Aggregate expenditure elasticity for transport and communication in Australia

For the purpose of estimating Engel elasticity, one needs to find the best functional form among various alternatives. In this paper, a new function, which is called the double semi-log Engel function turns out to be the best functional form for the transport and communication items in Australia on the basis of the distance function (D²) criterion, and the non-nested hypothesis testing procedure. This function is then used to estimate total expenditure elasticity, and the percentage change in consumer demand due to changes in total expenditure and total expenditure inequalities; using the 1975–76 Household Expenditure Survey data. The results of the analyses demonstrate that transport and communication is a necessary item in Australia on the basis of two criteria, viz., its elasticity is not significantly greater than unity, and the percentage change in demand increases with a decrease of the total expenditure inequality [emphasised by Iyengar (I960)]. Policy implication of the analyses has also been discussed.     

On a link-based day-to-day traffic assignment model

In this paper, we perform a rigorous analysis on a link-based day-to-day traffic assignment model recently proposed in He et al. (2010). Several properties, including the invariance set and the constrained stability, of this dynamical process are established. An extension of the model to the asymmetric case is investigated and the stability result is also established under slightly more restrictive assumptions. Numerical experiments are conducted to demonstrate the findings.     

带转向延误的非对称多模式用户平衡模型及算法

为了在网络建模中更精确地反映交通网络和出行行为的复杂特征,从多模式用户平衡原理出发,综合考虑多模式和转向延误因素以及不同模式、路段和转向之间的非对称作用,利用变分不等式理论建立了带转向延误的非对称多模式用户平衡模型,并在精简对角化算法的框架内设计了求解算法。该模型集成了交通网络的诸多特征,且能直接刻画转向延误与转向流量之间的互动关系,避免了传统扩展网络法的缺陷。算例表明:该模型及其算法对问题的描述与求解是有效的。     

三阶非线性边值问题的奇摄动

利用微分不等式技巧和Volterra型积分算子，研究了一类三阶非线性奇摄动边值问题解的存在和渐近估计。     

随机变分方程解的存在,唯一性问题

研究了随机有限元方法的理论基础－随机变分方程解的合理性问题，证明了一般形式的随机变分方程解的存在与唯一性定性，明确了在随机扰动算子不足以破坏均值微分算子的强制性条件－不会导致方程类型变异的前提下，Ｆｒｅｄｈｏｌｍ择一定理的第二个结果成立，此时在概率１的意义上变分解存在而且唯一。     

Nonlinear feedforward–feedback control of clutch-to-clutch shift technique

To improve the shift quality of the vehicle with clutch-to-clutch gear shifts, a nonlinear feedforward–feedback control scheme is proposed for clutch slip control during the shift inertia phase. The feedforward control is designed based on flatness in consideration of the system nonlinearities, and the linear feedback control is given to accommodate the model errors and the disturbances. Lookup tables, which are widely used to represent complex nonlinear characteristics of powertrain systems, appear in their original form in the designed feedforward controller, while the linear feedback controller is calculated through linear matrix inequalities such that the control system is robust against the parameter uncertainties. Finally, the designed controller is tested on an AMESim powertrain simulation model, which contains a time-variant model of clutch actuators.     

等截面混凝土简支箱形梁剪力滞效应分析

采用变分法和有限元法分析在自重作用下简支箱形梁的剪力滞效应，同时采用三维实体单元分析，得到剪力滞效应在上下翼板厚度方向的分布规律。通过理论解与数值解的对比可知，采用有限元软件和变分法分析箱形梁剪力滞效应都是可行的。分析得到的规律既可作为箱形梁剪力滞理论分析的验证，也可作为相似箱形梁设计的参考。     

Method for obtaining the wheel–rail contact location and its application to the normal problem calculation through ‘CONTACT’

This work presents a robust methodology for calculating inter-penetration areas between railway wheel and rail surfaces, the profiles of which are defined by a series of points. The method allows general three-dimensional displacements of the wheelset to be considered, and its characteristics make it especially suitable for dynamic simulations where the wheel–rail contact is assumed to be flexible. The technique is based on the discretisation of the geometries of the surfaces in contact, considering the wheel as a set of truncated cones and the rail as points. By means of this approach, it is possible to reduce the problem to the calculation of the intersections between cones and lines, the solution for which has a closed-form expression. The method has been used in conjunction with the CONTACT algorithm in order to solve the static normal contact problem when the lateral displacement of the wheelset, its yaw angle and the vertical force applied in the wheelset centroid are prescribed. The results consist of smooth functions when the dependent coordinates are represented as a function of the independent ones, lacking the jump discontinuities that are present when a rigid contact model is adopted. Example results are shown and assessed for the normal contact problem for different lateral and yaw positions of the wheelset on the track.     

Competition and disruption in a dynamic urban supply chain

Rapid changes and complexities in business environments have stressed the importance of interactions between partners and competitors, leading supply chains to become the most important element of contemporary business environments. There is a concomitant need for foresight in describing supply chain performance in all operating environments, including those involving punctuated disruptions. Furthermore, the urban metropolis is now widely recognized to be an environment which is especially vulnerable to supply chain disruptions and for which integrated supply chain decisions can produce very substantial net benefits. Accordingly, this paper presents a dynamic supply chain network model formulated as a differential variational inequality; the model is fashioned to allow consideration of supply chain disruption threats to producers, freight carriers, and retail enterprises. The DVI is solved using a fixed-point algorithm, and a simple numerical example, introduced to illustrate how the impacts of supply chain disruptions may be quantified, is presented.     

Approximate network loading and dual-time-scale dynamic user equilibrium

In this paper we present a dual-time-scale formulation of dynamic user equilibrium (DUE) with demand evolution. Our formulation belongs to the problem class that Pang and Stewart (2008) refer to as differential variational inequalities. It combines the within-day time scale for which route and departure time choices fluctuate in continuous time with the day-to-day time scale for which demand evolves in discrete time steps. Our formulation is consistent with the often told story that drivers adjust their travel demands at the end of every day based on their congestion experience during one or more previous days. We show that analysis of the within-day assignment model is tremendously simplified by expressing dynamic user equilibrium as a differential variational inequality. We also show there is a class of day-to-day demand growth models that allow the dual-time-scale formulation to be decomposed by time-stepping to yield a sequence of continuous time, single-day, dynamic user equilibrium problems. To solve the single-day DUE problems arising during time-stepping, it is necessary to repeatedly solve a dynamic network loading problem. We observe that the network loading phase of DUE computation generally constitutes a differential algebraic equation (DAE) system, and we show that the DAE system for network loading based on the link delay model (LDM) of Friesz et al. (1993) may be approximated by a system of ordinary differential equations (ODEs). That system of ODEs, as we demonstrate, may be efficiently solved using traditional numerical methods for such problems. To compute an actual dynamic user equilibrium, we introduce a continuous time fixed-point algorithm and prove its convergence for effective path delay operators that allow a limited type of nonmonotone path delay. We show that our DUE algorithm is compatible with network loading based on the LDM and the cell transmission model (CTM) due to Daganzo (1995). We provide a numerical example based on the much studied Sioux Falls network.