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1 Connecting Australia with modular B-Triples 2 3 4 Matthieu Berenia, *, Rob Di Cristoforob, 1 5 6 7 a National Transport Commission (NTC), L15/628 Bourke Street, Melbourne VIC 3000, Australia 8 b Advantia Transport Consulting Pty Ltd, PO Box 171, Briar Hill VIC 3088, Australia 9 10 Submission date: 1st August 2011. Word count: 4476. Contains 8 figures & 4 tables. 11 12 13 Abstract 14 15 The National Transport Commission (NTC) has proposed a national framework for B-triple operations that 16 includes basic vehicle specifications and operating conditions. The Commission anticipates that the national 17 framework will replace the inconsistent state-by-state approaches currently adopted for B-triples, which largely 18 discourage the use of B-triples for interstate operation. This paper presents a productivity analysis, a safety 19 analysis and an infrastructure impact analysis (pavements and bridges). It also presents a cost-benefit analysis 20 that includes the monetised safety and environmental benefits of national B-triple operation. 21 22 23 24 25 1. INTRODUCTION 26 27 B-triples are vehicle combinations comprising a prime mover towing three semi-trailers. They are a basic 28 extension of the already common B-double, and have mass and dimensions similar to those of the existing A-29 double, or 'double road train' (FIGURE 1). The articulation points between the three trailer units each feature a 30 fifth-wheel coupling (or „B‟ coupling, hence the name „B-triple‟). Such a coupling supports the front of the 31 following trailer and allows free relative rotation between adjacent vehicle units about the vertical axis (when 32 turning) and the transverse axis (when travelling over crests and through dips), but strongly resists relative 33 rotation about the longitudinal axis. The resistance to relative rotation about the longitudinal axis is commonly 34 referred to as „roll-coupling‟. It is widely accepted that vehicle combinations featuring „B‟ couplings exhibit far 35 greater dynamic rollover stability than those with non-roll-coupled „A‟ couplings (i.e. standard converter 36 dollies). 37 38 B-double 39 40 41 B-triple 42 43 44 45 46 A-double (Double Road Train) 47 48 49 FIGURE 1 B-double, B-triple and A-double combinations. * Corresponding author. Tel.: +61 3 9236 5000; fax: +61 3 9642 8922 Email address: mbereni@ntc.gov.au Tel.: +61 409 525 959. Email address: rob@advantia.com.au 1 TRB 2012 Annual Meeting Paper revised from original submittal.
