Transportation Engineering

Assignment 2

Saroj Achraya
073MSTR262
 2.1

Write a report on an automobile, its parts, and how it works etc.

Some lists:
a) List the main parts of an vehicle and explain the functions of main parts.
b) List and describe the common types of fuel systems in vehicle.
c) How is the vehicle controlled by the driver?

Automobile is a motorized vehicle consisting of four wheels and powered by an internal engine.

Main parts of a vehicle are:

1. Engine:

It provides the power for operation of automobile and run auxiliary parts. Engine used in
most of the automobile is a internal combustion engine

2. Transmission System:

Transmission system transfers the power generated from engine to the wheels. This
system mainly consists of a clutch, a gear box, a propeller shaft to transmit the torque
output from the gear box to the rear axle and a differential gear to distribute the final
torque equally between the driving wheels

3. Control System:

This system is used by driver to control the movement of the vehicle. There are mainly
two types of control system.

a. Steering System:
The steering system allows the driver to control vehicle direction by turning the
wheels right or left. It uses a series of gears, swivel joints, and rods to do this
b. Braking System:
The brake system produces friction to slow or stop the vehicle. When the driver
presses the brake pedal, fluid pressure actuates a brake mechanism at each wheel.
These mechanisms force friction material (brake pads or shoes) against metal
discs or drums to slow wheel rotation

4. Body:
This acts as the outer framework of the automobile. All other parts are attached to the bod
and it is also responsible for the safety of the passengers and for aesthetics of vehicle.
5. Auxiliary Parts.
It consist of electrical and other component of the automobile which are installed in
automobile for safety and entertainment of passenger.

Based on the type of the fuel used in the engine there are three types of fuel system of
automobile are:

1. Petrol Injection system:

Engine sensors feed information (electrical signals) to computer about engine conditions.
Computer can then open injector for right amount of time. This maintains correct air-fuel
ratio. Spark plug ignites fuel.

2. Diesel Injection System:

High-pressure mechanical pump sprays fuel directly into combustion chamber. Piston
squeezes and heats air enough to ignite diesel fuel. Fuel begins to burn as soon as it
touches heated air. No throttle valve or spark plug is used. Amount of fuel injected into
chamber controls diesel engine power and speed.

3. Carburetor Injection System:

Fuel pump fills carburetor with fuel. When air flows through carburetor, fuel is pulled
into engine in correct proportions. Throttle valve controls airflow and engine power
output

Driver control the vehicle using steering system and braking system. The steering system
contains the steering wheel, steering shaft, steering gears, linkage rods, and other parts.
These parts allow driver to control the direction of the wheels and tires for maneuvering
(turning) your vehicle. Similarly brake system is a group of parts that is used for slowing
and stopping your vehicle quickly and safely.
 2.2

City Government (assume any) in Nepal is considering to improve situation of transportation

operation in the city by available modern intelligent transportation system technology that
can be implemented for the present context of Nepal (considering cost, possibility of
application etc.). For improving the system. Consider at any section of road or bus system or
any other means of transportation. Suggest suitable method of technology. Write down your
assumptions of the situation, give supportive reasoning to support your proposal, write down
the description of the method, benefit and possible problem regarding its application in your
assumed area.

The existing ring road of Kathmandu Valley has been a vital tool for the congestion management
of the Kathmandu Valley. The optimum use of this infrastructure is must to ensure the proper
transport system in Kathmandu Valley. There is a possibility of heavy traffic flow (in terms of
passengers) in ring road in near future. So, a GPS Navigation and Notification System can be a
useful tool to manage this traffic. At present there is no any proper schedule and timing of the
public transportation system. The public buses get too congested during office hours and run
almost empty during off hours. Sometimes no buses arrive for almost an hour and sometimes
multiple buses arrive at same time in a station. So to manage this imbalance we can use GPS
Navigation and Notification System for the coordination between buses and passengers.

