Evasive manoeuvres with a steering robot

In the pursuit of an objective rating on vehicle stability performance, it is always desirable to reduce disturbances and inconsistencies during experimental evaluations, especially the ones introduced by human drivers. This paper presents the development of a steering robot designed for closed-loop steering tasks during evasive manoeuvres. It describes the controller structure and discusses experimental results, in addition to simulation/vehicle model verifications and theoretical control analysis.     

烟大铁路轮渡及其渡船的结构与性能

铁路轮渡是沿河(海)岸线或跨海的长距离"水(海)铁路"运输,在海岸线长、沿海水域辽阔的国家,利用"海上铁路"轮渡开展跨海、跨国的国际联运。烟大铁路轮渡项目集铁路、港口、海上安监、渡船四项工程于一体,是具有多专业技术的系统工程。通过国内外广泛调查研究,其操作性能为安全航行提供可靠保障。烟大铁路轮渡完善了路网结构,开辟了东北地区到山东省及东部沿海地区的最短径路,形成一条新的铁路入关通道。     

人工神经网络在基坑变形性状研究中的应用

基坑工程不仅要保证维护结构本身的安全,而且要保证周围建(构)筑物的安全和正常使用。开展基坑工程变形性状研究具有重要意义。影响基坑变形的因素很复杂,传统的计算方法已无法准确预测基坑的变形。人工神经网络(ANN)有很强的解决非线性问题的能力。近些年来基于ANN的方法在岩土工程中得到了广泛的应用。本文对ANN在基坑工程中的应用研究进行了综述,并对其发展方向进行了分析。     

施工图设计-施工总承包模式在铁路建设中的应用研究

工程总承包是目前国际上流行的项目管理模式。铁路建设推行施工图设计-施工总承包模式,实现业主与总承包商签订施工图设计和施工合同,施工图设计和施工同时进行,统筹安排和优化,总体控制项目造价。推进铁路建设施工图设计-施工总承包模式,国家及铁道部应建立和完善有关的法律法规与规章,借鉴国内外经验,使工程总承包模式更加规范化、标准化、多样化。     

新建铁路路基改良土动力学试验研究

针对新建铁路基床底层填筑中黏土是否需要进行改良以及改良深度的问题,采用现场动载激振试验的研究方法,对基床底层未改良、部分改良、全部改良的基床结构进行动应力、动变形、塑性变形等项目的测试。通过对不同基床底层结构形式的动载模拟试验研究和测试结果的对比分析,得出路基的弹塑性变形、动刚度随激振次数的变化趋势。     

铁路地理信息系统研究

铁路地理信息系统是一个利用计算机网络技术,采用分布式数据库系统建立的专业化管理与决策空间信息系统,支持管理和科技人员快速查询全国铁路资源及铁路沿线环境状况,实现政务办公、综合分析、战略决策、信息管理等方面自动化,以及防治铁路灾害决策科学化。本文从我国铁路地理信息系统的需求分析入手,探讨全国铁路地理信息系统的总体设计。     

The association of the population recruitment of gulf menhaden, Brevoortia patronus, with Mississippi River discharge

Gulf menhaden, Brevoortia patronus, which constitutes a major industrial reduction fishery in the USA, spawn across the northern Gulf of Mexico with a focus of spawning about the Mississippi Delta. This species is estuarine dependent; adults spawn over the continental shelf and their larvae are transported, by mechanisms that are presently not well understood, to estuarine nursery areas. Larval gulf menhaden, along with some other surface oriented larval fishes, appear to aggregate along the Mississippi River plume front, while evidence of the ecological consequences of this aggregation in terms of the feeding, growth, and survival of larvae is ambiguous. On an annual scale, Mississippi River discharge is negatively associated with numbers of half year old recruits. Discharge of the Mississippi River and the population recruitment of gulf menhaden may be plausibly linked through the action of the river's plume and its front on the shoreward transport of larvae. Greater river discharge results in an expansive plume that might project larvae farther offshore and prolong the shoreward transport of larvae. An indirect, decadal scale, positive response of recruitment and river discharge is possible, but not certain. Recruitment became elevated after 1975 when river discharge increased and became highly variable. This response might owe to enhanced primary and secondary production driven by nutrient influx from the Mississippi River.     

Development of Green-Naghdi models with a wave-absorbing beach for nonlinear, irregular wave propagation

Two-dimensional and three-dimensional Green-Naghdi (GN) models equipped with a numerical wave-absorbing beach have been developed to simulate nonlinear, regular, and irregular wave propagation. The numerical beach is introduced near the downstream boundary to absorb outgoing waves. An appropriate amount of numerical damping and an appropriate length of numerical beach are investigated using numerical experiments. The results show that the GN models with a numerical beach work very well in simulating wave propagation in water in a small computational domain.     

Manpower and employment issues

Overmanning and restrictive labour practices are major causes of low productivity in Indian ports. Proposals are put forward for a programme of reforms to support investment in modern cargo handling systems.     

Basic Analytical Study of Pantograph-catenary System Dynamics

For a high speed electrical rail system, good dynamic performance of the pantograph-catenary system is vital for smooth and continuous current collection. It has been known for many years that to achieve this the head of the pantograph should be made as light as possible and the average stiffness of the catenary should be high. These conclusions, however, have been reached by numerical modelling and operational experience. In this paper the pantograph-catenary system is modelled as a time-varying, single degree-of-freedom system to facilitate an analytical investigation of the system dynamics. Although the model is very simple, it allows physical insight into the dynamic behaviour of the system, and because the excitation is parametric it also allows the stability of the system to be investigated. The finite element method is used to determine the catenary characteristics and Floquet theory is used to analyse the behaviour of the coupled system.