Assessment of the volume of fluid method for free-surface wave flow

This study was concerned with the free-surface wave flow around a surface-piercing foil. The volume of fluid method implemented in a Navier–Stokes computational fluid dynamics code was employed. Three widely used discretization schemes for the volume of fluid method were assessed for a test case that involved general ship waves, spilling breaking waves in front of the leading edge, and bubbly free surfaces in separated regions. A single computational approach was selected for the comparison, and a grid-dependence study was carried out. The computational results were validated against existing experimental data, showing good agreement. The validation results suggest that all three discretization schemes perform well, but the best and most efficient results were obtained using the high-resolution interface capturing scheme.     

Advances in population synthesis: fitting many attributes per agent and fitting to household and person margins simultaneously

Agent-based microsimulation models of transportation, land use or other socioeconomic processes require an initial synthetic population derived from census data, conventionally created using the iterative proportional fitting (IPF) procedure. This paper introduces a novel computational method that allows the synthesis of many more attributes and finer attribute categories than previous approaches, both of which are long-standing limitations discussed in the literature. Additionally, a new approach is used to fit household and person zonal attribute distributions simultaneously. This technique was first adopted to address limitations specific to Canadian census data, but could also be useful in U.S. and other applications. The results of each new method are evaluated empirically in terms of goodness-of-fit.     

Maritime English syllabus for the modern seafarer: Safety-related or comprehensive courses?

This article introduces some insights into the nature and features of maritime English and studies the effect of those on the future Maritime English syllabus. In this respect two approaches to the syllabus are highlighted: (a) the minimalist approach oriented to meet the minimum requirements the STCW Convention 1978/1995 (basically ensuring safe communication using appropriate parts of SMCP 2001), and (b) the extended approach within which Maritime English becomes a comprehensive educational subject within the overall Maritime Education and Training (MET) curriculum and ensures the future holder of a maritime academic degree efficient competence in English for conducting both sea and shore-based duties. To this end, the growing role and importance of General English within the Maritime English syllabus is emphasised. In order to be able to study the modern developments in Maritime English, a proposal is made for starting an international project of compiling and maintaining a web-based corpus of Maritime English, i.e. a textual and terminological database to be at the disposal of the students, Maritime English teachers and subject teachers in their research, learning and teaching activities.     

Making meaningful comparisons between road and rail – substituting average energy consumption data for rail with empirical analysis

Within the transport sector, modal shift towards more efficient and less polluting modes could be a key policy goal to help meet targets to reduce energy consumption and carbon emissions. However, making comparisons between modes is not necessarily straightforward. Average energy and emissions data are often relied upon, particularly for, rail, which may not be applicable to a given context. Some UK train operating companies have recently fitted electricity metres to their trains, from which energy consumption data have been obtained. This has enabled an understanding to be gained of how energy consumption and related emissions are affected by a number of factors, including train and service type. Comparisons are made with existing data for road and rail. It is noted that although more specific data can be useful in informing policy and making some decisions, average data continue to play an important role when considering the overall picture.     

Willingness to pay for freight travel time savings: contrasting random utility versus random valuation

Transportation - There is a considerable gap between the existing knowledge used to estimate the value of time in passenger transport when compared with the framework of analysis developed for...     

俄罗斯铁路新型机车的设计和研制

面对当前日益增长的经济需求,俄罗斯铁路新型机车的设计和研制计划分为三个阶段实施,未来5年将有数百台14种型号的新型机车投入使用。在俄罗斯铁路股份公司与Transmash控股集团(TMH)签订协议后,TMH成为俄罗斯铁路股份公司惟一的机车供应商,按照规定向俄罗斯铁路提供新型的电力机车、内燃机车和天然气机车。     

Towards a driver fatigue test based on the saccadic main sequence: A partial validation by subjective report data

Developing a valid measurement of mental fatigue remains a big challenge and would be beneficial for various application areas, such as the improvement of road traffic safety. In the present study we examined influences of mental fatigue on the dynamics of saccadic eye movements. Based on previous findings, we propose that among amplitude and duration of saccades, the peak velocity of saccadic eye movements is particularly sensitive to changes in mental fatigue. Ten participants completed a fixation task before and after 2 h of driving in a virtual simulation environment as well as after a rest break of fifteen minutes. Driving and rest break were assumed to directly influence the level of mental fatigue and were evaluated using subjective ratings and eye movement indices. According to the subjective ratings, mental fatigue was highest after driving but decreased after the rest break. The peak velocity of saccadic eye movements decreased after driving while the duration of saccades increased, but no effects of the rest break were observed in the saccade parameters. We conclude that saccadic eye movement parameters—particularly the peak velocity—are sensitive indicators for mental fatigue. According to these findings, the peak velocity analysis represents a valid on-line measure for the detection of mental fatigue, providing the basis for the development of new vigilance screening tools to prevent accidents in several application domains.     

Consumers as participants in transportation planning

Legal requirements for public participation in transportation planning increase the opportunity for transportation consumers to influence the design of systems they will use. However, the implementation of these requirements may also increase the possibility that system design will be dominated by the opinions of outspoken groups. This study postulates that public participation is biased, and seeks to test this proposition using data from an Oregon survey consisting of approximately 2,400 respondents. Using Automatic Interaction Detector and cross tabulation analyses, different participation rates were uncovered for groups identified by demographic, attitudinal and behavioral variables.The authors thank the Oregon Department of Transportation for making the original data for the study available.