TRANSIT BUS RESEARCH:

Transit Bus Project:

This four-year project was conducted at Wayne State University and was funded by the U.S. Department of Transportation and the Michigan Department of Transportation ($220,000). As co-principal investigator for this project (1989 to 1993), Dr. Dusseau directed one graduate research assistant in finite-element computer modeling and structural analyses of typical medium-duty transit buses. The goal of this project was to accurately determine the parametric responses of the steel chassis, steel frame, steel body, and plywood deck of typical medium-duty transit buses under accident-induced loading both with and without the following: seat belts, wheelchairs, wheelchair lifts, and wheelchair restraints. Laboratory tests were also conducted to determine the shear strength capacity of the bus frame-to-chassis connections.

Dusseau, R.A., Khasnabis, S., and Smith, T.A., AStructural Responses of Transit Buses: Impact of Wheelchair Loads,@ Transportation Research Record No. 1521, 1996, Transportation Research Board, Washington, D.C.

Dusseau, R.A., Khasnabis, S., and Smith, T.A., AStructural Responses of Transit Buses: Impact of Seat Belt Loads,@ Journal of Transportation Engineering, Vol. 121, No. 6, November/ December, 1995, pp. 524-530, Reviewed by the Urban Transportation Division of the American Society of Civil Engineers, New York, New York.

Dusseau, R.A., Khasnabis, S., and Smith, T.A., AShear Capacity of U-bolt Connections in Transit Buses,@ Transportation Research Record No. 1433, 1994, pp. 31-40, Transportation Research Board, Washington, D.C.

Dusseau, R.A., Khasnabis, S., and Zaher, S., AStructural Analyses of Two Typical Medium-Duty Transit Buses,@ Transportation Research Record No. 1376, 1992, pp. 1-9, Transportation Research Board, Washington, D.C.

Dusseau, R.A., Khasnabis, S., and Dombrowski, T.J., AImpact of Seat Belts on the Structure of a Typical Transit Bus,@ Transportation Research Record No. 1322, 1991, pp. 1-8, Transportation Research Board, Washington, D.C.

Khasnabis, S., Dusseau, R.A., and Dombrowski, T.J., ASafety Implications of Seat Belts on Transit Buses,@ Transportation Research Record No. 1322, 1991, pp. 9-16, Transportation Research Board, Washington, D.C.