一条专用车道双向运营BRT/轻轨的可行性

为有效满足BRT或轻轨系统的运行需求,提出在带有固定左转车道的繁忙通勤走廊中央设置一条BRT或轻轨专用车道用于双向运营的概念。由此产生了车辆相交问题,其相交空间设置于由左转车道产生的未利用或未被充分利用的道路中央隔离带。提供了公交车站和相交空间的概念设计可选方案和几何布局示意图,并考虑运行速度、发车间隔、相邻相交空间的距离及相交空间数量等条件,分析系统性能。为确保具有实用性,研究了系统在现有交通走廊上的可实施性。由于该系统具有利于TOD发展的潜力,也可作为未来发展两条专用车道系统的中间步骤。     

快乐“小狮子”

初入家门 2005年8月20日是个值得纪念的日子，我终于迎来了我可爱的小狮子。 买车的想法由来已久，早已习惯了舒适慵懒的学生生活，一朝面对拥挤不堪的上班路途——两次公交车一次地铁，耗时个半小时，我得寻求出路。     

A semi-empirical dynamic tire model for combined-slip forces

This article presents a semi-empirical combined-slip tire model including transient behavior. It is assumed that the transient behavior is a result from the dynamic deformation of the tire carcass and that the interaction between the lateral and longitudinal slip, and forces can be explained by the deformation of the rubber treads. The deformation of the tire carcass makes the tread slip deviate from the wheel-rim motion in a way that may be described by differential equations. A method based on brush-model tire mechanics is used to construct the combined-slip forces as nonlinear scalings of corresponding pure-slip forces.     

Maximum acceptable gap between urban-guided transport vehicles and platforms for persons with disabilities: the findings of an experimental study conducted to inform policy decisions

The French ministry responsible for transport has commissioned a study aimed at providing data to determine the maximum gap size between vehicle and platform for guided transport vehicles, which would become a legal requirement. Specific experimental conditions were created, with a physical mock-up simulating a tramway and a platform and providing several gap configurations (between 20 and 50?mm for the horizontal gap and between 20 and 75?mm for the vertical step), and an experimental design based on the negotiation of gaps by wheelchairs users (mainly manual or electric powered). The experiment was conducted with 46 participants with different functional abilities. Data were collected on performance and gap negotiation time. The results of this study indicate that despite the failures observed for the 50?×?50?mm gap size during the experiment, most wheelchair users who took part in the test have successfully negotiated this gap.     

Assessment of sea surface temperature observational networks in the Baltic Sea and North Sea

The satellite and in situ Sea Surface Temperature (SST) observational networks in the Baltic Sea and North Sea are evaluated based on the quality of the gridded SST products generated from the networks. A multi-indicator approach is applied in the assessment. It includes evaluation of data quality, effective data coverage, field reconstruction error and model nowcast error. The results show that the best available full-coverage SST product is generated by assimilating the SST observations to obtain a yearly mean model bias of 0.07 °C and RMSE of 0.64 °C. The effective data coverage rate is 31% by using AVHRR (Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer) data from NOAA (National Ocean and Atmosphere Administration) satellites 12, 14 and 16. The data redundancy increases rapidly with the number of infrared sensors. Using either NOAA satellite 12 or all 3 satellites makes a small difference with regard to derived effective coverage and the ocean model nowcast error. The influence of using the in situ SST observations in the SST field reconstruction is negligibly small. Instead, the major role of in situ SST observations is in calibrating the satellite observations. To study the relative importance of data quality and data coverage, an assessment is done for two satellite products: one product is based entirely on NOAA 12 data and has larger coverage but lower quality. The other product is a subset of the SAF products (derived from NOAA 14 and 16) and has lower coverage but higher quality. Based on current monitoring, modelling and assimilation technology, the results suggest that the data quality is an important factor in further improving the quality of the gridded SST products. Recommendations are made for possible further improvements of the existing SST observational networks.     

