Improved modeling of park‐and‐ride transfer time: Capturing the within‐day dynamics

An important factor that affects park‐and‐ride demand is transfer time. However, conventional park‐and‐ride demand models treat transfer time as a single value, without considering the time‐of‐day effect. Since early comers usually occupy spots closer to the entrance, their transfer times are shorter. Hence, there is a relationship between arrival time and transfer time. To analyze this relationship, a micro‐simulation model is developed. The model simulates the queuing system at the entrance and the pattern that parking spots are occupied in the parking lot over time. As expected, the model output illustrates an increasing relationship between arrival time and transfer time. This relationship has significant implication in mode choice models because it means that the attractiveness of park‐and‐ride depends on the time of arrival at the park‐and‐ride lot. This model of park‐and‐ride transfer time can potentially improve travel demand forecasting, as well as facilitate the operation and design of park‐and‐ride facilities.     

Technical Challenges of Super-Long Mountainous Tunnels at Great Depth北大核心CSCD

There are various technical challenges faced by the super-long mountainous tunnelling at great depth,and new requirements are arising in terms of the geological investigation, construction period, special geological condi-tions (high ground stress, high geothermal temperature and high-pressure groundwater), disaster prevention & evacua-tion, and social development. Based on an analysis of above mentioned technical challenges, this paper presents tech-nical views on solutions to those challenges and specifies the objectives of related technical development in the fu-ture. To improve the validity and accuracy of the geophysical prospecting, it is necessary to not only increase the accu-racy of ground geophysical exploration at great depth, but also carry out research on the application of such tech-niques to tunnel investigation as airborne geophysical prospecting and HDD combined with borehole geophysical ex-ploration. To maximize the benefits of tunnel projects, it is of importance that more attention should be paid to thoseissues relating to the tunnel design concept, such as the multiple functions of tunnel projects, energy saving andemission reduction, and environmental protection. As for tunnel support theories, in addition to optimizing the currenttheories, some unconventionally new lining theories need to be studied to make the tunnel structure more durable andeconomical. It is also suggested that, in terms of construction, sustained efforts should be put into the development ofinnovative tunnelling techniques for a better, faster and more economical tunnelling, as well as the realization of intel-ligent mechanized tunnelling. When it comes to operation, it is obvious that there will be a trend towards intelligent maintenance in the future. © 2018, Editorial Office of "Modern Tunnelling Technology". All right reserved.     

Construction Technology for the Dazhushan Tunnel in a High-Pressure Fault with Abundant Water北大核心CSCD

The Dazhushan tunnel of Dali-Ruili railway is located in an area with complex geological structures,dense faults, various lithologies, fractured soft rock, developed karst and an underground water pressure of up to 3 MPa. Serious mud bursts and water inflow occured during the construction of the parallel adit passing through the Yanziwo fault. The water-stopping technique of grouting reinforcement is studied in light of this high-pressure fault with abundant water; sectional water drainage for moving water and polymerized grouting with super high pressure are presented; and the key points of the grouting reinforcement scheme, construction equipment configuration, criti-cal technology parameters and construction organization are described in detail. © 2018, Editorial Office of "Modern Tunnelling Technology". All right reserved.     

Pruning and ranking the Pareto optimal set,application for the dynamic multi‐objective network design problem

Solving the multi‐objective network design problem (MONDP) resorts to a Pareto optimal set. This set can provide additional information like trade‐offs between objectives for the decision making process, which is not available if the compensation principle would be chosen in advance. However, the Pareto optimal set of solutions can become large, especially if the objectives are mainly opposed. As a consequence, the Pareto optimal set may become difficult to analyze and to comprehend. In this case, pruning and ranking becomes attractive to reduce the Pareto optimal set and to rank the solutions to assist the decision maker. Because the method used, may influence the eventual decisions taken, it is important to choose a method that corresponds best with the underlying decision process and is in accordance with the qualities of the data used. We provided a review of some methods to prune and rank the Pareto optimal set to illustrate the advantages and disadvantages of these methods. The methods are applied using the outcome of solving the dynamic MONDP in which minimizing externalities of traffic are the objectives, and dynamic traffic management measures are the decision variables. For this, we solved the dynamic MONDP for a realistic network of the city Almelo in the Netherlands using the non‐dominated sorting genetic algorithm II. For ranking, we propose to use a fuzzy outranking method that can take uncertainties regarding the data quality and the perception of decision makers into account; and for pruning, a method that explicitly reckons with significant trade‐offs has been identified as the more suitable method to assist the decision making process. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The role of cities in achieving the EU targets on biofuels for transportation: The cases of Berlin,London, Milan and Helsinki

