00473139

Component

http://onlinepubs.trb.org...1987/1106v2/1106v2-013.pdf

https://scholar.google.co...amer&publication_year=1987

Accurate determination of the horizontal surface geometry of low-volume roads in steep, difficult terrain is a critical design element. The accurate assessment of this element is directly related to the efficiency of road construction cost and vehicle operations and safety. Because traditional methods used to determine the minimum required, horizontal road surface width were inadequate, a scale model drafting device, the Drafting Vehicle Simulator, was developed. This device was developed and implemented by the USDA Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Region. The application of this design aid has yielded considerable cost savings on specific project designs when compared to traditional design procedures. The Drafting Vehicle Simulator accurately simulates tire-mounted, Ackerman-steered, and nonarticulated vehicles traveling at low speeds. Single-unit, multi-unit, and special vehicles can be modeled. The simulator can be applied to the design analysis of horizontal road geometry, such as tracking through simple and compound curves, intersections, and approaches to road structures, and backing up and turning around. The Drafting Vehicle Simulator is a low-cost, easy-to-operate, and portable low-volume road design aid that yields accurate results. It has applications for the design of civilian and military low-volume roads and analysis of existing roads for vehicle passage.

This paper appeared in Transportation Research Record N1106, Fourth International Conference on Low-Volume Roads, Volume 2. Distribution, posting, or copying of this PDF is strictly prohibited without written permission of the Transportation Research Board of the National Academy of Sciences. Unless otherwise indicated, all materials in this PDF are copyrighted by the National Academy of Sciences. Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved

00490258

pp 119-122

1987-8

Transportation Research Record

International Conference on Low Volume Roads, 4th, 1987, Ithaca, New York, USA

0309044545

Print

Figures (2) ; Photos (7) ; Tables (1)

Accuracy; Alignment; Cost effectiveness; Drafting; Geometric design; Highway design; Low volume roads; Tracking systems

Horizontal alignment

Design; Highways; Planning and Forecasting; I21: Planning of Transport Infrastructure

TRIS, TRB

Sep 30 1987 12:00AM