Biodynamic responses of seated pregnant subjects exposed to vertical vibrations in driving conditions

A pregnant woman's body is a very sophisticated dynamic system that is sensitive to whole-body vibrations in a sitting posture. While much effort has been devoted to vibration effects on non-pregnant seated persons, little research has been devoted to the biodynamic responses of seated pregnant women exposed to vertical vibrations, especially in driving conditions. In this study a thorough survey of lumped-parameter models for non-pregnant seated persons is implemented. According to the literature the mathematical models adequate for representing the increase in mass due to pregnancy are proposed and evaluated systematically. On the basis of an analytical study and experimental validation, the six-degree-of-freedom model modified from the non-linear model proposed by Muksian and Nash is recommended. In addition, the recommended pregnant model is further integrated with two-dimensional half-car and three-dimensional full-car models to assess the responses of pregnant drivers or passengers exposed to vertical vibrations due to road unevenness. It is believed that the study presented in this report provides a profound understanding of biodynamic responses of seated pregnant women and that it may offer vehicle engineers a good reference in the design of vehicle suspension systems.     

The development of safe riding guidelines for young riders – A case study of Phu Yen,Vietnam

Phu Yen is a small province located in the central part of Vietnam and is suffering from a tremendous number of traffic casualties, compared with other cities in Vietnam and developed countries. Young riders take a large proportion, accounting for 47.6% in total traffic crashes. To resolve this issue, the present study aims to (i) analyze young riders' behavior and their attitudes towards traffic safety and to (ii) propose a procedure to develop a book of safe riding guidelines to reduce their involvement in dangerous situations. A set of 73 questions in the questionnaire survey have been conducted to determine the risk-taking behavior and attitude towards traffic safety of 300 individuals, who are using bicycles, e-bikes, mopeds, scooters, and motorcycles less than 150 cc. The statistical results indicate that there are significant differences among riding behavior and attitudes of respondents towards traffic safety regarding the regional factor (rural, suburb, and urban), the demographic factor (gender and age), and the travel distance factor. The guidelines designed based on the questionnaire survey are used to alter adolescents' riding behavior and attitudes and so help them recognize, avoid, and handle risks in demanding traffic situations. An analysis of the before and after the traffic safety training workshop to evaluate the effectiveness of the proposed guidelines indicated that there was a significant increment in the perceived risks of young riders after training them by using this book.     

The relations between dry port characteristics and regional port-hinterland settings: findings for a global sample of dry ports

This paper aims at defining generic characteristics of dry ports by carrying out an analysis using a large sample of dry ports from around the world. The dataset includes details on 107 inland terminals worldwide. All dry ports in the database have been selected from studies in the extant literature before being shortlisted to fit our research scope. Data collected include terminologies used, actors driving the development, terminal throughput, total area, services provided and the relation with the corresponding seaport(s). Using statistical analysis, the paper examines how dry port parameters are influenced by (1) a different terminal set up, like sea-driven and land-driven development, developed and developing system, dry port functions; (2) specifications of the seaport with which the dry port is connected, i.e. seaport traffic, connectivity, utilization, etc. and (3) the transport leg linking dry ports and seaports. The findings could be applied to the planning and development of inland nodes from the perspectives of different stakeholders.     

Studying port selection on liner routes: An approach from logistics perspective

The research aims to study the port selection in liner shipping. The central work is to set up a model to deal with port choice decisions. The model solves three matters: ports on a ship’s route; the order of selected ports and loading/unloading ports for each shipment. Its objective is to minimize total cost including ship cost, port tariff, inland transport cost and inventory cost. The model has been applied in real data, with cargo flows between the USA and Northern Europe. Afterwards, two sensitive analyses are considered. The first assesses the impact of a number of port calls on the total cost which relates closely to the viability of two service patterns: multi ports and hub & spoke. The second analyzes the efficiency of large vessels in the scope of a logistics network. The overriding result of this research is to indicate the influence of logistics factors in the decision of port choice. The research emphasizes the necessity to combine different factors when dealing with this topic, or else a result can be one-sided.     

