A numerical study on piezoelectric energy harvesting by combining transverse galloping and parametric instability phenomena

This paper aims to numerically investigate the effects of parametric instability on piezoelectric energy harvesting from the transverse galloping of a square prism. A two degrees-of-freedom reduced-order model for this problem is proposed and numerically integrated. A usual quasi-steady galloping model is applied, where the transverse force coefficient is adopted as a cubic polynomial function with respect to the angle of attack. Time-histories of nondimensional prism displacement, electric voltage and power dissipated at both the dashpot and the electrical resistance are obtained as functions of the reduced velocity. Both, oscillation amplitude and electric voltage, increased with the reduced velocity for all parametric excitation conditions tested. For low values of reduced velocity, 2:1 parametric excitation enhances the electric voltage. On the other hand, for higher reduced velocities, a 1:1 parametric excitation (i.e., the same as the natural frequency) enhances both oscillation amplitude and electric voltage. It has been also found that, depending on the parametric excitation frequency, the harvested electrical power can be amplified in 70% when compared to the case under no parametric excitation.     

Marine accident analysis for collision and grounding in oil tanker using FTA method

In this study, collision and grounding data registered in GISIS (Global Integrated Shipping Information System) were investigated for oil tankers. The database includes the information of the collision and grounding accidents during the period between 1998 and 2010 in oil tankers. The risk assessments were carried out using fault tree analysis (FTA) programme for the incidents as collision and grounding occurred in oil tankers. In this study, we were able to investigate first the potential problems which cause the collision and grounding accidents have been determined, second, the occurrence of accidents has been shown with causal factors by the FTA method, and, finally, the significance degree of the initial events causing occurrence of accidents have been put forth. Collision in oil tanker resulted in economical loss (81%), pollution (6%) and death or injury (13%). Grounding in oil tanker resulted in economical loss (91%) and pollution (9%). According to the FTA results, the main reason for the accidents originating from human error is as follows: for collision accidents, Convention on the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea (COLREG) violation and the lack of communication between vessels; and for grounding accidents, the interpretation failure of the officer on watch and lack of communication in the bridge resource management.     

Analytic hierarchy process application in selecting the mode of transport for a logistics company

As a multi‐criteria decision‐making (MCDM) method, the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) has been used considerably to solve hierarchical or network‐based decision problems in socio‐economic fields. Following an in‐depth explanation of the transport function in logistics and an overview of the MCDM methods, the AHP model is employed in the paper for a logistics company in selecting the most suitable way of transportation between two given locations in Turkey. The criteria used in the selection of transportation modes are identified as the cost, speed, safety, accessibility, reliability, environmental friendliness, and flexibility. Several cost parameters (transportation, storage, handling, bosphorus crossover) are incorporated into the decision‐making process. The application is carried out in instructional character. The results of the study indicate that the railway transportation, which is not widely used in Turkey, is also an alternative and suitable means of transportation. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Transportation mode detection – an in-depth review of applicability and reliability

The wide adoption of location-enabled devices, together with the acceptance of services that leverage (personal) data as payment, allows scientists to push through some of the previous barriers imposed by data insufficiency, ethics and privacy skepticism. The research problems whose study require hard-to-obtain data (e.g. transportation mode detection, service contextualisation, etc.) have now become more accessible to scientists because of the availability of data collecting outlets. One such problem is the detection of a user's transportation mode. Different fields have approached the problem of transportation mode detection with different aims: Location-Based Services (LBS) is a field that focuses on understanding the transportation mode in real-time, Transportation Science is a field that focuses on measuring the daily travel patterns of individuals or groups of individuals, and Human Geography is a field that focuses on enriching a trajectory by adding domain-specific semantics. While different fields providing solutions to the same problem could be viewed as a positive outcome, it is difficult to compare these solutions because the reported performance indicators depend on the type of approach and its aim (e.g. the real-time availability of LBS requires the performance to be computed on each classified location). The contributions of this paper are three fold. First, the paper reviews the critical aspects desired by each research field when providing solutions to the transportation mode detection problem. Second, it proposes three dimensions that separate three branches of science based on their main interest. Finally, it identifies important gaps in research and future directions, that is, proposing: widely accepted error measures meaningful for all disciplines, methods robust to new data sets and a benchmark data set for performance validation.     

