Assessment of vehicle performance in harsh environments using LSU driving simulator and numerical simulations.

PDFTech Reporthttp://static.tti.tamu.edu/swutc.tamu.edu/publications/technicalreports/600451-00112-1.pdfSWUTC/15/600451-00112-1Report 600451-00112-1DTRT12-G-UTC06Driver performanceDriving simulatorsEvaluation and assessmentVehicle performanceWeather conditionsWindUnited StatesSouthwest Region University Transportation Center (U.S.)Texas A&M Transportation InstituteCai, Steve C. S.Ishak, Sherif S.Hu, JiexuanGulf Coast Center for Evacuation and Transportation ResiliencyLouisiana State University (Baton Rouge, La.). Dept. of Civil and Environmental EngineeringSouthwest Region University Transportation Center (U.S.)Texas A&M Transportation InstituteUnited States. Dept. of Transportation. Research and Innovative Technology AdministrationUniversity Transportation Centers Program (U.S.)US Transportation CollectionWith the economic booming development of coastal areas, the importance of the traffic planning becomesobvious not only in a hurricane evacuation but also in the daily transportation. Vehicle performance on thefreeway during harsh environments is critical to the success of the planning process. The present study aimsto study the effect of harsh environments on the driving behavior and vehicle performance. The drivingsimulator installed in Louisiana State University was used to investigate the driver\ue2\u20ac\u2122s behavior and vehicleperformance in different adverse conditions such as strong crosswinds, wet road surface, and curving.Modified parameters of the driving simulator were determined to reproduce the real wind loadingsaccording to the vehicle velocity and wind velocity, through the manipulation of appropriate software.While the vehicle performance was recorded in terms of lane offset, vehicle velocity, and heading error, thedriver\ue2\u20ac\u2122s reaction was measured in the form of the reaction time, steering angle, and the time of pressing onbrake and gas pedal, respectively. The results illustrate that a higher wind speed leads to more variance oflane offset and heading error. The rainy weather/wet road surface does have an effect on the vehiclevelocity in a strong wind environment. The findings of this study demonstrate the valuable use of a drivingsimulator to represent different hazardous driving conditions and to develop a statistic model to predict andestimate the driver\ue2\u20ac\u2122s behavior and vehicle performance