Norwegian North Sea action programme: Analysis of measures to reduce nutrient inputs

According to the terms of the Ministerial Declaration on the Protection of the North Sea, input of the nutrients phosphorus (P) and nitrogen (N) to the coast from the Norwegian‐Swedish border to Lindesnes should be reduced by about 50% between 1985 and 1995. The State Pollution Control Authority (SFT) has analyzed how Norway can achieve this reduction in the most cost‐effective way and at the same time achieve the greatest possible improvement in water quality along the Norwegian coast and in its watercourses.

Two alternative sets of measures were analyzed, both of which would meet the requirements of the Declaration. The lowest‐cost alternative would have average annual costs of about NKr 930 million (U.S.S150 million), and investments of about NKr 4000 million (U.S. $643 million). However, this set of measures would not take account of local water quality, and measures would therefore not always be introduced where the need is most pressing. SFT proposed that an alternative set of measures be implemented, almost all of which would also help to achieve local goals for water quality. This alternative will have annual costs of about NKr 980 million (U.S.$158 million), and investments of about NKr 4100 million (U.S.$659 million).     

Large oil tankers and the Baltic marine environment: A statistical survey

The short Baltic export route for Russian oil is an attractive source of supply for the European energy market. The article examines the Russian oil export trade in the Baltic based on Automatic Identification System (AIS) data from 2005 matched with supplementary data. The first part of the article gives a survey of activities and characteristics of 261 large crude oil tankers, their flag states and owner countries. The second part views the data in the context of accidental oil spill risk. Greek and Russian owners are leading carriers in this trade. Russia plays a double leading role as oil exporter and shipowning country, securing major cargo shares for nationally owned vessels, while also giving a preferential spot in the trade to Greek owners. Where environmental aspects are concerned, previous research has linked vessel characteristics with the risk of casualty. Knowledge of flag, age, ownership and activity levels adds useful information about environmental risk. The data show that flags associated with very high casualty or detention probabilities were represented by 18% of the activity in this trade. Older vessels have a similar share, and at this particular time probably represent the more serious threat of accidental oil spills.     

A forward Markov model for predicting bicycle speed

Transportation - Speed prediction of different transport modes is important in applications such as route planning, transport modelling and energy calculations. In this paper we model bicycle speed...     

Routing and scheduling of RoRo ships with stowage constraints

Roll-on/Roll-off ships are used for international transport of vehicles and other rolling equipment. We consider the problem where a ship sails between two geographical regions, picking up cargo in the first and making deliveries to the second. Several variations are considered with optional cargoes, flexible cargo quantities, and ship stability restrictions. Decisions must be made regarding the route and schedule of the ship as well as the stowage of cargo onboard. The problem is modeled as a mixed integer program, which has been solved using Xpress. In addition, a tailor made heuristic procedure is built using components from tabu search and squeaky wheel optimization. Extensive computational results are presented, showing that the heuristic is able to handle realistically sized problem instances.     

Understanding ship-grounding events

The paper presents a simple procedure to estimate the damage to a ship bottom and the associated seabed topology that results from a dynamic grounding event. The seabed is modeled as a rigid body and parameterized by a quadratic surface, i.e., a paraboloid, which can in principle model a wide range of seabed topologies. A nonlinear finite element program (LS-DYNA) is used to simulate the contact force versus the lateral penetration, from which the horizontal force component of powered grounding is estimated. The simplified procedure for analyzing dynamic and static grounding events is outlined. Simulations are performed for different ship speeds and for different initial levels of obstruction over the keel. It is shown that a static approach may replace the dynamic grounding simulation, thereby considerably reducing the computational work. The static approach allows for the quick estimation of the energy absorption during powered grounding, which is imperative for decision making during critical situations. The ultimate goal of the study is to provide a near real-time prediction of the risk of rupture of the cargo tanks and hull girder failure. Moreover, the residual strength of damaged ships is an important issue that is related to operations involved in the salvage of wrecked vessels, such as re-floatation and towing.     

