Review of the 21st Century Truck Partnership

The 21st Century Truck Partnership (21CTP), a cooperative research and development partnership formed by four federal agencies with 15 industrial partners, was launched in the year 2000 with high hopes that it would dramatically advance the technologies used in trucks and buses, yielding a cleaner, safer, more efficient generation of vehicles. Review of the 21st Century Truck Partnership critically examines and comments on the overall adequacy and balance of the 21CTP. The book reviews how well the program has accomplished its goals, evaluates progress in the program, and makes recommendations to improve the likelihood of the Partnership meeting its goals. Key recommendations of the book include that the 21CTP should be continued, but the future program should be revised and better balanced. A clearer goal setting strategy should be developed, and the goals should be clearly stated in measurable engineering terms and reviewed periodically so as to be based on the available funds. One of the most critical issues facing the United States today is the proper management of our water resources. Water availability and quality are changing due to increasing population, urbanization, and land use and climate change. Despite the fact that overall water use in the U.S. has remained relatively constant since about 1980, shortages in water supply have been increasing in frequency in many parts of the country, and water quality is also declining in some areas. The National Science Foundation (NSF) has proposed the Water and Environmental Research Systems (WATERS) Network as one possible initiative whereby NSF could provide the advances in the basic science needed to respond effectively to the challenge of managing water resources. In its interim report, the committee comments on the WATERS draft design strategy and provides advice in several key categories related to the WATERS plan: science questions; observatory design; sensors; cyberinfrastructure; education and outreach; and governance and management FRONT MATTER......Page 10 SUMMARY......Page 14 1 ORGANIZATION AND BACKGROUND......Page 20 2 MANAGEMENT STRATEGY AND PRIORITY SETTING......Page 32 3 ENGINE SYSTEMS AND FUELS......Page 39 4 HEAVY-DUTY HYBRID VEHICLES......Page 69 5 PARASITIC LOSSES OF ENERGY......Page 83 6 ENGINE IDLE REDUCTION......Page 95 7 SAFETY OF HEAVY VEHICLES......Page 100 A Biographical Sketches of Committee Members......Page 110 B Presentations and Committee Meetings......Page 116 C R&D Funding Trends of the FreedomCAR and Vehicle Technologies Program......Page 118 D Vehicle Emission Regulations......Page 120 E Acronyms and Abbreviations......Page 125 F State of the Art in Light-Duty Electric Vehicles......Page 127 G Members of the 21st Century Truck Partnership......Page 129