Sequential optimization approach for the multi‐class user equilibrium problem in a continuous transportation system

We consider a city region with several facilities that are competing for customers of different classes. Within the city region, the road network is dense, and can be represented as a continuum. Customers are continuously distributed over space, and they choose a facility by considering both the transportation cost and market externalities. More importantly, the model takes into account the different transportation cost functions and market externalities to which different customer classes are subjected. A logit‐type distribution of demand is specified to model the decision‐making process of users' facility choice. We develop a sequential optimization approach to decompose the complex multi‐class and multi‐facility problem into a series of smaller single‐class and single‐facility sub‐problems. An efficient solution algorithm is then proposed to solve the resultant problem. A numerical example is given to demonstrate the effectiveness and potential applicability of the proposed methodology.     

Discharge headway at signalized intersections in Hong Kong

This paper reports the analysis and comparisons of discharge headways at 26 sites in Hong Kong. Previous studies here established good understanding of the average discharge headway under various conditions but very few studies dealt with discharge headway of individual vehicles which is a vital component in the traffic simulation at signalized intersections. This study that looked into the discharge headway of individual vehicles found that the discharge headway at different queue position follows the Type I Extreme Value Distribution. A method of estimating site‐specific parameters for this distribution has also been proposed.     

高速公路工程搅拌桩设计最大桩距探讨

高速公路工程水泥土搅拌桩的设计主要基于桩土变形协调的复合地基理论。在工程实践中对在什么桩距下搅拌桩地基能满足复合地基理论还没有统一的认识。为此,采用平面有限元计算路堤荷载作用下搅拌桩地基桩距与桩土变形之间的关系,并以连云港海相软土典型地层为例,分析得到了搅拌桩设计的最大桩距。     

Developing freeway lane‐changing support systems using artificial neural networks

Lane‐changing involves many concerns about safety and efficiency which makes it one of the most difficult tasks of driving. It is indeed quite personal since drivers operate vehicles according to their integrated perception of comprehensive circumstances rather than individual rules. A lane‐changing decision support model is developed in this study using artificial neural networks (ANN). The advantages of the ANN approach lie in the learning capability. Due to its nature, an ANN model can consolidate various kinds of information surrounding the vehicle for the drivers and generate reliable results to help control vehicles. It then becomes a useful mechanism to assist drivers in judging current situations and making the right decisions. Several preliminary validations and comparisons are conducted with the field survey data. It is confirmed that the ANN model mimics traffic characteristics more accurately than conventional methods. This product would expedite the implementation of relevant applications in the intelligent transportation systems context. In particular, the ANN model can be adapted to individual driver characteristics. This reveals practical feasibility and significant market potential for customized in‐vehicle equipment.     

Influence of long-wavelength track irregularities on the motion of a high-speed train

Vertical track irregularities over viaducts in high-speed rail systems could be possibly caused by concrete creep if pre-stressed concrete bridges are used. For bridge spans that are almost uniformly distributed, track irregularity exhibits a near-regular wave profile that excites car bodies as a high-speed train moves over the bridge system. A long-wavelength irregularity induces low-frequency excitation that may be close to the natural frequencies of the train suspension system, thereby causing significant vibration of the car body. This paper investigates the relationship between the levels of car vibration, bridge vibration, track irregularity, and the train speed. First, this study investigates the vibration levels of a high-speed train and bridge system using 3D finite-element (FE) transient dynamic analysis, before and after adjustment of vertical track irregularities by means of installing shimming plates under rail pads. The analysis models are validated by in situ measurements and on-board measurement. Parametric studies of car body vibration and bridge vibration under three different levels of track irregularity at five train speeds and over two bridge span lengths are conducted using the FE model. Finally, a discontinuous shimming pattern is proposed to avoid vehicle suspension resonance.     

