Theoretical method for predicting the weight reduction rate of a box-type car body for rolling stock by material substitution design

In this paper, a theoretical approach is suggested for predicting the structural performances and weight reduction rate of a car body with a box-type section when its material is substituted with a lightweight material for weight saving. For the material substitution design of a car body for rolling stock, bending, axial, and twisting deformations should be considered at constant stiffness and strength conditions. To compare the weight reduction effects on different material applications, some new indices were derived from a structural performance point of view. The derived indices provide good measures to estimate weight reduction by material substitution design and can be effectively applied to the conceptual design of a car body.     

Grain refinement in bearing steels using a double-quenching heat-treatment process

A double-quenching (D/Q) process is proposed for heat-treating high carbon-chromium bearing steels to improve the fatigue properties through refinement of the microstructure. The new heat treatment method has two steps: The first step is a nitrocarburizing process that results in high surface hardness and lowers the transformation temperature. The second step is the same as in the conventional quenching process but can be conducted at a considerably lower temperature than in conventional quenching. The microstructure in the material that is caused by the D/Q heat treatment is much finer than in the conventional Q/T (quenching and tempering) process. In order to quantify the performance of the proposed heat-treatment process, various mechanical property tests are carried out. The rolling contact fatigue life of double-quenched bearing steels was eight times higher than in bearing steels that were treated by conventional Q/T.     

Model Test on Grouting Law in Dynamic Water-Rich Sand Layers by the Electric Resistance Method北大核心CSCD

In order to study the diffusion law of grouting slurry in the water-rich sand layer under flowing water conditions, a grouting test model consisting of a main test system, a grouting system, and a measurement system was developed. And for detecting the diffusion scope of the grouts, a new resistivity method was proposed. It is found that the relationship between grouting pressure and grouting rate during the test is strong. Under hydrodynamic conditions, the grouting slurry diffuses elliptically. Due to gravity and the effect of the upper water flow, the center of gravity of the ellipsoid is below the grouting outlet, and the grouting effectively improves the physical and mechanical properties of water-rich sand bodies. At the same time, the resistivity method has a good application effect on the detection of grouting diffusion range. The range of slurry diffusion obtained by the resistivity method is basically consistent with the boundary of the stone body after excavation, indicating that the resistivity method is reliable for detection of grouting range in dynamic water-rich sand layer. © 2018, Editorial Office of "Modern Tunnelling Technology". All right reserved.     

Analysis of Ground Response and Structure Stress Induced by PBA Method北大核心CSCD

The application of prefabricated tunnel technology has been become a new research field both in China and abroad. Based on the running tunnel between Yufuhe station and Wangfuzhuang station of Jinan rail transit line R1, a new prefabricated tunnel construction technology, the PBA method is presented. This paper makes a detailed discussion on section form, supporting scheme and construction process of the PBA method. In this study, 3D a new 3D numerical model for PBA method is presented by finite difference numerical simulation software Flac and the construction processes are modeled. The rule of ground surface settlement, ground deformation and structural stress caused by PBA method is studied in detail. Results show that the structure of PBA method can effectively control the deformation magnitude and scope. Stress concentration appears at the prefabricated connection parts and the reinforcement needs to check. The total assembled structure forms the load-bearing system after the completion of the lateral wall. The built-in depth of the precast pile and pile bottom grouting quality should to be ensured to control the displacement of the precast piles. The results of this study will be a useful reference for similar projects in the future. © 2018, Editorial Office of "Modern Tunnelling Technology". All right reserved.     

Experimental Study on Mechanical Behaviors of Prefabricated Column-Base Joint with Grouted Sleeves Connecting Longitudinal Reinforcements in Tunnels北大核心CSCD

In recent years, large shield tunnels with internal double-decked lanes have been developing rapidly in the field of highway tunnels, and prefabricated elements are increasingly adopted in internal structure. Based on the columns-base joint in Zhuguanglu tunnel, which is under construction, 2 full-scale specimens are designed for the quasi-static test, one specimen is connected with grout sleeve splicing and the other is cast in place. The test results show that: the bearing capacity of specimen with grout sleeve splicing is equal to that of cast-in-situ specimen, but its ductility and energy dissipation capacity are worse than that of the cast-in-situ specimen. And for the specimen with grout sleeve splicing, there exists crack concentration on the area above the sleeve. The crack width is too larger in this area. © 2018, Editorial Office of "Modern Tunnelling Technology". All right reserved.     

