Search

Personal transportation as we know it is being reimagined thanks to the introduction of autonomous electric vehicles. With autonomous vehicles (AV) on the rise, especially for Transportation Network Companies (TNC), it is expected that the experience inside of the vehicle cabin will be tailored engineered for riders, not drivers. As a result, customer-facing attributes such as noise, vibration, and harshness (NVH) will need to be considered with a new perspective. Of the many challenges in developing NVH performance of an AV, road noise and component noise have, and continue, to require the most amount of development and refinement effort. It is well known that a critical component in the chain from the tire-road interface to the occupant’s ears is the tire-wheel assembly and, therefore, allocating targets for this subsystem is essential. When in motion, the tire-wheel system possesses complex structural-acoustic properties like centrifugal, gyroscopic, fluid-structure coupling, pre-load effects, and excitation that may be described by random enforced motion at the tire contact patch and road interface. Component targets are derived by experimental and virtual methods, enabling simulation-driven product development. For tire testing and development, experimental methods are often limited by the availability of complex and expensive test infrastructure. An alternative approach is explored in order to develop tire-wheel subsystem targets using experimental tests and virtual methods applying transmissibility theory with multiple degrees of freedom based on frequency response functions derived at free-free boundary conditions., QC 20240125

The management of free-roaming horses (Equus ferus) and burros (E. asinus) in the United States has been referred to as a “wicked problem” because, although there are population control options, societal values will ultimately determine what is acceptable and what is not. In the United States, free-roaming equids are managed by different types of organizations and agencies, and the landscapes that these animals inhabit vary widely in terms of access, size, topography, climate, natural resources, flora, and fauna. This landscape diversity, coupled with contemporary socioeconomic and political environments, means that adaptive management practices are needed to regulate these free-roaming populations. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) currently manages free-roaming equids on 177 herd management areas in the United States by applying fertility control measures in situ and/or removing horses, which are either adopted by private individuals or sent to long-term holding facilities. The BLM off-range population currently includes >50,000 animals and costs approximately $50 million USD per year to maintain; on-range equid numbers were estimated in March 2022 to be approximately 82,384. On-range populations can grow at 15-20% annually, and current estimates far exceed the designated appropriate management level of 26,715. To reduce population recruitment, managers need better information about effective, long-lasting, or permanent fertility control measures. Because mares breed only once a year, fertility control studies take years to complete. Some contraceptive approaches have been studied for decades, and results from various trials can collectively inform future research directions and actions. Employing one or more fertility control tools in concert with removals offers the best potential for success. Active, iterative, cooperative, and thoughtful management practices can protect free-roaming horses while simultaneously protecting the habitat. Herein, we review con

IDFG Report Number 22-105. Published March 2022. Period covered CY 2021.