A Versatile Flat Track Tire Testing Machine

Summary A flat track tire testing machine developed by the IMMa group is described. It permits the simulation and study of the dynamic behavior of a great variety of tires under controllable and repetitive highly dynamic realistic working conditions in the laboratory for a diversity of vehicles, from motorcycles to light trucks. The machine incorporates: - a hydraulically operated tire support and loading system with wide operating ranges; - a computer controlled brake system to simulate braking maneuvers with ABS systems; - a complete sensorial system; - a data acquisition and control system continually monitoring and acting on the experimental variables, i.e., tire and belt speed, longitudinal slip, slip and camber angles, tire pressure, tire normal force, etc. As an application example, results are presented that adjust the parameter of the magic formula for a standard 175/70 R14 passenger vehicle tire. Accurate mathematical tire models are recognized as essential for the prediction of vehicle dynamic performances using simulation tools.     

高速铁路客站站厅层钢桁架竖向地震振动台试验模型研究

以天津西站典型结构为例,提取站厅结构主要单元,阐述可反映其抗震性能的振动台试验模型设计和制作方法。为保证试验结果可靠性,大跨钢桁架模型严格按照相似关系和等效原则设计,并采用8个相同的边桁架单元作为中间桁架单元的边界条件。比较试验模型和相应有限元模型的动力特性,明确所设计试验模型符合要求,能反映原型结构的竖向地震响应特征。     

Seasonal phytoplankton responses to environmental factors in a shallow Mediterranean lagoon

Phytoplankton community structure was investigated in a 1-year study period from January to December 2006 in the Tunis North Lagoon (South Mediterranean). Twice a month, sampling was carried out from the whole water column. Phytoplankton species composition showed seasonal dynamics following the general environmental variable trends in the study area, with variation in species abundance levels within each season characterised by the presence of different phytoplankton communities. Analysis of environmental variables indicated that phytoplankton-dominant communities were associated with various water physicochemical characteristics, especially water temperature and salinity. Accordingly, significant correlation was recorded between water temperature and dinoflagellates (r = 0.35; p < 0.05) in summer and diatoms (r = 0.69; p < 0.05) in autumn, whereas euglenophytes, cyanophytes and chlorophytes were slightly correlated with temperature in autumn. Salinity was positively correlated with dichtyophytes (r = 0.41; p < 0.05) in winter and with diatoms (r = 0.65; p < 0.05) and euglenophytes (r = 0.57; p < 0.05) in autumn. On the other hand, relationships between high nitrogen nutrient concentration and phytoplankton concentration were recorded for diatoms (r = 0.43; p < 0.05 with NO₂; r = 0.49; p < 0.05 with NO₃) in winter. Silicate concentration supported proliferation of diatoms (r = 0.58; p < 0.05) in autumn in our study period. In contrast, increase of dinoflagellate concentration was associated with the decrease of these parameters in spring and summer.     

罗兰C导航设备防电压冲击自动保护装置设计

基于正弦能量分配稳压技术和窄带滤波技术,设计了一种自动保护装置,实现对罗兰C设备供电稳定性要求,实践证明该装置具有经济性和可靠性特点,适宜在实际工作中推广使用。     

连续消耗应急物资调运问题研究

以多出救点、单应急点的连续消耗应急物资调运问题为研究对象,考虑应急物资调运具有时间效率重于经济效益的特点,以及应急系统的整体可靠性及费用,以物资参与救援开始时间最早为第一目标,以出救点数目最少为第二目标,建立了相应的多目标优化决策模型。在满足物资参与救援开始时间最早的基础上,给出了出救点数目优化过程的3个判断条件,并设计了简单的求解算法,最后通过算例验证了模型及算法的有效性。