Applications of a new ecosystem model to study the dynamics of phytoplankton and nutrients in the Ariake Sea,west coast of Kyushu,Japan

In this study, we present the development and application of a new ecosystem model coupled with a hydrodynamic model to describe the important physical, chemical and biological processes of an ecosystem in the marine environment, the Ariake Sea in the west coast of Kyushu, Japan. The model was calibrated and validated using in-situ field measurements from various monitoring stations in the sea. The presented results covered the period from January 1991 to December 2000. The results showed that chlorophyll-a, nutrients and dissolved oxygen levels varied seasonally in response to weather and boundary condition. Through this study, the model was shown to be able to handle the flooding and drying processes that usually exist and play an essential role over the estuarine-tidal flats of the sea.     

Traffic conflict assessment for non-lane-based movements of motorcycles under congested conditions

Traffic conflict under congested conditions is one of the main safety issues of motorcycle traffic in developing countries. Unlike cars, motorcycles often display non-lane-based movements such as swerving or oblique following of a lead vehicle when traffic becomes congested. Very few studies have quantitatively evaluated the effects of such non-lane-based movements on traffic conflict. Therefore, in this study we aim to develop an integrated model to assess the traffic conflict of motorcycles under congested conditions. The proposed model includes a concept of safety space to describe the non-lane-based movements unique to motorcycles, new features developed for traffic conflict assessment such as parameters of acceleration and deceleration, and the conditions for choosing a lead vehicle. Calibration data were extracted from video clips taken at two road segments in Ho Chi Minh City. A simulation based on the model was developed to verify the dynamic non-lane-based movements of motorcycles. Subsequently, the assessment of traffic conflict was validated by calculating the probability of sudden braking at each time interval according to the change in the density of motorcycle flow. Our findings underscore the fact that higher flow density may lead to conflicts associated with a greater probability of sudden breaking. Three types of motorcycle traffic conflicts were confirmed, and the proportions of each type were calculated and discussed.     

Simulation of flow in diesel particulate filter system using metal fiber filter media

Metal fiber is introduced as a new filter media in wall-flow Diesel Particulate Filter (DPF) system. This technology has high temperature durability which is required for filter regeneration, and can maintain the mechanical strength even in the extreme exhaust-related vibrations of vehicles. However, the regeneration near the wall (outer layer) is more difficult because of the heat loss and reduced gas flow near the wall. In this study, a flow is simulated to determine the flow control method for the more uniform flow in all filter layer. By using Star CCM+ commercial software, we obtain local velocity, streamline, and pressure distributions in the filter, which are typically difficult to obtain from measurements. The major control factors are the filter porosity, size and location of the distribution plate, and the number of blades of the swirler. By placing the distribution plate in front of the filter, the flow velocity near the wall was increased. The optimum location and size of the flat plate were chosen. By attaching the blade on the plate the flow velocity near the wall was increased more. Therefore, the regeneration efficiency is increased by using the swirler-type metal fiber DPF system.     

Factors influencing home-based telework in Hanoi (Vietnam) during and after the COVID-19 era

Transportation - During the era of COVID-19 (COronaVIrus Disease of 2019), telework has been adopted extensively in developing countries for the first time. This study analyzes data of 355...     

A risk assessment model with systematical uncertainty treatment for container shipping operations

ABSTRACT

The substantial adverse effects of risk factors on container shipping and logistics promoted a deep integration of risk analysis into the decision-making process. This paper aims to develop a well-grounded quantitative model to operational risk in a container shipping context. Considering uncertainty as a primary component of the risk concept, methods were employed in an inter-complementary manner to enable not only a sense of foreseeability but also a deeper look into the weaknesses of the knowledge base. The intersubjectivity of the input extraction process was supported by the Evidential Reasoning (ER) algorithm. Risks are then assessed based on a Fuzzy Rules Bayesian Network (FRBN) model with a 2-level parameter structure before meaningful interpretations can be derived through a new risk mapping approach. Besides an illustrative case study, the model was tested by sensitivity analysis and an examination of multiple validity claims.     

Spatial allocation on a network with congestion

This article formalizes the land use design problem as a discrete-convex programming problem integrating within a quadratic assignment framework a realistic representation of transportation behavior (automobile congestion and variable demand for travel) as modelled by a combined trip distribution trip assignment model. Hill-climbing algorithms are proposed to solve the resulting optimization problem. Their performance is compared and evaluated on a set of test problems.