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Improving Log Loading Efficiency for Improved Sustainable Transport within the Irish Forest and Biomass Sectors

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  • Amanda Sosa

    (School of Biosystems Engineering, University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin 4, Ireland)

  • Radomir Klvac

    (Faculty of Forestry and Wood Technology, Mendel University, Zemědělská 3, 613 00 Brno, Czech Republic)

  • Enda Coates

    (Department of Chemical and Life Sciences, Waterford Institute of Technology, Cork Road, Waterford, Ireland)

  • Tom Kent

    (Department of Chemical and Life Sciences, Waterford Institute of Technology, Cork Road, Waterford, Ireland)

  • Ger Devlin

    (School of Biosystems Engineering, University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin 4, Ireland)

Abstract

In Ireland, timber and biomass haulage faces the challenge of transporting enough material within strict legal dimensions and gross vehicle weights restrictions for trucks and trailers. The objective of this study was to develop a method to control payload weight by knowing the moisture content of the wood. Weights, volumes, and moisture content were gathered from 100 truckloads of Sitka spruce pulpwood. Truck volume and weight utilization patterns were analyzed based on stacked volume, truck volume, and weights recorded from the weighbridge. Solid/bulk volume conversion factors for the truckloads were estimated indicating the truck’s solid volume capacity to be filled. Trucks were grouped into five conditions based on their configuration—volume capacity and legal maximum payload. A loaded volume fraction was estimated to assess the optimal volume capacity and stanchion height at which the trucks should be loaded. Results showed that 100% of the trucks presented volume underutilization, with a maximum of 27.5 m 3 (only 39.85% volume capacity). In contrast, 67% of trucks were overweight while the remaining 33% were under the legal maximum weight. The average solid/bulk volume conversion factor was 0.66 ± 0.013 at 95% confidence level. Depending on the conditions, trucks can be filled to 100% of their volume capacity with wood at an MC from 29% to 55%. The minimum truck volume capacity utilization was 45%. This methodology can be used by truck hauliers, enabling them to determine in-forest the optimum volume and weight of wood to be transported by knowing the moisture content (MC), the wood specie, and using the height of the stanchions of the trailer as reference when loading the truck.

Suggested Citation

  • Amanda Sosa & Radomir Klvac & Enda Coates & Tom Kent & Ger Devlin, 2015. "Improving Log Loading Efficiency for Improved Sustainable Transport within the Irish Forest and Biomass Sectors," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 7(3), pages 1-14, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:7:y:2015:i:3:p:3017-3030:d:46723
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Devlin, Ger J. & McDonnell, Kevin & Ward, Shane, 2008. "Timber haulage routing in Ireland: an analysis using GIS and GPS," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 16(1), pages 63-72.
    2. Devlin, Ger & Klvac, Radomir & McDonnell, Kevin, 2013. "Fuel efficiency and CO2 emissions of biomass based haulage in Ireland – A case study," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 54(C), pages 55-62.
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    Cited by:

    1. Teijo Palander & Stelian Alexandru Borz & Kalle Kärhä, 2021. "Impacts of Road Infrastructure on the Environmental Efficiency of High Capacity Transportation in Harvesting of Renewable Wood Energy," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(2), pages 1-20, January.
    2. Zygmunt Stanula & Marek Wieruszewski & Katarzyna Mydlarz & Krzysztof Adamowicz, 2023. "Fuel Use Reduction and Economic Savings from Optimization of Road Transportation of Coniferous Roundwood," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(14), pages 1-16, July.
    3. Pei Liu & Dong Mu & Daqing Gong, 2017. "Eliminating Overload Trucking via a Modal Shift to Achieve Intercity Freight Sustainability: A System Dynamics Approach," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(3), pages 1-24, March.
    4. Katarzyna Mydlarz & Marek Wieruszewski, 2020. "Problems of Sustainable Transport of Large-Sized Roundwood," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(5), pages 1-10, March.

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