COLD WEATHER TRANSIT TECHNOLOGY PROGRAM. VOLUME 8: BUS WHEEL HOUSING DEICING PROJECT

The Cold Weather Transit Technology (CWTT) Program was initiated to develop new and effective methods for assuring the dependable operation of transit systems in severe cold, ice, and snow. The CWTT program is being implemented by UMTA through a grant to the University of Notre Dame with the Vought Corporation as the principal contractor. Bus operations in the winter tend to collect ice and slush within the bus wheel housings due to wheel splash. This buildup of ice eventually contacts the steering wheels and linkages, thereby limiting or preventing safe operation of the bus. The objective of this task was to evaluate the effectiveness of a wheel housing deicer on an existing bus transit system. This report presents the design and development of a bus wheel housing deicer system and its evaluation during the winters of 1981-1982 and 1982-1983. This task was conducted in 3 phases: 1) a survey was conducted of bus systems to quantify the wheel housing icing problems and to identify a particular bus model and property location for the performance of the deicer evaluation; 2) an analysis was made of various devices to determine the most applicable wheel housing deicing method for evaluation; and 3) operational evaluation involved designing, fabricating, and installing a deicer system in the steered wheel housing areas of an existing bus and comparing its operation with an unmodified bus operating in same winter environment.

• Corporate Authors:

  Vought Corporation

  Systems Division, P.O. Box 5907
  Dallas, TX  United States  75222

  Urban Mass Transportation Administration

  400 7th Street, SW
  Washington, DC  United States  20590
• Authors:
  • Payne, J N
  • Lawson Jr, S J
  • Barrilleaux, H P
• Publication Date: 1983-11

Media Info

• Pagination: 51 p.

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Buses; Deicing; Design; Housings; Ice; Steering; Vehicle design; Wheels
• Identifier Terms: Urban Mass Transportation Act
• Uncontrolled Terms: Design criteria
• Old TRIS Terms: Bus design; Umta section 6
• Subject Areas: Design; Highways; Public Transportation; Vehicles and Equipment; I91: Vehicle Design and Safety;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00382267
• Record Type: Publication
• Report/Paper Numbers: UMTA-IN-06-0009-83-8Final Rpt.
• Files: TRIS, USDOT
• Created Date: Apr 30 1984 12:00AM