The Major Elements of the Road Transportation System - Term Paper Example

Executive Summary Road transportation system refers to a number of components and elements that combine and interact. Road transport system is made up of the road structures as the major elements. Road transportation can be termed as an engineering system because of the manner in which road construction is done. Construction of roads together with the vehicles, trucks and all the other equipment driven on roads is a product of engineering. The maintenance and running of this system cannot be accomplished without engineering processes. Actually all the components and structures involved in the road transportation system are designed through engineering processes. Road transportation system is justified for this analysis due to the massive engineering works involved in setting up every part of the system. This analysis is aimed at identifying the major elements of the road transportation system, their interactions and the context in which it operates including the factors that affect the system. System Overview According to Oakes, Leone, Les, Gunn, Craig (2001), road transport system is made up of the infrastructure and the vehicles. Infrastructure in this case includes the fixed installations that make it possible for vehicles to operate. It consists of the road, bridges, the terminal and facilities needed for parking and for the maintenance of the vehicles. Many other things can be counted in this such as road signs and symbols that facilitate driving on the road. The vehicles are the non living devices that people use to move from one place to another with their goods. Many of them are made of metal and have internal combustion engines that run on bio or fossil fuels. Some vehicles can be pulled manually for example by horse. There are various types of vehicles each with its own purpose. This category included bicycles, motorcycles, buses, cars, lorries among other vehicle types. Another element is the road which carries the vehicle from one place to another. Roads can range from marrum roads made of earth to all weather roads made from cement and tarmac or asphalt. Roads come with drainage channels and markings necessary comfortable use of the road in all weather Choi (2004). The terminal is used whenever the vehicle has reached a destination and has to park or needed to halt for some time before picking up the journey later. Terminals are important for maintenance of the vehicle and for picking and dropping the passengers. All the elements are related in that one does not exist without the other. Interactions between the elements are crucial since they give life to the system. System Interactions Interactions between the vehicle and the road are among the major interactions in the road transport system. Tire or contact pressure is important since it is a determining factor of the contact area and pressure between the road and tire surface. The wheel load determines the depth of the road which ensures that that is no failure in the sub-grade. Configurations of wheels affect the deflection and distribution of stress in a road. Many of the commercial vehicles are made with dual wheels at the back to ensure that contact pressure does not go out of the limits. In axle configuration the load carrying capacity of a vehicle is normally enhanced using multiple axles. When a vehicle is carrying load it causes a lot of damage on the road if its speed is creep. Increasing the speed from 2 to 24km per hour reduces stress and deflection by 40 per cent Oakes et al (2001). Traffic affects the road as well not just because of the magnitude of the load of the wheel but also due to frequency of load applications. Every load application results in deformation and total deformation results from all these. Ride quality in the interaction of the road and the vehicle is very important since it affects safety on the roads. Interaction between the road and the vehicle also produces both internal and external noises which are of environmental concern. Interactions between the various elements of the system determine the duration of these elements. A vehicle’s interaction with a road determines the duration of the road, vehicle or transport structure such as bridge or terminal. Maintenance of both roads and vehicles is important to ensure long life to the two elements. Interactions also exist between terminals and vehicles but these are of minimal value. System Context There are many factors that affect road transportation systems. The environment that the road system operates in responds to all factors such as economical, social, political among others. Environments vary depending on the place the system operates in. Environmental factors have an effect on the way the materials used in road construction perform and they cause some damages. Major environmental factors are precipitation and temperature. Temperature affects concrete differently from the way it affects asphalt Mitchell (1993). Temperature causes an effect on the resilient modulus of asphalt layers while concrete slabs curl up. Temperature or frictional stresses develop in rigid pavements because of the varying temperatures in the bottom and top slab. Frost can also make roads to be rough. Bad drainage of precipitation can cause shear strength, loss of support and pumping. Soil factors also contribute to the quality of the road since they can allow or resist erosion, give strength to a road or deny it that strength. Apart from environmental factors there are traffic factors such as contact pressure, axle configuration, wheel load, load repetitions, moving loads and load. Political and economic factors also determine the types of roads and vehicles that are used in various parts of the world. For example many industrialized countries tend to have high quality long lasting roads as compared to the developing countries. Sophisticated new cars are also common in rich countries unlike in the poorer countries where old models are used. The availability of road engineers in a particular place may make it possible for between roads to be made in comparison to other areas without such services. The running of a road transport system in a given country is a product of all political, economical, social, technical, geographical and other factors that are in play in that particular country. Future Challenges Road construction engineers face problems because of the various types of soils and areas on which roads pass on. Some of them result in street collapses, sink holes, landslides, falling rocks, erosion and utility failure. These are just challenges encountered in the use of roads and which engineers are expected to consider. These factors normally lead to the destruction of the road. Road construction is facing the challenge of the various landscapes because some places are not fit for road construction. It is either they are very hilly or mountainous that they need high technology for road construction. Engineers and designers also need to get material for road construction that is very long lasting and can withstand the various forces that impact on it. Das and Levinson (2004) say that another thing is the design of vehicles that when used on roads will not result in immediate destruction of the roads. Road accidents have been an ongoing challenge facing engineers and designers. It is important for new vehicle designs and roads to reduce as much as possible the number of people dying through accidents. Another challenge is the expenses involved in the construction of roads. Many countries in the world struggle with having a good road network through out the country. The major problem is that road construction materials are very expensive. Cheaper materials should be designed to ensure that more and more roads are constructed in very part of the world. Through vehicle and road construction, designers and engineers are also expected to reduce the excessive use resources which lead to environmental degradation. The future of road transport seeks to combine comfort, safety and speed on the roads and this must be achieve by the designers and engineers of the system. Many people would like to travel faster, safely and comfortably on better roads and in better cars.Top of FormBottom of Form Conclusion In conclusion this report carries an analysis on the road transportation system, its key elements how these major elements interact and the context in which they operate. Road transportation has elements such as the vehicles and the roads, bridges and terminals as the major ones. All these interact to make the system complete. All these elements operate in an environment that is dictated by a number of factors such as political, environmental, social, technical, and economical among others which determine the behavior of the road transportation system. Environmental factors have a bigger contribution through the elements such as precipitation and temperature as they impact on the system physically and through out. Economic, technical, political and social factors dictate the quality of roads and cars that exist. The way the system is run in any country depends on all these factors working in combination. The behavior of the road transport system is determined by element interactions with the factors affecting them. Bibliography Chen W-F, Scawthorn C. Earthquake Engineering Handbook, CRC Press, 2003, Griggs, F. 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