Road transportation is a strongly growing source of CO₂, and use of biofuels represents one option to reduce end-of-pipe emissions of the existing car fleet. In this contribution, the implementation of the EU Biofuels Directive (2003/30/EC) and related voluntary measures at the local level are examined in Germany, UK, Italy and Finland and the cities of Berlin, London, Milan and Helsinki. Even though they are not directly involved in the implementation of the biofuel directive, all four cities studied have played an important role in emissions reduction by voluntarily participating in research and demonstration projects and by using biofuels in their own fleet. An analysis of the numerous causes and driving forces leading to different local level measures is provided. The environmental sensitivity, usually examined at national level, and the national level implementation of the EU Biofuels Directive (2003/30/EC) were not directly correlated with the city-level activities Instead, support from local businesses and acquisition of EU funds were considered to be valid explanatory factors for the city-level activities. In addition, through horizontal networking cities are starting to exchange know-how gained in their projects, contributing in this way to the accumulation of experience for future policies and technologies.     

Low cost two dimension navigation using an augmented Kalman filter/Fast Orthogonal Search module for the integration of reduced inertial sensor system and Global Positioning System

Due to their complementary characteristics, Global Positioning System (GPS) is integrated with standalone navigation devices like odometers and inertial measurement units (IMU). Recently, intensive research has focused on utilizing Micro-Electro-Mechanical-System (MEMS) grade inertial sensors in the integration because of their low-cost. In this study, a low cost reduced inertial sensor system (RISS) is considered. It consists of a MEMS-grade gyroscope and the vehicle built-in odometer. The system works together with GPS to provide 2D navigation for land vehicles. With adequate accuracy, Kalman filter (KF) is the commonly used estimation technique to achieve the data fusion of GPS and inertial sensors in case of high-end IMUs. However, due to the inherent error characteristics of MEMS grade devices, MEMS-based RISS suffers from the non-stationary stochastic sensor errors and nonlinear inertial errors, which cannot be handled by KF and its linear error models. To overcome the problem, Fast Orthogonal Search (FOS), a nonlinear system identification technique, is suggested for modeling the higher order RISS errors. As a general-purpose numerical method, FOS algorithm has the ability to figure out the system nonlinearity efficiently with a tolerance of arbitrary stochastic system noise. Even using online short-term training data, this method is still able to build an accurate nonlinear model that predicts the system dynamics. Motivated by the above merits, an augmented KF/FOS module is proposed by cascading FOS algorithm to a traditional KF structure. By estimating and reducing both linear and nonlinear RISS errors, the proposed method is supposed to offer substantial enhancement on the positioning accuracy of MEMS-based RISS during GPS outages. In order to examine the effectiveness of the proposed technique, the KF/FOS module is applied on the low cost RISS together with GPS in a land vehicle for several road test trajectories. The performance of the proposed method is compared to KF-only solution, both assessed with respect to a reference offered by a high-end solution. The experimental results confirm that KF/FOS module outperforms KF-only method. The results also show the applicability of the proposed method for real-time vehicle applications.     

