不同负泊松比填充结构在汽车前端中的应用

以汽车前端保险杠后的吸能盒为研究对象,结合传统内凹六边形负泊松比结构、双箭头负泊松比结构以及某弧边负泊松比填充结构,对比研究了不同填充结构在高速以及低速碰撞中对汽车前端的防护作用,分析了3种填充结构应用下的吸能盒变形模式、压缩量、吸能量、比吸能以及碰撞力峰值,结果表明:在低速和高速碰撞中,3种填充结构皆呈现出明显的负泊松比变形特性,与其他结构相比,弧边填充结构具有更好的吸能防护效果。     

重庆与纽约两种轨道交通互联互通CBTC系统安全评估的对比研究

针对由城市轨道交通互联互通CBTC(基于通信的列车控制)系统推广带来的风险,安全评估作为重要的监督环节显得尤为重要.在对重庆与纽约2个典型城市的互联互通CBTC系统架构分析的基础上,从安全评估标准、风险评估方法、安全认证过程及活动等3个方面对二者的安全评估进行详细对比.结合二者自身互联互通CBTC系统的特点和应用场景,制定了相适应的安全评估规则,并通过不同方法和途径实现了系统既定的安全目标.     

冰区核电平台系泊设计及影响研究

本文根据冰区浮式核电平台的主要功能及外部环境条件,确定平台的基本形式,并在此基础上进行了系泊系统的优化设计.与以往研究不同的是,考虑到冰区海洋的特殊性,除计算风、浪、流作用情况外,还运用Sdem软件构造了海冰离散单元模型,对海冰与海洋系泊结构物的相互作用过程进行了数值模拟.在此基础上,结合系泊分析软件ANSYS-AQWA的二次开发功能,对平台运动及其系泊系统进行了时域耦合分析,研究了平台在不同环境载荷作用下的运动响应;进行了系泊参数研究,分析一般规律,最终提出了一种满足规范要求且性能优良的系泊方案.研究结果表明:本文提出的冰区核电平台系泊系统可抵抗恶劣的环境影响;通过合理选择系泊缆数量、夹角、预张力大小及顶端倾角等系泊参数,可减小平台运动响应.     

基于改进BP-GA方法的FPSO舷侧结构耐撞性能优化设计

基于遗传算法和ABAQUS参数化有限元仿真技术,对传统的BP-GA优化方法进行改进,并采用改进的BP-GA方法对浮式生产储油卸油装置(FPSO)舷侧结构的耐撞性能进行优化,以验证其可行性和准确性。结果表明,与传统的BP神经网络相比,经遗传算法优化的BP神经网络具有更高的预测精度和更强的泛化能力;改进的BP-GA优化方法可在结构减重的基础上进一步提高结构的耐撞性能,能较好地适用于复杂的FPSO舷侧结构耐撞性优化设计。采用的优化方法具有通用性,可为抗爆性能的优化设计提供参考。     

自动化集装箱码头综合管沟结构设计

综合管沟是近10 a来我国城市地下管线铺设的新型设计思路，在港口工程中的应用较为少见。港口工程具有独特的平面布置，场区内管线类型、地基条件、荷载、地面设施、交互节点等均与其他管沟大不相同，结构设计条件非常复杂。针对上述问题，在广州港南沙四期工程综合管沟结构设计中，结合自动化集装箱码头的特点，对荷载条件、沉降要求等方面进行了研究，提出了多功能盖板段、渐变式复合地基等方面的优化设计思路，完成了适用于自动化集装箱码头的综合管沟结构设计，有效解决了管线综合的问题。本文所阐述的结构设计经验对后续的自动化集装箱码头综合管沟结构设计具有一定的参考意义。     

New potential for multimodal connection: exploring the relationship between taxi and transit in New York City (NYC)

Transportation - Taxi trips have been somewhat neglected in transportation mobility and multimodal connection studies. The socio-demographic characteristics of taxi riders are often not fully...     

CT reconstruction with priori MRI images through multi-group datasets expansion

Computed tomography (CT) reconstruction with a well-registered priori magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) image can improve reconstruction results with low-dose CT, because well-registered CT and MRI images have similar structures. However, in clinical settings, the CT image of patients does not always match the priori MRI image because of breathing and movement of patients during CT scanning. To improve the image quality in this case, multi-group datasets expansion is proposed in this paper. In our method, multi-group CT-MRI datasets are formed by expanding CT-MRI datasets. These expanded datasets can also be used by most existing CT-MRI algorithms and improve the reconstructed image quality when the CT image of a patient is not registered with the priori MRI image. In the experiments, we evaluate the performance of the algorithm by using multi-group CT-MRI datasets in several unregistered situations. Experiments show that when the CT and priori MRI images are not registered, the reconstruction results of using multi-group dataset expansion are better than those obtained without using the expansion.     

The Teachable Moments on Marine Mammal Tours: Watching versus Swim-With Tours

With the continuing growth of the tourism industry over recent decades, has come a change in tourist behavior from the traditional stereotypical 3-S tourist (sun, sand, sex) to an increasingly sophisticated and demanding tourist. These “new” tourists like to learn about history, nature, and wildlife, and they expect an educational component on wildlife tours. This study investigated swim-with-dolphin tours in Kaikoura, New Zealand with regard to the educational content and the overall anatomy of these tours, using data from observations on a total of 32 tours during December 2011. The resulting data were then compared with the data from Hrycik and Forestell's study, which investigated the content of questions asked by passengers on whale-watching tours in Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary. Results of the on-tour observations indicate that the surveyed tours display a structured approach to interpretation, which is customized to the specific tour anatomy of a “swim-with” tour, and varies in some parts significantly from “watch-only” tour interpretation.     

Reliability Modeling and Maintenance Policy Optimization for Deteriorating System Under Random Shock

Performance degradation and random shock are commonly regarded as two dependent competing risks for system failures. One method based on effective service age is proposed to jointly model the cumulative effect of random shock and system degradation, and the reliability model of degradation system under Nonhomogeneous Poisson processes (NHPP) shocks is derived. Under the assumption that preventive maintenance (PM) is imperfective and the corrective maintenance (CM) is minimal repair, one maintenance policy which combines PM and CM is presented. Moreover, the two decision variables, PM interval and the number of PMs before replacement, are determined by a multi-objective maintenance optimization method which simultaneously maximizes the system availability and minimizes the system long-run expect cost rate. Finally, the performance of the proposed maintenance optimization policy is demonstrated via a numerical example.     

Novel experimental strategy for high resolution AFM imaging of membrane-associated bacterial toxins

Bacterial pore-forming toxins （PFTs） are essential virulence factors of many human pathogens. Knowl- edge of their structure within the membrane is critical for an understanding of their function in pathogenesis and for the development of useful therapy. Atomic force microscopy （AFM） has often been employed to structurally interrogate many membrane proteins, including PFTs, owing to its ability to produce sub-nanometer resolution images of samples under aqueous solution. However, an absolute prerequisite for AFM studies is that the samples are single-layered and closely-packed, which is frequently challenging with PFTs. Here, using the prototypical member of the cholesterol-dependent cytolysin family of PFTs, perfringolysin O （PFO）, as a test sample, we have developed a simple, highly robust method that routinely produces clean, closely-packed samples across the entire specimen surface. In this approach, we first use a small Teflon well to prepare the supported lipid bilayer, remove the sample from the well, and then directly apply the proteins to the bilayer. For reasons that are not clear, bilayer preparation in the Teflon well is essential. We anticipate that this simple method will prove widely useful for the preparation of similar samples, and thereby enable AFM imaging of the greatest range of bacterial PFTs to the highest possible resolution.