A hedonic test of the effects of the Alternative Motor Fuels Act

Under the Alternative Motor Fuels Act (AMFA), vehicles that run on ethanol, methanol, or natural gas get extra credits in the calculation of Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE). This paper uses hedonic techniques to examine the effect of production of alternative-fuel vehicles (AFVs) on the implicit price of fuel economy. This study finds that, after AFVs came to market, the marginal value of fuel economy from companies producing them decreased. This finding suggests that manufacturers who produced AFVs were willing to offer a lower price for fuel economy, because automakers had an additional way to achieve fuel economy standards beyond improving the fuel efficiency of conventional cars. These findings bolster the argument that a major role of the AMFA credit for AFVs is to allow automakers to increase their production of fuel-inefficient vehicles.     

Key technologies of ship remote control system in inland waterways under ship-shore cooperation conditions北大核心CSCD

［Objective ］ To meet the requirements of remotely controlling ship in curved, narrow and crowded inland waterways, this paper proposes an approach that consists of CNN-based algorithms and knowledge based models under ship-shore cooperation conditions. ［Method］On the basis of analyzing the characteristics of ship-shore cooperation, the proposed approach realizes autonomous perception of the environment with visual simulation at the core and navigation decision-making control based on deep reinforcement learning, and finally constructs an artificial intelligence system composed of image deep learning processing, navigation situation cognition, route steady-state control and other functions. Remote control and short-time autonomous navigation of operating ships are realized under inland waterway conditions, and remote control of container ships and ferries is carried out. ［Results］The proposed approach is capable of replacing manual work by remote orders or independent decision-making, as well as realizing independent obstacle avoidance, with a consistent deviation of less than 20 meters. ［Conclusions］The developed prototype system carries out the remote control operation demonstration of the above ship types in such waterways as the Changhu Canal Shenzhou line and the Yangtze River, proving that a complete set of algorithms with a CNN and reinforcement learning at the core can independently extract key navigation information, construct obstacle avoidance and control awareness, and lay the foundation for inland river intelligent navigation systems. © 2022 Journal of Clinical Hepatology. All rights reserved.     

Florida's coastal setback line—an effort to regulate beachfront development

Abstract

The coastal setback line program in Florida represents an effort to achieve more efficient location decisions, protect beachfront properties from storms, and control beach erosion. This article examines the reasons why the regulation of shoreline development might be necessary, describes the coastal setback program in Florida, discusses some of the problems encountered in its implementation, and examines its potential success.     

The continental shelf and the exclusive economic zone: the problem of delimitation at UNCLOS III

If the Third United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea succeeds in adopting a new Caracas Convention on the Law of the Sea, it is likely to embody detailed provisions on the delimitation of both the continental shelf and the new zone, the exclusive economic zone. In this paper, the most recent draft of these rules—contained in the Revised Single Negotiating Text—is subjected to a detailed and critical scrutiny which leads to the conclusion that the Sixth Session of the Conference still has a great deal of work to do before agreement can be reached on a satisfactory set of rules.     

International Symposium on the Ice Carrying Trade at Sea

Overmanning and restrictive labour practices are major causes of low productivity in Indian ports. Proposals are put forward for a programme of reforms to support investment in modern cargo handling systems.     

Vibration reduction of H/Shaft using an electromagnetic damper with mode change

The objective of this study is to develop a damper that can reduce the amplitude of vibration in various frequency ranges. Previous H/Shaft vibration reduction methods work in a passive way. A dynamic damper reduces the amplitude of vibration at its first mode, but vibration still appears at the second mode. A mass damper or hollow shaft can shift the natural frequency to a lower or higher region. The fixed operating frequency prevents vibration from being reduced outside the operating frequency range. The proposed damper uses electromagnets as either masses or actuators to change the damper mode between dynamic damper mode and mass damper mode. The electromagnetic damper (EMD) can change its mode to respond to the vibration excitation at both low and high frequencies. The vibration reduction performance was evaluated by FRF tests in laboratory and vehicle conditions. The results were compared with those of a dynamic damper and indicate that the amplitude of vibration is reduced by 95.6 % when the EMD is implemented on an H/Shaft, whereas only 61.9 % vibration reduction is achieved by the dynamic damper.     

薄基岩顶板隧道爆破施工围岩稳定性分析

为更有效地进行薄基岩顶板条件下隧道施工安全控制,以某高速公路隧道为工程背景,运用数值模拟的方法,分别研究不同顶板厚度下隧道爆破施工引起的围岩振速分布特征及其对围岩的损伤情况,并进行围岩稳定性分析。结果表明:1)当顶板厚度在5 m及以上时,围岩是稳定的;2)当顶板厚度为3 m时,最危险横断面上基岩顶板内开始产生严重的拉伸裂缝及一些径向裂缝,将形成超挖;3)当顶板厚度≤2 m时,径向裂缝贯穿顶板岩体,围岩稳定性较差,在掌子面后1 m内可能发生塌落、掉块等事故。     

A receding horizon sliding control approach for electric powertrains with backlash and flexible half-shafts

Active control of electric powertrains is challenging, due to the fact that backlash and structural flexibility in transmission components can cause severe performance degradation or even instability of the control system. Furthermore, high impact forces in transmissions reduce driving comfort and possibly lead to damage of the mechanical elements in contact. In this paper, a nonlinear electric powertrain is modelled as a piecewise affine (PWA) system. The novel receding horizon sliding control (RHSC) idea is extended to constrained PWA systems and utilised to systematically address the active control problem for electric powertrains. Simulations are conducted in Matlab/Simulink in conjunction with the high fidelity Carsim software. RHSC shows superior jerk suppression and target wheel speed tracking performance as well as reduced computational cost over classical model predictive control (MPC). This indicates the newly proposed RHSC is an effective method to address the active control problem for electric powertrains.     

Insights into vehicle trajectories at the handling limits: analysing open data from race car drivers

Race car drivers can offer insights into vehicle control during extreme manoeuvres; however, little data from race teams is publicly available for analysis. The Revs Program at Stanford has built a collection of vehicle dynamics data acquired from vintage race cars during live racing events with the intent of making this database publicly available for future analysis. This paper discusses the data acquisition, post-processing, and storage methods used to generate the database. An analysis of available data quantifies the repeatability of professional race car driver performance by examining the statistical dispersion of their driven paths. Certain map features, such as sections with high path curvature, consistently corresponded to local minima in path dispersion, quantifying the qualitative concept that drivers anchor their racing lines at specific locations around the track. A case study explores how two professional drivers employ distinct driving styles to achieve similar lap times, supporting the idea that driving at the limits allows a family of solutions in terms of paths and speed that can be adapted based on specific spatial, temporal, or other constraints and objectives.