Simulation methods supporting homologation of Electronic Stability Control in vehicle variants

ABSTRACT

Vehicle simulation has a long tradition in the automotive industry as a powerful supplement to physical vehicle testing. In the field of Electronic Stability Control (ESC) system, the simulation process has been well established to support the ESC development and application by suppliers and Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs). The latest regulation of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe UN/ECE-R 13 allows also for simulation-based homologation. This extends the usage of simulation from ESC development to homologation. This paper gives an overview of simulation methods, as well as processes and tools used for the homologation of ESC in vehicle variants. The paper first describes the generic homologation process according to the European Regulation (UN/ECE-R 13H, UN/ECE-R 13/11) and U.S. Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS 126). Subsequently the ESC system is explained as well as the generic application and release process at the supplier and OEM side. Coming up with the simulation methods, the ESC development and application process needs to be adapted for the virtual vehicles. The simulation environment, consisting of vehicle model, ESC model and simulation platform, is explained in detail with some exemplary use-cases. In the final section, examples of simulation-based ESC homologation in vehicle variants are shown for passenger cars, light trucks, heavy trucks and trailers. This paper is targeted to give a state-of-the-art account of the simulation methods supporting the homologation of ESC systems in vehicle variants. However, the described approach and the lessons learned can be used as reference in future for an extended usage of simulation-supported releases of the ESC system up to the development and release of driver assistance systems.

Abbreviations: ABS: Anti-lock braking system; ADR: Australian design rules; ALB: Automatic load-dependent brake force controller; AMEVSC: Alternative method to assess the electronic vehicle stability control system; APP: Application; BSC: Brake slip controller; CAE: Computer-aided engineering; CAN: Controller area network; CAT: Category; CoG: Centre of gravity; DIN: Deutsches Institut für Normung (German Institute for Standards); EB+: Trademark of Haldex; EBD: Electronic brake force distribution; EBS: Electronic brake system; ECU: Electronic control unit; ESC: Electronic stability control; ECVWTA: European Community Whole Vehicle Type Approval; FMVSS: Federal motor vehicle safety standards; GPS: Global positioning system; GRRF: Groupe de travail en matiere de roulement et de freinage (Working Party on Braking and Running Gear); HiL: Hardware-in-the-Loop; HSRI: Highway Safety Research Institute; K&C: Kinematic and compliant (KnC); MBS: Multibody systems; MPV: Multipurpose vehicle; NHTSA: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration; OEM: Original equipment manufacturer; SiL: Software-in-the-Loop; ST: Summer tyres; STM: Single track model; StVO: Straßenverkehrsordnung (Government Highway Regulations); SUV: Sports utility vehicle; SW: Software; SwD: Sine with dwell manoeuvre; TC: Threshold consumption value; TCS: Traction control system; TRIAS: Test Requirements and Instructions for Automobile Standards; UN/ECE: United Nations Economic Commission for Europe; VAF: Value-added function; VDC: Vehicle dynamics controller; VTC: Vehicle test catalogue; WT: Winter tyres     

Competition and ownership in land passenger transport: The 7th International Conference

This is the fourth time that Transport Reviews has published a summary of the workshop sessions from the Thredbo Conference. The intention is to disseminate more widely the main findings and conclusions from these sessions at this important international conference. Interested readers are also encouraged to view the full papers presented at the Institute of Transport Studies, University of Sydney website.     

Monitoring of ship damage condition during stranding

This study proposes a new procedure for the estimation of stranding forces and their contact positions. The method is based on the measurement of a few characteristic on-site parameters, i.e., the draughts and bending moments acting on a stranded ship. A procedure that estimates penetration into the ship bottom based on knowledge of the resistance versus penetration relationship is also presented. The seabed topology is parameterized by a paraboloid. This geometry can, in principle, characterize a wide range of obstructions, from sharp rocks to large shoals. Nonlinear finite element analysis is used to simulate various stranding situations and to generate the corresponding resistance versus penetration curves. The present method provides insight into the identification of real stranding scenarios in terms of the location of obstructions, their possible shapes and the corresponding resistance-penetration curves. The proposed methodology represents a first step towards a tool for quick decision making during salvage operations. The ultimate goal is to allow near real-time prediction of the risk of penetration into cargo tanks and hull girder failure. To demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method, it is applied to a simulated trial stranding scenario.