As a part of this system, we would need to install a GPS system (which is already
installed in some of the buses that run in Ring road) in every public bus which will relay their
location and number if passenger on board at real time to a server. Then we need to install a
notification system at the major bus stop in the ring road, which will notify the passengers
waiting for the bus about the location of the nearest bus. We can also assign a counter that can be
used to notify the system about the number of passenger waiting for the bus. The data of number
of passengers at bus stop and at bus can assist the management to alter the number of bus
running. Management can increase the number of buses at high demand and vice versa based on
this data. The location of bus can also help running bus to maintain the proper distance among
them. The provision of mobile app for the notification system can make this system much more
efficient. The passenger can get the information about the location of nearest bus and bus stop
and prepare his trip accordingly using the mobile app.

The benefits of this system are:

1. It can help us to alter the number of public vehicle based on the number of passenger ie
demand based supply.
2. It can help passenger to save their waiting time and plan the trip accordingly.
3. The information about the trip in mobile app can help the new passengers who have less
information about the routs.
4. The data about the number of passenger flow can be used in traffic volume analysis and
planning.
The possible problems in implementing this system can be:

1. This system runs good if the information from the bus, bus stop and the passengers is
accurate enough. In our present context, where most of the passengers are not so
technology friendly, the data from the bus stops might not be accurate enough.
2. Relaying the accurate number of passenger traveling at peak hour can be a difficult task
3. Installing this technology can add a additional operational cost, which will might be
difficult to manage without increasing the bus fare
 2.3

Metropolitan in Nepal (assume any) is considering to improve situation of traffic congestion

in one of its important road (assume any section). Due to lack of fund to develop new road or
new transit system, Metropolitan office is considering transportation demand management
option. Suggest suitable method. Write down your assumptions of the situation, give
supportive reasoning to support your proposal, write down the description of the method,
benefit and possible problem regarding its application in your assumed area.

Wikipedia defines TDM as the application of strategies and policies to reduce travel demand
(specifically that of single-occupancy private vehicles), or to redistribute this demand in space or
in time. In other words, TDM is about changing the behaviors of commuters in order to achieve
that elusive perfect blend of walking, biking, transit, and driving.

Kupandol to Maitighar Section (esp. at Bridge over Bagmati River) of Kathmandu City is highly
congested during the office hours (9 am to 11 am and 4 pm to 7 pm).

The major reasons for the congestion at this section are:

1. It is one of the major links between two cities i.e. Kathmandu and Lalitpur.
2. During the office hours many users use private vehicle though this section to go to their
office or educational institutions.
3. The number smaller sized public vehicle is more then large sized public which can carry
more number of passengers.
4. Passengers use this same route although there are other alternatives as they are in habit of
using this route for long period of time

One method that can be implemented to decrease the congestion in this section are

Use of odd and even number plate private vehicle in alternative days:

As a part of this provision, the private vehicle with odd number plate will be
allowed to operate on odd day and the vehicle with even number plate will be
allowed to operate in even day. Considering the low congestion on public holiday,
this provision may be implemented only in office days. As there is the huge
number of private vehicle running in this section, implementation of this rule can
decrease the congestion to a great extent. This rule will encourage people to use
public vehicle. Moreover we can provide a provision for a dedicated lane for large
public vehicle so that have less delay at intersection. This will make the travelling
though large public vehicle faster than private vehicle and small public vehicle.
This will encourage the passenger to use the large public vehicle and service
provider to replace their small vehicle with large vehicle which are the ultimate
way for mass transit because they transport more number of passenger by
occupying less space. This provision will also encourage the habit carpooling and
habit of sharing the private vehicle which will help for efficient use of private
vehicle which are mostly partially occupied.

The problem for implementation of this method can be:

i. There will be opposition from the private vehicle users as implementation
of this system will force them to use of public vehicle and shifting from
private vehicle to public vehicle wont be a easy transition.
ii. Providing a different lane for public vehicle can be a challenging job due
to lack of sufficient road width.
iii. As public vehicle are already overcrowded at peak hours, diverting the
private vehicle users to public transportation without increasing the
facilities may further choke the public transportation system.