Studies on the optimization of stern hull form based on a potential flow solver

A hypothesis of the minimum energy of secondary flow, suggested by Bessho, is introduced here. According to this hypothesis, it can be expected that hull forms having frame lines with a minimum energy of secondary flow show less form drag. In the first part of this article, secondary flow energy is evaluated for the cases with and without a free-surface effect, and Bessho’s hypothesis is confirmed for practical hull forms. Then optimization methods for the stern hull form are suggested, in which a nonlinear optimization technique is introduced. Numerical examples are given for a practical tanker hull form and a practical container hull form. From these studies, the suggested optimization method can be confirmed as a simplified and practical design method to the select frame lines of stern hull forms.     

Modeling household interactions in daily in-home and out-of-home maintenance activity participation

The activity travel patterns of individuals in a household are inter-related, and the realistic modeling of activity-travel behavior requires that these interdependencies be explicitly accommodated. This paper examines household interactions impacting weekday in-home and out-of-home maintenance activity generation in active, nuclear family, households. The in-home maintenance activity generation is modeled by examining the duration invested by the male and female household heads in household chores using a seemingly unrelated regression modeling system. The out-of-home maintenance activity generation is modeled in terms of the decision of the household to undertake shopping, allocation of the task to one or both household heads, and the duration of shopping for the person(s) allocated the responsibility. A joint mixed-logit hazard-duration model structure is developed and applied to the modeling of out-of-home maintenance activity generation. The results indicate that traditional gender roles continue to exist and, in particular, non-working women are more likely to share a large burden of the household maintenance tasks. The model for out-of-home maintenance activity generation indicates that joint activity participation in the case of shopping is motivated by resource (automobiles) constraints. Finally, women who have a higher propensity to shop are also found to be inherently more efficient shoppers.     

Trucking industry demand for urban shared use freight terminals

The issue of shared use urban freight facilities first received attention during the 1970s when it was observed that, while inter-urban freight movements were becoming increasingly efficient, there were significant diseconomies in the movement of freight via truck within urban areas. Early research suggested that shared urban freight facilities should be constructed so that trucking companies could consolidate smaller shipments into larger ones. In the past few years, the concept of Urban Ports has gained increasing attention, not just for carriers who need to load and unload freight, but to provide a place near the urban center for truckers to wait out peak traffic periods. In this paper, using recently developed survey data, we examine trucking company interest in such facilities by examining the results of an ordered probit demand model.     

Linking land use and transportation in a rapidly urbanizing context: A study in Delhi,India

Cities in developing countries like India are facing some of the same concerns that North American cities are: congestion and urban growth. However, there is a sense of urgency in cities like Delhi, India in that this growth is far more rapid as both urbanization and motorization are ongoing processes that have not yet peaked. In this paper, we examine land use change and its relationship with transportation infrastructure and other planning related variables in a spatial context. We estimate land use change models at two different scales from separate data. Cellular automation and Markov models were used to understand change at the regional scale and discrete choice models to predict change at the local level. The results suggest that land use in the Delhi metropolitan area is rapidly intensifying while losing variety. These changes are affected by industrial, commercial and infrastructure location and planners and policy-makers need to better understand the implications of location decisions. We also examine these results in the context of a policy framework for data-based planning that links land use and transportation models for Delhi.     

Improvement of efficiency and flexibility in multi-slice helical CT

One of the main aspects in computed tomography (CT) development is to make CT rapidly scan a large longitudinal volume with high z-axis resolution. The combination of helical scanning with multi-slice CT is a promising approach. Image reconstruction in multi-slice CT becomes, therefore, the major challenge. Known algorithms need to derive the complementary data or work only for certain range of pitches. A reconstruction algorithm was presented that works with the direct data as well as arbitrary pitches. Filter interpolation based on the proposed method was implemented easy. The results of computer simulations under kinds of conditions for four-slice CT were presented. The proposed method can obtain higher efficiency than the conventional method.     

Energy-saving reputation method for wireless sensor networks

Reputation mechanism has been recently introduced into wireless sensor networks (WSNs) to overcome the deficiencies incurred by cryptography alone. Unlike most current reputation mechanisms that are based on binomial distribution and to some extent, do not give due attention to the aspect of energy constraint of WSNs, this research deduces and proves the feasibility that negative binomial distribution can well be used in the reputation update with distinctive energy-saving features. Comparison tests with respect to the energy consumption in terms of reputation computing frequencies are done between the traditional reputation method and the one in this study. Results show that our method can save more energy for the reputation update and thus can better meet the power constraints of WSNs.     

Simulation of temperature distribution in hot filament chemical vapor deposition diamond films growth on SiC seals

In this study, the temperature and gas velocity distributions in hot filament chemical vapor deposition(HFCVD) diamond film growth on the end surfaces of seals are simulated by the finite volume method. The influence of filament diameter, filament separation and rotational speed of the substrates is considered. Firstly,the simulation model is established by simplifying operating conditions to simulate the temperature and gas velocity distributions. Thereafter, the deposition parameters are optimized as 0.6 mm filament diameter, 18 mm filament separation and 5 r/min rotational speed to get the uniform temperature distribution. Under the influence of the rotational speed, the difference between temperature gradients along the directions perpendicular to the filament and parallel to the filament becomes narrow, it is consistent with the actual condition, and the maximum temperature difference on the substrates decreases to 7.4?C. Furthermore, the effect of the rotational speed on the gas velocity distribution is studied. Finally, diamond films are deposited on the end surfaces of Si C seals with the optimized deposition parameters. The characterizations by scanning electron microscopy(SEM) and Raman spectroscopy exhibit a layer of homogeneous diamond films with fine-faceted crystals and uniform thickness. The results validate the simulation model.     

基于AFC系统的苏州市轨道交通网络化客流特征分析及启示

从运营轨道线网客流中找寻规律,可以有效指导城市科学合理地预测轨道交通客流。本文根据目前苏州市AFC系统运营数据积累,从网络、线路、车站三个层面探讨苏州市轨道交通客流特征,分析目前线网客流特征,为后续预测模型的参数选择提供参考和依据,并且针对轨道交通规划设计及运营提出相关工作建议。     

重庆市轨道交通网络化新形势下的地面常规公交转型发展对策研究

近年来,随着轨道交通的大规模建设和交通出行方式的多样化,给地面常规公交带来了前所未有的挑战和压力,常规公交客流呈现下降趋势已经成为普遍现象.本文主要以重庆为例,基于轨道交通网络化发展,探究在轨道网发展过程中常规公交面临的困境,提出在新常态下常规公交的发展定位和发展策略,构建"以轨道为骨干,常规公交为基础"的公共交通一体化网络,从而实现地面公交服务效率和品质的全面提升,使其最终实现成功转型发展.     

Analysis of travel activity determinants using robust statistics

This study investigates travel behavior determinants based on a multiday travel survey conducted in the region of Ghent, Belgium. Due to the limited data reliability of the data sample and the influence of outliers exerted on classical principal component analysis, robust principal component analysis (ROBPCA) is employed in order to reveal the explanatory variables responsible for most of the variability. Interpretation of the results is eased by utilizing ROSPCA. The application of ROSPCA reveals six distinct principal components where each is determined by a few variables. Among others, our results suggest a key role of variable categories such as journey purpose-related impedance and journey inherent constraints. Surprisingly, the variables associated with journey timing turn out to be less important. Finally, our findings reveal the critical role of outliers in travel behavior analysis. This suggests that a systematic understanding of how outliers contribute to observed mobility behavior patterns, as derived from travel surveys, is needed. In this regard, the proposed methods serve for processing raw data typically used in activity-based modelling.