Evaluating competitiveness using fuzzy analytic hierarchy process—A case study of Chinese airlines

With the development of a national market economy, the Chinese aviation industry is now confronted with international competition. Therefore, it is necessary to research the competitive status of Chinese national aviation, as well as advice on how to enhance the competitiveness of the Chinese aviation industry. The main objective of this paper is to propose FAHP as an effective solution for resolving the uncertainty and imprecision in the evaluation of airlines' competitiveness. In this paper, we review the research of industrial international aviation competitiveness at both home and abroad, discuss a theoretical framework for the study of aviation competitiveness, establish an index system with five first‐order indicators and 17 second‐order indicators, set up a Chinese aviation competitiveness model based on simple fuzzy numbers from the fuzzy analytic hierarchy process, and evaluate the competitiveness of five major Chinese airlines. The results showed that this model and these indicators are scientific and practical, with a wide range of application prospects for the purpose of improving and increasing Chinese airline competitiveness in the international market. The effective approach presented in this paper is especially applicable when subjective judgments on performance ratings and attribute weights are not accessible or reliable, or when suitable decision makers are not available. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Improving truck safety: Potential of weigh-in-motion technology

Trucks exceeding the legal mass limits increase the risk of traffic accidents and damage to the infrastructure. They also result in unfair competition between transport modes and companies. It is therefore important to ensure truck compliance to weight regulation. New technologies are being developed for more efficient overload screening and enforcement. Weigh-in-Motion (WIM) technologies allow trucks to be weighed in the traffic flow, without any disruption to operations. Much progress has been made recently to improve and implement WIM systems, which can contribute to safer and more efficient operation of trucks.     

Optimal interpolation of sea surface temperature for the North Sea and Baltic Sea

Sea surface temperature fields of the North Sea and Baltic Sea have been constructed for the year 2001 using a multiplatform Optimal Interpolation scheme. The analyzed fields are constructed every 12 h on a 10 km spatial grid. The product is based upon observations from the three NOAA satellites 12, 14 and 16 together with a large amount of in situ observations. Space dependent covariance functions are estimated from the satellite observations and account for spatial and temporal lags. Several independent methods have been used to assess the error on the sea surface temperature product. Compared against independent in situ observations, the mean RMS difference for the year 2001 is 0.78 °C. The spatial distribution of the errors reveals that the Baltic Sea in general show higher errors than the North Sea. The error statistics throughout the year show a temporal variation of the errors with maximum during summer and winter. Tests with a varying number of satellite observations show that the accuracy of the satellite observations is the most important parameter in terms of reducing the errors on the interpolated sea surface temperature product.     

Designing a Network of Coral Reef Marine Protected Areas in Hainan Island,South China

Overexploitation of reef resources and increasing coastal tourism have severely damaged the health of coral reef ecosystems around Hainan Island, South China. Only some reef sites are protected, and the effectiveness of the marine protected areas (MPA) appears inadequate. Networks of MPAs have been widely proposed as a more effective tool for reef conservation. However, little is known about the overall state of the island's coral reefs, and no guidelines exist for MPA network building in China. In this study, the information currently available on the distribution and condition of Hainan's coral reefs is comprehensively used to assess reef status, and to identify other reef areas prior to protection. An MPA network around the island is proposed in terms of monitoring, legal, and management aspects to improve the conservation effectiveness. This could also serve as a model for developing MPA networks for other coastal areas with respect to coral reef conservation.     

Bathymetry impacts on water exchange modelling through the Danish Straits

Deep and narrow channels in Danish Straits are one of the governing factors for the Baltic–North Sea water and salt exchange. The channels have a depth up to 50 m and a horizontal scale of a few hundred meters. The typical horizontal resolution used in current operational three dimensional Baltic–North Sea models is 1 nautical mile (nm) which can not well resolve these deep channels. In this paper, an alternative method is used to generate the 1 nm resolution bathymetry so that the deep channel is well resolved and at the same time the total water volume is roughly conserved. The impact of the new bathymetry on modelling water and salt transports as well as temperature and salinity structure is assessed by comparing a 3-year model run with the adjusted bathymetry and a control run with the averaged bathymetry. Volume and salt transports through the Great Belt are examined in the two runs. The results show that the model ocean is dominated by a typical two-layer transport (i.e., upper brackish Baltic outflow and lower saltier inflow), and the new bathymetry significantly enhances the two-layer transport. The lighter Baltic outflow is increased by 18% in the upper 10 m and saltier deep inflow is increased by 300% (in comparison with the old bathymetry) below 10 m. The total net transport into the Baltic Sea is increased by 13%. The temperature and salinity structure is also significantly influenced by the bathymetry, especially during inflow events. The stratification is strengthened and the bottom salinity is increased in Danish Straits and adjacent waters. The bathymetry impact is found significant through the entire 3-year model run period, and the signal is propagated to a large area covering the Stopple Channel. Comparison with observations show that such changes are positive improvements to the models. The results suggest that the deep channels in the Danish Straits have to be carefully resolved in order to correctly simulate the Baltic–North Sea water exchange.