of changing the percentage of salted impervious surface on chloride movement in re-developed watersheds.Item Automated Vehicle Location, Data Recording, Friction Measurement and Applicator Control for Winter Road Maintenance(Minnesota Department of Transportation Research Services Section, 2010-02) Erdogan, Gurkan; Alexander, Lee; Rajamani, RajeshThe first part of this project conducted a detailed evaluation of the ability of a new friction measurement system to provide an accurate measure of road conditions. A system that records friction coefficient as a function of road location was developed using the same vehicle location measurement system as the current MDSS project. Studies conducted show that the friction measurement system provides a significantly more reliable measure of road surface conditions than does visual inspection. The second part of this project focused on a detailed evaluation of the performance of a closed-loop system that utilizes friction measurement for automatic applicator control. Experimental studies have shown that a friction measurement based zero velocity sander can adequately apply salt/chemicals to all slippery spots on a road at speeds up to 25 mph. The final part of this project focused on enhancement of the developed automatic applicator control system with utilization of real-time data from a geographical information system that provides information on upcoming geometric road alignment and known problematic segments of roadway. The developed friction measurement, data recording and applicator control system is compact, modular and can be used on both snowplows and pick-up trucks.Item Deployment of a Snowplow Driver-Assist System(Minnesota Department of Transportation, 2023-06) Davis, Brian; Schwieters, Katelyn; Morris, Nichole L.; Donath, MaxSnowplow operators are often tasked with clearing snow from roadways under challenging conditions. One such situation is low visibility due to falling or blowing snow that makes it difficult to navigate, stay centered in the lane, and identify upcoming hazards. To support snowplow operators working in these conditions, University of Minnesota researchers developed a snowplow driver-assist system that provides the operator with visual and auditory information that is suitable for low-visibility situations. A lane-guidance system uses high-accuracy Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) and maps of the roadway to provide information to drivers about their lateral positions. A forward-obstacle-detection system uses forward-facing radar to detect potential hazards in the roadway. The design of the system, and in particular its interface, is guided by extensive user testing to ensure the system is easy to understand, easy to use, and well liked among its users. The system was deployed in two phases over the 2020-2021 and 2021-2022 winter seasons. In total, nine systems were deployed on snowplows across Minnesota, four in the first winter season and an additional five in the second. Participating truck stations represented all eight MnDOT districts as well as Dakota County. Over the course of the deployment, additional user feedback was collected to identify system strengths and areas for improvement. The system was found to be a cost-effective addition to snowplows that increase driver safety, reduce plow downtime, and increase driver efficacy for plowing operations, thus providing support to operators working in demanding, low-visibility conditions.Item Development of Driver Assistance Systems to Support Snowplow Operations(Center for Transportation Studies, University of Minnesota, 2018-08) Liao, Chen-Fu; Morris, Nichole L.; Achtemeier, Jacob; Alexander, Lee; Davis, Brian; Donath, Max; Parikh, GordonSnowplow operators are often tasked with numerous monitoring and operational activities that they need to do simultaneously while removing snow and spreading deicing agents on the road. Driver assist systems were considered for 3 applications: gang plowing, backup assist, and lane boundary guidance. We evaluated the system performance and position accuracy of commercially available Dedicated Short Range Communication (DSRC) Onboard Units (OBU) for gang plowing. Our results indicated that the positioning accuracy of the OBUs was inadequate for providing the plow operator with sufficient information to maintain spacing between two vehicles. The backup assist system and lane boundary guidance system were developed and successfully deployed to support snowplow operations. Human factors studies were also conducted using a driving simulator to better understand the needs prior to designing an appropriate Human Machine Interface (HMI) for these plow operations. The radar-based backup assist system was installed on a snowplow that operates on Highway 169. The backup assist system provides an audio warning to the operator to look at the display from a rear-view camera when an object is detected. The Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS)-based lane boundary guidance system was developed to assist plow operations when visibility is poor and lane boundary cues are limited. The lane boundary guidance system was installed on a second snowplow operating on MN-25 running between Belle Plaine and Green Isle. The lane boundary guidance received the most positive feedback from operators and is recommended for further development.Item Evaluation of Radar for Snowplows: Initial Results(Minnesota Department of Transportation, 1998-04) Gorjestani, Alec; Pham, Thanh; Bajikar, Sundeep; Donath, MaxHeavy or blowing snow often causes poor visibility for snowplows. This report presents the results of a one-year preliminary study to evaluate the performance of an off-the-shelf radar unit for improved detection of objects under snow and blizzard conditions. Researchers developed a geometrical computer model of radar range and closure rate measurement to provide a baseline for comparison with experimental results. They varied parameters such as radar orientation, location, and differential vehicle speed to determine their effect on radar performance. The radar's accuracy improves as the speed differential between vehicles increases, according to the research findings. Furthermore, slight deviations in orientation and location do not seem to greatly influence the radar's ability to detect other vehicles. The radar also was tested under falling snow conditions. The radar effectively detected target vehicles under 'light' and 'moderate' snow conditions with visibility down to less than one half mile. However, the very small number of snow events in the winter of 1997-98 limits the ability to make conclusions about the radar's performance under such conditions. Since the study began, commercially available radar technology has improved significantly, and researchers recommend testing the improved radar units in the future.Item Friction Measurement System for Hennepin County(Intelligent Transportation Systems Institute, Center for Transportation Studies, University of Minnesota, 2013-01) Alexander, Lee; Rajamani, RajeshA friction measurement system was developed for Hennepin County and