Method of estimating human error probabilities in construction for structural reliability analysis based on analytic hierarchy process and failure likelihood index method

Partial safety factors must be evaluated precisely for the given target reliability index to ensure the certain level of structural reliability due to uncertain factors. The current studies of partial safety factors do not consider human error in construction for structural reliability. A mathematically model should be improved to simulate the partial safety coefficient concerned uncertainty factors which concern the effect of human error in construction. We employ the contaminated distribution to obtain the realistic mean value and standard variance of variable of structural parameters which coexist with random error human error. The reasonable partial safety coefficient can be calculated based on the realistic value of structural parameters concerned the effects of random error and gross error.     

Public sector comparators for UK PFI roads: inside the black box

A public sector comparator (PSC) represents the hypothetical, risk-adjusted cost of a project—such as a road scheme—when that project is financed, owned and implemented by government. A PSC is commonly used in public procurement decision-making as a yardstick against which private investment proposals are evaluated. Using original material released by the UK Highways Agency for the first time, the author recreated the PSCs used for the evaluation of the first eight road projects to be promoted under the UK’s private finance initiative (PFI). Alternative assumptions regarding project risks were modelled using different levels of optimism-bias uplift, and the impact on value-for-money of using different discount rates was evaluated. Public sector comparators have attracted considerable attention in the literature as they retain a pivotal role in the policy decision to use—or not use—private finance. However the fact that their detail is usually kept confidential by public sector procuring agencies—because of commercial sensitivities—has restricted informed discussion and open debate. Now the architecture of these comparators is laid bare for critical examination. It has generally been assumed that any reduction in the discount rate used in PSC calculations will favour conventional procurement over PFI-type contracting arrangements. The research reported in this paper demonstrates that the relationship between the discount rate and the attractiveness of using private finance is not as simple as has been assumed, and the outcome in terms of value-for-money is not as predictable as has previously been reported.     

利用电感耦合等离子体原子发射光谱仪测定涂料中铅、镉、铬、汞含量的研究

通过实验方法、实验结果及对实验结果的讨论，介绍利用电感耦合等离子体原子发射光谱仪对涂料中铅、镉、铬、汞含量的最新测定方法及其可行性。     

城市轨道交通车站站区一体化设计

在对城市轨道交通车站站区空间形态特征及一体化设计中重点问题进行理论分析的基础上，通过宁波市轨道交通1号线行政中心站站区一体化设计方案，对地下空间的功能整合、一体化交通设计、地下空间环境设计等展开论述。     

Price of Bulk Carrier Seems to Hit Bottom

Bulk carrier has the biggest sustained volume in the global fleet,with an annual turnover of new ships exceeding 100m DWT between 2006～2010.Especially in 2007 when the market was at its peak time,new ship orders reached 170m DWT.After the financial crisis,demand for new ships plunged,and orders for new ships in 2011 were less than 40m DWT.In the first three quarters of 2012,only 13.1m DWT were ordered.Although the turnover of bulk carrier is still in the first place,it is not a comparison to the past.     

汽车电气系统故障的诊断维修技术分析

当前,人们在平时出行的时候,不只是选择火车或者高铁,也会选择客运的方式,尤其是对于中途或者是短途而言,汽车的灵活性特征十分明显。然而,汽车在长时间运转的时候,可能会出现某些故障方面的问题,尤其是电气系统领域的故障,此类故障会对汽车性能起到很大程度上的影响,导致这样的故障对人员伤害起到严重影响。所以在对汽车进行实际维修的时候,需要关注电气系统故障问题,将先进的方式方法运用其中,做好诊断维修工作。只有这样,才可以保障其诊断质量和维修水平。基于此,文章就汽车电气系统故障的诊断维修技术展开了全面深入的探究分析,以此为将来的有关研究提供相应的参考。     

Gain-scheduled EGR control algorithm for light-duty diesel engines with static-gain parameter modeling

This paper presents a model-based gain scheduling algorithm of a PI-based EGR controller for light-duty diesel engines. In order to capture nonlinear characteristic of the EGR system, we have proposed a new scheduling variable to illustrate the static-gain of the plant model as a linear function. The proposed scheduling variable is composed of the air-tofuel ratio of the exhaust gas and the pressure ratio between the exhaust and intake manifolds. Using the scheduling variable, a static-gain model achieved 0.94 of the R-squared value with 810 of steady-state measurements which include key engine operating conditions. Based on the model of the static-gain parameter, the gains of the PI controller are decided by Skogestad internal model control (SIMC) tuning rule in real-time. Through various scenarios of engine experiments, the proposed gain scheduling algorithm represented that the PI gains were successfully adapted according to the changes of the engine operating conditions.     

Property protection,financial constraints and economic growth

The relationship between financial system, law framework or economic growth has attracted considerable attention for years. However, there are some questions still remaining unanswered: between tangible assets protection and intellectual property protection, which is more important? Between external financing and property rights protection, which does play a greater role for the economic development? According to the dynamic stochastic general equilibrium(DSGE) model with non-free market factors, we study the effectiveness of property protection and external financing, and try to answer these questions. The model fits the data well, and we find:(1) protection of intellectual property plays a more important role than that of tangible asset, in the promotion of economy;(2) relaxation of financial constraints on corporate is more effective in the short run, while the protection of intellectual property is more effectual in the long term.     

Fuel Property Effects on Liquid and Vapor Penetrations of Evaporating Sprays

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of fuel properties on liquid and vapor penetrations in evaporating spray systems. A recently developed model, which can simultaneously account for the finite thermal conductivity, finite mass diffusivity and turbulence effects within atomizing multi-component liquid fuel sprays, is utilized for the numerical predictions. Two different multi-component fuels with different boiling temperatures, densities and other thermal properties are implemented in the KIVA-3V computational fluid dynamics (CFD) code to study the evaporation behaviors. A six-component surrogate fuel is used to emulate the relevant volatility property of the real diesel fuel, and a second bi-component fuel is chosen to represent a low boiling-temperature fuel. The numerical results are compared with the experimental data, and the representative results are obtained. For a lower density and lower boiling temperature fuel, the liquid penetration length is shorter. However, the vapor penetration lengths are not affected by the fuel type in terms of fuel volatility. Available experimental data are used for validation and appraisal of the multi-component evaporation model.     

Flame propagation model for a rotary Atkinson cycle SI engine

The rotary Atkinson cycle engine includes two modes of combustion: combustion initiation and propagation in ignition chamber and then flame jet entrainment and propagation in expansion chamber. The turbulent flame propagation model is a predictive model for SI engines which could be developed for this type of combustion for the rotary Atkinson engine similar to the congenital engine with pre-chamber; in split combustion chamber SI engines, small amount of fuel is burned in pre-chamber while the fuel burned in ignition chamber of rotary Atkinson cycle is considerable. In this study a mathematical modeling of spherical flame propagation inside ignition chamber and new combined conical flame and spherical flame propagation model of a new two-stroke Atkinson cycle SI engine will be presented. The mathematical modeling is carried out using two-zone combustion analysis and the model also is validated against experimental tests and compared with previous study using non-predictive Weibe function model.