Design of tyre force excitation for tyre–road friction estimation

Knowledge of the current tyre–road friction coefficient is essential for future autonomous vehicles. The environmental conditions, and the tyre–road friction in particular, determine both the braking distance and the maximum cornering velocity and thus set the boundaries for the vehicle. Tyre–road friction is difficult to estimate during normal driving due to low levels of tyre force excitation. This problem can be solved by using active tyre force excitation. A torque is added to one or several wheels in the purpose of estimating the tyre–road friction coefficient. Active tyre force excitation provides the opportunity to design the tyre force excitation freely. This study investigates how the tyre force should be applied to minimise the error of the tyre–road friction estimate. The performance of different excitation strategies was found to be dependent on both tyre model choice and noise level. Furthermore, the advantage with using tyre models with more parameters decreased when noise was added to the force and slip ratio.     

MANUAL ACUPUNCTURE PRODUCES LONG TERM INHIBITION OF THE NOCICEPTIVE TRANSMISSION TO WIDE DYNAMIC RANGE NEURONS IN THE SPINAL CORD OF THE RAT

Acupuncture,includingelectricalandmanualacupuncture,hasb'enwidelyusedinclinicalandexperimentalpracticetore-lievepain.Althoughbothproceduresseemtobeeffectiveinproducinganalgesi-ac1.3.7～9.l2.16～1B,,thephysiologicalmecha-nismsunderlyingeitherformofacupunc-ture,especiallyfortraditionalmanualacupuncture,thathasalonghistoryofef-fectivenessandhasbeenusedmorewide-ly,arestilluncleart14).Itshouldbenotedthatlittleattentionhasbeenpaidtoinves-tigationofthephysiologicalmechanismsofmanualacupuncturewhichha…     

Krill behaviour as recorded by acoustic doppler current profilers in the Gullmarsfjord

Vertical distribution of sound scattering layers were observed using bottom deployed acoustic doppler current profilers (ADCP) during early spring of 1996 and autumn of 1997 in the Gullmarsfjord on the Swedish west coast. Variations in relative backscatter were interpreted in relation to horizontal water velocities, oxygen saturation as well as differences in the light, salinity and temperature regimes. Net catches revealed that much of the backscatter below 20-m depth was associated with the presence of krill, principally Meganyctiphanes norvegica.Horizontal currents seemed to influence the migration and distribution of krill, which showed weak vertical migration patterns with low abundance during periods of strong intermediate in- and outflows, while during periods with weaker currents, a more regular diel migration occurred. Horizontal water velocities >5 cm s⁻¹ seemed to have the potential to decrease the peak in the backscatter profile. Mean vertical migration rates of krill was 1 cm s⁻¹, while maximum vertical migration rates were estimated to be 2.5–3 cm s⁻¹. The range of the vertical migration was different in 1997 due to severe oxygen deficiency in the bottom water, which prevented the krill from descending >80 m. The commencement of vertical migration correlated closely to the seasonal light conditions. The descent was immediately triggered by sunrise, while ascent occurred with a delay of about 1 h at sunset.