Natural Gas Systems: Suggested Changes to Truck and Motorcoach Regulations and Inspection Procedures
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Natural Gas Systems: Suggested Changes to Truck and Motorcoach Regulations and Inspection Procedures March 2013 FOREWORD This report provides recommendations for suggested changes needed to Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSRs), North American Standard inspection procedures, and out-of- service (OOS) criteria to accommodate and facilitate the use of natural gas (compressed or liquefied) as an alternative to traditional fuels such as diesel and gasoline in commercial vehicles. In addition to providing specific recommendations for changes, this report summarizes the process used to arrive at these recommendations, which included a literature review and gap analysis, industry site visits/consultations, and a formal peer review process. NOTICE This document is disseminated under the sponsorship of the U.S. Department of Transportation in the interest of information exchange. The United States Government assumes no liability for its contents or the use thereof. The contents of this report reflect the views of the contractor, who is responsible for the accuracy of the data presented herein. The contents do not necessarily reflect the official policy of the U.S. Department of Transportation. This report does not constitute a standard, specification, or regulation. The United States Government does not endorse products or manufacturers named herein. Trade or manufacturers’ names appear herein solely because they are considered essential to the objective of this report. Technical Report Documentation Page 1. Report No. 2. Government Accession No. 3. Recipient's Catalog No. FMCSA-RRT-13-044 4. Title and Subtitle 5. Report Date Natural Gas Systems: Suggested Changes to Truck and Motorcoach March 2013 Regulations and Inspection Procedures 6. Performing Organization Code 7. Author(s) 8. Performing Organization Report No. Dana Lowell 9. Performing Organization Name and Address 10. Work Unit No. (TRAIS) M.J. Bradley & Associates, LLC Manchester, NH 03101 11. Contract or Grant No. 12. Sponsoring Agency Name and Address 13. Type of Report and Period Covered U.S. Department of Transportation Final Report Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration Office of Analysis, Research, and Technology 1200 New Jersey Ave., SE 14. Sponsoring Agency Code Washington, DC 20590 FMCSA 15. Supplementary Notes Contracting Officer’s Technical Representative: Quon Kwan 16. Abstract This report provides recommendations for suggested changes to Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSRs), North American Standard (NAS) inspection procedures, and out-of-service (OOS) criteria to accommodate and facilitate the use of natural gas (compressed or liquefied) as an alternative to traditional fuels such as diesel and gasoline in commercial vehicles. In addition to providing specific recommendations for changes, this report summarizes the process used to arrive at these recommendations, which included a literature review and gap analysis, industry site visits/consultations, and a formal peer review process. Current FMCSRs, NAS inspection procedures, and OOS criteria are targeted primarily toward liquid-fueled vehicles. They address the unique characteristics of gaseous-fueled vehicles in a very limited way and fail to address cryogenic fuels. The purpose of this project was to identify changes to the current FMCSRs and inspection procedures, if any, that would specifically and fully address the unique characteristics of natural gas used as a fuel and serve to improve the overall safety of commercial vehicle operations by ensuring that commercial vehicles powered by natural gas meet appropriate safety criteria at all times while operating on public roads. 17. Key Words 18. Distribution Statement Commercial motor vehicle, compressed natural gas, No restrictions CNG, fuel, liquefied natural gas, LNG, safety 19. Security Classif. (of this report) 20. Security Classif. (of this page) 21. No. of Pages 22. Price Unclassified Unclassified 86 N/A Form DOT F 1700.7 (8-72) Reproduction of completed page authorized. SI* (MODERN METRIC) CONVERSION FACTORS TABLE OF APPROXIMATE CONVERSIONS TO SI UNITS Symbol When You Know Multiply By To Find Symbol LENGTH in inches 25.4 millimeters mm ft feet 0.305 meters m yd yards 0.914 meters m mi miles 1.61 kilometers km AREA in² square inches 645.2 square millimeters mm² ft² square feet 0.093 square meters m² yd² square yards 0.836 square meters m² ac acres 0.405 hectares ha mi² square miles 2.59 square kilometers km² VOLUME 1,000 L shall be shown in m³ fl oz fluid ounces 29.57 milliliters ml gal gallons 3.785 liters L ft³ cubic feet 0.028 cubic meters m³ yd³ cubic yards 0.765 cubic meters m³ MASS oz ounces 28.35 grams g lb pounds 0.454 kilograms