installed on a snowplow in their winter road maintenance fleet. The major components of the developed system were a special instrumented wheel, a pneumatic pressure-controlled cylinder, force-measurement load cell and accelerometers, and a data processing micro-processor and LCD display. The project plan initially included interfacing the friction measurement system with an applicator and automatic control of the applicator on detection of a low tire-road friction coefficient on the road. However, due to concerns from Hennepin County about interfacing with the applicator electronics and its potential influence on normal operation of the Force America applicator, the friction coefficient was estimated in real-time and just displayed for the snowplow operator. It was not used for real-time control of the applicator. The stand-alone hardware developed in this project is being used as a platform for development and installation of friction measurement systems on two snowplows in Polk County during the 2012-2013 winter. The Polk County installation is being funded by the Minnesota Local Road Research Board.Item Friction Measurement System for Polk County(Minnesota Department of Transportation, 2013-11) Alexander, Lee; Rajamani, RajeshA friction measurement system was developed for Polk County and installed on two snowplows in the county’s winter road-maintenance fleet. The major components of the developed system were a special instrumented wheel, a pneumatic pressure-controlled cylinder, force-measurement load cell and accelerometers, a data collection microprocessor and a data processing micro-processor. The road friction coefficient was estimated in real-time and was stored on a secure digital card along with the current GPS-sensed location of the truck. The friction coefficient information was also displayed in real-time using LED lights for the operator. Although the basic design of the friction wheel system had been used for several previous years of intermitant testing without showing significant wear, the almost identical installations on the Polk County trucks suffered bearing failures after the first few days of continuous use. The failed bearings were replaced with larger bearings in a more robust mount. Apparently, the system again failed in a few days, but the research team did not learn of this failure until the end of the project. The low budget for the project and the significant travel required to go to Crookston posed major challenges in getting a friction measurement to work effectively for Polk County.Item Snow Rendering for Interactive Snowplow Simulation - Supporting Safety in Snowplow Design(Intelligent Transportation Systems Institute, Center for Transportation Studies, University of Minnesota, 2013-01) Willemsen, PeterDuring a snowfall, following a snowplow can be extremely dangerous. This danger comes from the human visual system’s inability to accurately perceive the speed and motion of the snowplow, often resulting in rear-end collisions. For this project, the researchers' goal is to use their understanding of how the human visual system processes optical motion under the conditions created by blowing snow to create a simulation framework that could be used to test emergency lighting configurations that reduce rear-end collisions with snowplows. Reaction times for detecting the motion of the snowplow will be measured empirically for a variety of color set-ups on a simulated snowplow that slows down while driving on a virtual road with curves and hills. Current efforts have implemented a blowing snow model that will eventually be integrated into a real-time driving simulation environment. Concurrently, a simulated driving environment has been developed that will serve as the basis for testing the effects of color and lighting alternatives on snowplows. In initial pilot experiments, the simulated driving environment has been effective at testing subject reaction times for following a snowplow through high luminance contrast (normal daylight driving) and low luminance contrast (daylight fog) conditions. The results of this work will move the researchers closer to determining optimal color and lighting configurations on actual snowplows.Item Snow Rendering for Interactive Snowplow Simulation – Supporting Safety in Snowplow Design(Intelligent Transportation Systems Institute, Center for Transportation Studies, University of Minnesota, 2011-10) Willemsen, PeterDuring a snowfall, following a snowplow can be extremely dangerous. This danger comes from the human visual system's inability to accurately perceive the speed and motion of the snowplow, often resulting in rear-end collisions. For this project, the researchers' goal is to use their understanding of how the human visual system processes optical motion under the conditions created by blowing snow to create a simulation framework that could be used to test emergency lighting configurations that reduce rear-end collisions with snowplows. Reaction times for detecting the motion of the snowplow will be measured empirically for a variety of color set-ups on a simulated snowplow that slows down while driving on a virtual road with curves and hills. Current efforts have implemented a blowing snow model that will eventually be integrated into a real-time driving simulation environment. Concurrently, a simulated driving environment has been developed that will serve as the basis for testing the effects of color and lighting alternatives on snowplows. In initial pilot experiments, the simulated driving environment has been effective at testing subject reaction times for following a snowplow through high luminance contrast (normal daylight driving) and low luminance contrast (daylight fog) conditions. The results of this work will move the researchers closer to determining optimal color and lighting configurations on actual snowplows.Item Snow Rendering for Interactive Snowplow Simulation— Supporting Safety in Snowplow Design(2011-02) Willemsen, PeterDuring a snowfall, following a snowplow can be extremely dangerous. This danger comes from the human visual system’s inability to accurately perceive the speed and motion of the snowplow, often resulting in rear-end collisions. For this project, the researchers' goal is to use their understanding of how the human visual system processes optical motion under the conditions created by blowing snow to create a simulation framework that could be used to test emergency lighting configurations that reduce rear-end collisions with snowplows. Reaction times for detecting the motion of the snowplow will be measured empirically for a variety of color set-ups on a simulated snowplow that slows down while driving on a virtual road with curves and hills. The simulated driving environment will utilize a head-mounted, virtual reality display to render an improved snow cloud model behind the snowplow. This driving simulator environment will serve as the basis for testing the effects of color and lighting alternatives on snowplows. The results of this work will move the researchers closer to determining optimal color and lighting configurations on actual snowplows.