The price of uncertainty in pavement infrastructure management planning: An integer programming approach

Currently there is a true dichotomy in the pavement maintenance and rehabilitation (M&R) literature. On the one hand, there are integer programming-based models that assume that parameters are deterministically known. On the other extreme, there are stochastic models, with the most popular class being based on the theory of Markov decision processes that are able to account for various sources of uncertainties observed in the real-world. In this paper, we present an integer programming-based alternative to account for these uncertainties. A critical feature of the proposed models is that they provide – a priori – probabilistic guarantees that the prescribed M&R decisions would result in pavement condition scores that are above their critical service levels, using minimal assumptions regarding the sources of uncertainty. By construction of the models, we can easily determine the additional budget requirements when additional sources of uncertainty are considered, starting from a fully deterministic model. We have coined this additional budget requirement the price of uncertainty to distinguish from previous related work where additional budget requirements were studied due to parameter uncertainties in stochastic models. A numerical case study presents valuable insights into the price of uncertainty and shows that it can be large.     

水泥比表面积检验不确定度评定

根据《水泥比表面积测定方法勃氏法》（GB/T 8074—2008）对水泥比表面积进行测定,运用不确定度评定的相关理论,进行水泥比表面积检验的不确定度评定,可为实践提供借鉴。     

考虑行驶时间不确定性的合乘路径鲁棒优化方法

为应对实际合乘过程中时间不确定性带来的负面影响,本文研究不确定行驶时间下的合乘问题。采用预算不确定集合描述时间变量,引入不确定性水平可调节的预算系数,构建以车辆总里程最短和车辆数最少为目标的合乘路径鲁棒优化模型。并设计两阶段算法求解,第1阶段以两乘客间的可行合乘路径为基础,从车辆总里程节省率和乘客时间窗匹配灵活性两方面设计公式量化合乘匹配机会,以匹配机会为权重构建乘客图网络并聚类乘客需求;第2阶段设计以顺序插入启发式方法构造初始解的禁忌搜索算法求解。案例数据实验结果表明：本文聚类方法能保证优化质量并提高85%以上的计算效率,同时能缩减乘客等车时间和绕行距离;增大预算系数时解的鲁棒性逐渐提高,但会增加10%~40%的车辆数并降低1%~10%的里程节省率;大规模乘客案例和窄时间窗案例的合乘路径对不确定时间的敏感性更高,宽时间窗案例无需增加过多额外车辆和总里程就能达到较高水平的路径鲁棒性。     

A mixed logit model for predicting exit choice during building evacuations

Knowledge on human behaviour in emergency is crucial to increase the safety of buildings and transportation systems. Decision making during evacuations implies different choices, of which one of the most important concerns is the escape route. The choice of a route may involve local decisions on alternative exits from an enclosed environment. This study investigates the effect of environmental (presence of smoke, emergency lighting and distance of exit) and social factors (interaction with evacuees close to the exits and with those near the decision-maker) on local exit choice. This goal is pursued using an online stated preference survey carried out making use of non-immersive virtual reality. A sample of 1503 participants is obtained and a mixed logit model is calibrated using these data. The model shows that the presence of smoke, emergency lighting, distance of exit, number of evacuees near the exits and the decision-maker and flow of evacuees through the exits significantly affect local exit choice. Moreover, the model indicates that decision making is affected by a high degree of behavioural uncertainty. Our findings support the improvement of evacuation models and the accuracy of their results, which can assist in designing and managing building and transportation systems. The main aim of this study is to enrich the understanding of how local exit choices are made and how behavioural uncertainty affects these choices.     

潜艇非稳态流场计算流体力学不确定度分析

依照ITTC推荐规程对美国DARPA潜艇模型SUBOFF光体在不考虑自由表面情况下的CFD计算进行不确定度分析。选取中间尺度的时间步长，验证中采用细、中、粗三套网格。在最精细的网格上进行不同时间步长的研究。最后对潜艇表面压力计算进行确认。     

融合D-S理论的锅炉人因贝叶斯网络安全性定量分析

针对船用锅炉人因安全性分析中存在的知识不确定性,采用D-S证据理论对多专家信息进行融合并建立考虑人因的贝叶斯网络,得到节点条件概率的区间表示形式.经加权平均后代入贝叶斯网络计算,与面向对象贝叶斯网络和FTA等方法的对比显示,该方法能够更加有效地融合不同专家信息,也更为符合工程实际.     

Quantifying uncertainty in high-resolution coupled hydrodynamic-ecosystem models

Marine ecosystem models are becoming increasingly complex and sophisticated, and are being used to estimate the effects of future changes in the earth system with a view to informing important policy decisions. Despite their potential importance, far too little attention has been, and is generally, paid to model errors and the extent to which model outputs actually relate to real-world processes. With the increasing complexity of the models themselves comes an increasing complexity among model results. If we are to develop useful modelling tools for the marine environment we need to be able to understand and quantify the uncertainties inherent in the simulations. Analysing errors within highly multivariate model outputs, and relating them to even more complex and multivariate observational data, are not trivial tasks. Here we describe the application of a series of techniques, including a 2-stage self-organising map (SOM), non-parametric multivariate analysis, and error statistics, to a complex spatio-temporal model run for the period 1988–1989 in the Southern North Sea, coinciding with the North Sea Project which collected a wealth of observational data. We use model output, large spatio-temporally resolved data sets and a combination of methodologies (SOM, MDS, uncertainty metrics) to simplify the problem and to provide tractable information on model performance. The use of a SOM as a clustering tool allows us to simplify the dimensions of the problem while the use of MDS on independent data grouped according to the SOM classification allows us to validate the SOM. The combination of classification and uncertainty metrics allows us to pinpoint the variables and associated processes which require attention in each region. We recommend the use of this combination of techniques for simplifying complex comparisons of model outputs with real data, and analysis of error distributions.     

考虑算法的实船试航船速测量不确定度分析

实船试航中影响船速测量结果的因素很多,对其进行测量不确定度分析时应考虑的不确定度来源也有很多。采用“测量不确定度表示指南”规定的方法,将船速算法作为不确定度源,对其测量结果进行了不确定度分析。不确定度分析以某油船为例,分别考虑了实际航速平均法和逐点法两种算法,并对两种算法得到的结果作了讨论。     

基于模糊时间Petri网的列车运行时间不确定性问题的处理

定义一种应用于铁路列车运行系统的模糊时间Petri网；针对列车运行时间存在的不确定性，该Petri网引入了4个模糊集理论函数：模糊时间片、模糊使能时间、模糊发生时间和模糊延迟，来处理时间的不确定性问题；能够对列车运行过程中的时间不确定性问题进行定量分析，可以有效应用于列车交会、列车终到时间、列车运行计划调整的分析等；其相对于已有的方法具有精确分析、计算简单、简化系统、便于系统集成的特点。     

不确定性视阈下的战略管理

由于存在各种不确定性,企业不可能寻找到一种最好的战略管理办法,因此企业应当寻求适度管理,以避免出现管理刚性,失去对不确定性的应变能力。企业应该确立这样的观念,即管理不确定性将成为企业家的主要职能;正确地认识不确定性、化解不确定性,乃至创造并利用不确定性,将是企业家必修的内功;驾驭不确定性将成为企业的核心竞争能力。本文首先归纳提炼出不确定性的五种类型,在此基础上给出了管理不确定性的认知理念,提出了在战略管理中需要特别重视的不断试错、应急和学习及激活右脑等问题,最后指证了突变式变革与创新的主张。