A video-based approach to promote safe driving among foreign visitors to Japan

Recently, the demand for car rentals has been increasing at tourist destinations in Japan due to their convenience and the high degree of freedom they offer. On the other hand, there is a problem of a dramatic rise in the number of traffic accidents involving drivers from countries with different traffic customs and cultures from Japan. In order to examine measures to reduce the traffic accident risk of foreign drivers visiting Japan, an animation video to promote safe driving was created and its educational effects were tested in this article. First, through a driving survey of foreigners and a review of preceding studies, we identified information on Priority, Speed, and Comprehension (PSC) that must be learned by foreign visitors to reduce their accident risk. Next, drawing from the technique of branded contents in order to enhance the effects of educational videos, we created a short video that conveys the PSC philosophy that should be understood for safe driving in Japan. We then tested the educational effects of the video by conducting a survey of Taiwanese people. The results show that strengthening the video's appeal leads to improvements in educational effects and therefore safety awareness. We also realized that the effect was particularly significant among young people in their twenties. Lastly, the rent-a-car businesses evaluated the videos and basing on their input, we summarized effective ways for foreign rent-a-car users visiting Japan to use the video.     

Large-scale road network vulnerability analysis: a sensitivity analysis based approach

Traditionally, an assessment of transport network vulnerability is a computationally intensive operation. This article proposes a sensitivity analysis-based approach to improve computational efficiency and allow for large-scale applications of road network vulnerability analysis. Various vulnerability measures can be used with the proposed method. For illustrative purposes, this article adopts the relative accessibility index (AI), which follows the Hansen integral index, as the network vulnerability measure for evaluating the socio-economic effects of link (or road segment) capacity degradation or closure. Critical links are ranked according to the differences in the AIs between normal and degraded networks. The proposed method only requires a single computation of the network equilibrium problem. The proposed technique significantly reduces computational burden and memory storage requirements compared with the traditional approach. The road networks of the Sioux Falls city and the Bangkok metropolitan area are used to demonstrate the applicability and efficiency of the proposed method. Network manager(s) or transport planner(s) can use this approach as a decision support tool for identifying critical links in road networks. By improving these critical links or constructing new bypass roads (or parallel paths) to increase capacity redundancy, the overall vulnerability of the networks can be reduced.     

Identifying a behaviourally relevant choice set from stated choice data

Stated choice experiments are designed optimally in a statistical sense but not necessarily in a behavioural choice making sense. Statistical designs, and consequently model estimation, assume that the set of alternatives offered in the experiment are processed by respondents with a specific processing strategy. Much has been studied about attribute processing using discrete choice methods in travel choice studies, but this paper focuses more broadly on processing of alternatives in the choice set offered in the experiment. This paper is motivated by the primary idea that the distribution of predicted choice probabilities associated with a set of alternatives defining a given choice set might provide strong evidence on the strategies that agents appear to use when choosing a preferred alternative. In an empirical setting of a choice set of size three, four model specifications are considered including a model for the selection of the best alternative in the full choice set and three variants of a best–worst regime. Using state choice data on road pricing reform, the empirical analysis examines which model specification delivers the most accurate prediction of the chosen alternative. The results suggest which alternatives really matter in choice making and hence the alternatives that might be included in a choice set for model specification.     

化学固结渣土层的应力和位移分析

浦东机场围区堆填了大量来自市内建设区域的盾构渣土,由于土质原因无法直接用作市政道路的路基,化学固结是基于施工特性和经济效益的最优选择。先简单阐述了固结剂的选择,用于路面结构层位和稳定渣土材料的设计过程,提出各层次的掺量、压实度和7 d无侧限抗压强度需求,以设计目标压实度和无侧限抗压强度的最低要求为依据,通过对浦东机场软土固结处理方法进行先期模拟,采用有限元分析方法,基于固结层地基在路堤荷载作用下的应力、应变特点,确定了不同影响因素作用下固结层的地表沉降变化曲线以及附加应力分布曲线。研究表明,硬壳层的扩散应力以及封闭效应的存在使得其更好地保护下部软土,从而体现出更好的工程特性。