kg T short tons (2,000 lb) 0.907 megagrams (or “metric ton”) mg (or “t”) TEMPERATURE Temperature is in exact degrees °F Fahrenheit 5 × (F-32) ÷ 9 Celsius °C or (F-32) ÷ 1.8 ILLUMINATION fc foot-candles 10.76 lux lx fl foot-lamberts 3.426 candela/m² cd/m² Force and Pressure or Stress lbf poundforce 4.45 newtons N lbf/in² poundforce per square inch 6.89 kilopascals kPa TABLE OF APPROXIMATE CONVERSIONS FROM SI UNITS Symbol When You Know Multiply By To Find Symbol LENGTH mm millimeters 0.039 inches in m meters 3.28 feet ft m meters 1.09 yards yd km kilometers 0.621 miles mi AREA mm² square millimeters 0.0016 square inches in² m² square meters 10.764 square feet ft² m² square meters 1.195 square yards yd² ha hectares 2.47 acres ac km² square kilometers 0.386 square miles mi² VOLUME ml milliliters 0.034 fluid ounces fl oz L liters 0.264 gallons gal m³ cubic meters 35.314 cubic feet ft³ m³ cubic meters 1.307 cubic yards yd³ MASS g grams 0.035 ounces oz kg kilograms 2.202 pounds lb mg (or “t”) megagrams (or “metric ton”) 1.103 short tons (2,000 lb) T TEMPERATURE Temperature is in exact degrees °C Celsius 1.8C + 32 Fahrenheit °F ILLUMINATION lx lux 0.0929 foot-candles fc cd/m² candela/m² 0.2919 footlamberts fl Force & Pressure Or Stress N newtons 0.225 poundforce lbf kPa kilopascals 0.145 poundforce per square inch lbf/in² * SI is the symbol for the International System of Units. Appropriate rounding should be made to comply with Section 4 of ASTM E380. (Revised March 2003, Section 508-accessible version September 2009.) ii TABLE OF CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ........................................................................................................ vii 1. INTRODUCTION.................................................................................................................1 1.1 PURPOSE ......................................................................................................................1 1.2 PROCESS ......................................................................................................................2 2. SUMMARY OF FMCSA REQUIREMENTS FOR NGVS ..............................................5 2.1 FMCSRS ........................................................................................................................5 2.1.1 Fuel System Requirements ............................................................................... 5 2.1.2 Inspection, Repair, and Maintenance Requirements......................................... 6 2.1.3 Inspection Standards and OOS Criteria ............................................................ 6 2.2 NAS INSPECTION PROCEDURES AND OOS CRITERIA ......................................7 3. SUMMARY OF LITERATURE REVIEW......................................................................11 3.1 CODES, STANDARDS, AND BEST PRACTICES, CNGVS ...................................11 3.2 CODES, STANDARDS, AND BEST PRACTICES, LNGVS ...................................13 3.3 ANALYSIS OF PRIOR NGV INCIDENTS ...............................................................16 3.4 OPERATIONAL SAFETY FOCUS FOR NGVS .......................................................19 4. GAP ANALYSIS .................................................................................................................21 4.1 FMCSRS ......................................................................................................................21 4.2 NAS INSPECTION PROCEDURES ..........................................................................22 4.3 OOS CRITERIA ..........................................................................................................23 5. SITE VISITS AND INDUSTRY CONSULTATIONS ....................................................25 5.1 SUMMARY OF SITE VISITS ....................................................................................25 5.2 SUMMARY OF SITE VISIT COMMENTS ..............................................................26 6. PEER REVIEW ..................................................................................................................33 6.1 PEER REVIEW PROCESS .........................................................................................33 6.2 SUMMARY OF PEER REVIEW COMMENTS ........................................................33 6.2.1 Mandates Beyond Current Industry Best Practice .......................................... 33 6.2.2 Certification of NGV Conversions ................................................................. 34 6.2.3 Certification of Qualified NGV Inspectors ..................................................... 34 6.2.4 Un-odorized CNG and Onboard Methane Detection ...................................... 35 iii 6.2.5 Better Reporting System for NGV Incidents .................................................. 35 6.2.6 Training for Commercial