Analysis on the Effects of Overloading on the Mechanical Properties of Tunnel Structures in the Silty Ground --A Case Study of Sutong River-crossing GIL Utility Tunnel北大核心CSCD

Based on the Sutong GIL utility tunnel project, which is constructed by the shield machine under the river, and as for the overloading problem at the river bank slope during operating period, the refined threedimensional finite element model was established to study the deformation and cracking characteristics of the tunnel segment structure under different forms of overloading. The evolution laws of section convergence, joint opening and structural stress were analyzed, and the structure damage mechanisms were revealed under conditions of large area loading and local loading. The surface-surcharge control standard was proposed. For the big diameter shield tunneling crossing the silty clay, the research results show that: (1) the deformation failure process is divided into three stages under large area loading condition, taking the design load and compressive yield of rebars inside haunch as the critical points respectively. The first stage is characterized by the elastic stress, the second stage is in plastic state with fracture, and the third stage is accelerating deformation and instability stage. The vertical convergence is 110.5 mm with no opening of joints when rebars are yielded; (2)the deformation failure process under local loading condition is also divided into elasticity, plasticity and instability stages, taking the design load and tensile yield of rebars outside haunch as the critical points respectively. The vertical convergence is 152.6 mm with joint opening of 4.36 mm; (3) the early-warning values of additional stress on the ground under conditions of large area loading and local loading are 110 kPa and 70 kPa respectively. © 2018, Editorial Office of "Modern Tunnelling Technology". All right reserved.     

Sea Cucumber Moratorium and Livelihood Diversity in Papua New Guinea

Livelihood diversity factors such as flexibility within fisheries, geographical mobility, reallocation of fishing effort into the broader economy, and the non-material benefits that fisheries provide are important areas of research in marine policy. We use two small-scale fisheries related socio-economic surveys of communities in the Tigak Islands of Papua New Guinea. The first conducted 5 years before a ban on the harvesting of sea cucumbers was imposed and the second from the present day, 5 years after the initiation of the ban—with the objectives of exploring changes in household fishing strategies (types and numbers of species targeted) and to identify any important socioeconomic factors that help explain those changes. Fishing's contribution to total household income has increased significantly (p = 0.019) up from 61% in 2004 to 73% in 2014 with the percentage of female residents living in a household now positively and significantly (p = 0.018) associated with fishing income. The average number of species categories targeted per household increased insignificantly while households with more women are significantly (p = 0.018) less likely to target more species than households with more men. Moreover, customary management practices contribute to this difference. Together, these results show that households are not worse off financially 5 years after the ban on sea cucumber harvesting and that gendered seascape use has implications for the role of livelihood diversity as a marine policy tool.     

The use of gait parameters to evaluate pedestrian behavior at scramble phase signalized intersections

Pedestrian scramble phasing is usually implemented to reduce pedestrian‐vehicle conflicts and therefore increase the safety of the intersection. However, to adequately determine the benefits of scramble phasing, it is necessary to understand how pedestrians react to such an unconventional design. This study investigates changes in pedestrian crossing behavior following the implementation of a scramble phase by examining the spatiotemporal gait parameters (step length and step frequency). This detailed microscopic‐level analysis provides insight into changes in pedestrian walking mechanisms as well as the effect of various pedestrian and intersection characteristics. The study uses video data collected at a scramble phase signalized intersection in Oakland, California. Gait parameters were found to be influenced by pedestrian gender, age, group size, crosswalk length, and pedestrian signal indications. Both average step length and walking speed were significantly higher for diagonally crossing pedestrians compared with pedestrians crossing on the conventional crosswalks. Pedestrians were found to have the tendency to increase their step length more than their step frequency to increase walking speed. It was also found that, compared with men, women generally increase their walking speed by increasing their step frequency more than step length. However, when in non‐compliance with signal indications, women increase their walking speed by increasing their step length more than step frequency. It was also found that older pedestrians do not significantly change their walking behavior when in non‐compliance with signal indications. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Modeling the interactions between car and bicycle in heterogeneous traffic

In this paper, a new cellular automata model is proposed to simulate the car and bicycle heterogeneous traffic on urban road. To capture the complex interactions between these two types of vehicles, a novel occupancy rule is adopted in the proposed model to consider the variable lateral distances of mixed vehicular traffic. Based on massive simulations, microscopic fundamental diagrams under different bicycle densities are devised. With these, the bicycle's spilling behavior is then investigated and discussed. In order to reflect the interference of a bicycle on a car, the interference transformation from friction state to block state is modeled explicitly. Finally, different simulation results under different occupancy rules indicate that the constant and fixed occupancy rule adopted in the previous studies might lead to overestimation of car flux in the heterogeneous traffic flows with different bicycle densities. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A new approach for improving the performance of freight train timetabling of a single-track railway system

A new approach for improving the performance of freight train timetabling for single-track railways is proposed. Using the idea of a fixed-block signaling system, we develop a matrix representation to express the occupation of inter- and intra-station tracks by trains illustrating the train blocking time diagram in its entirety. Train departure times, dwell times, and unnecessary stopping are adjusted to reduce average train travel time and single train travel time. Conflicts between successive stations and within stations are identified and solved. A fuzzy logic system is further used to adjust the range of train departure times and checks are made to determine whether dwell times and time intervals can be adjusted for passenger and freight trains at congested stations to minimize train waiting times. By combining manual scheduling expertise with the fuzzy inference method, timetable efficiency is significantly improved and becomes more flexible.