The costs and benefits of reducing SO2 emissions from ships in the US West Coastal waters

Potential costs and benefits of policy options for reducing offshore ship pollution are examined using a meta-analysis of studies synthesized regionally for the US West Coast. Net benefits of reducing SO₂ emissions from cargo ships in the US West Coast waters are found to range between $98 million and $284 million, annually; the benefit–cost ratio varies between 1.8 and 3.36, depending on the size of the control area and the sulfur content limit. The results show that about 21,000 tons of on-land equivalent SO₂ emissions or about 33% of SO₂ emissions from all mobile sources in California in 2005 can be reduced annually if the US West Coast exclusive economic zone is designated as an International Maritime Organization-compliant SO_x emission control area (SECA) with fuel-sulfur content not exceeding 1.5%. The analysis demonstrates that designating this area reduces more emissions than establishing a smaller zone at a lower but favorable benefit-cost ratio. Control measures that require 0.5% low-sulfur fuels reduce more SO₂ emissions, and also may have higher net benefits. Technological alternatives may achieve benefits of emissions reductions on the US West Coast across higher ranges of potential fuel prices. Combinations of fuel switching and control technology strategies provide the most cost-effective benefits from SECAs on the US West Coast and other world regions.     

Potential benefits of an adaptive forward collision warning system

Forward collision warning (FCW) systems can reduce rear-end vehicle collisions. However, if the presentation of warnings is perceived as mistimed, trust in the system is diminished and drivers become less likely to respond appropriately. In this driving simulator investigation, 45 drivers experienced two FCW systems: a non-adaptive and an adaptive FCW that adjusted the timing of its alarms according to each individual driver’s reaction time. Whilst all drivers benefited in terms of improved safety from both FCW systems, non-aggressive drivers (low sensation seeking, long followers) did not display a preference to the adaptive FCW over its non-adaptive equivalent. Furthermore, there was little evidence to suggest that the non-aggressive drivers’ performance differed with either system. Benefits of the adaptive system were demonstrated for aggressive drivers (high sensation seeking, short followers). Even though both systems reduced their likelihood of a crash to a similar extent, the aggressive drivers rated each FCW more poorly than their non-aggressive contemporaries. However, this group, with their greater risk of involvement in rear-end collisions, reported a preference for the adaptive system as they found it less irritating and stress-inducing. Achieving greater acceptance and hence likely use of a real system is fundamental to good quality FCW design.     

Relationships between characteristics of motorcycles and hydrocarbon emissions in Taiwan: A note

Taiwan’s inspection and maintenance (I/M) programs identifies high-emission motorcycles but, although these help reduce air pollution, they have been criticized for being cost-ineffective. This study examines the relationship between characteristics of motorcycles and hydrocarbon emissions in the Central Air Quality Basin of Taiwan. It is shown that engine size and type, age and manufacturer of a motorcycle significantly affect HC emissions. Larger-size engines emit smaller amounts of HCs; whereas older motorcycles emitted greater amounts. In addition, two-stroke-engine machines produced significantly higher HC emission levels than four-strokes. Variations in HC emissions testing are a result of various I/M testing locations and efficiency may be improved by modifying these.     

Economic value and utility of a powertrain system for a plug-in parallel diesel hybrid electric bus

This research is the first to develop a design for a powertain system of a plug-in parallel diesel hybrid electric bus equipped with a continuously variable transmission (CVT) and presents a new design paradigm of the plug-in hybrid electric bus (HEB). The criteria and method for selecting and sizing powertrain components equipped in the plug-in HEB are presented. The plug-in HEB is designed to overcome the vulnerable limitations of driving range and performance of a purely electric vehicle (EV) and to improve fuel economy and exhaust emissions of conventional bus and conventional HEBs. The control strategy of the complicated connected propulsion system in the plug-in parallel HEB is one of the most significant factors in achieving higher fuel economy and lower exhaust emissions of the HEV. In this research, a new optimal control strategy concept is proposed against existing rule-based control strategies. The optimal powertrain control strategy is obtained through two steps of optimizations: tradeoff optimization for emission control and energy flow optimization based on the instantaneous optimization technique. The proposed powertrain control strategy has the flexibility to adapt to battery SOC, exhaust emission amount, classified driving pattern, driving condition, and engine temperature. The objective of the optimal control strategy is to optimize the fuel consumption, electricity use, and exhaust emissions proper to the performance targets. The proposed control strategy was simulated to prove its validity by using analysis simulation tool ADVISOR (advanced vehicle simulator).