Low-aspect ratio appendages for wind-assisted ships

Journal of Marine Science and Technology - Wind propulsion for commercial ships has been identified as a key component in the energy transition for the maritime industry. The sailing hybrid ship...     

A fractional perspective to the modelling of Lisbon’s public transportation network

Transportation - Urban growth originates multiscale spatial patterns, such as those of transportation networks. Here, the public transportation network (PTN) of the city of Lisbon is analysed from...     

Application of a real-coded genetic algorithm for the fitting of a ship hull surface through a single non-uniform B-spline surface

In digital ship-design processes, surface modeling needs to be as accurate as possible for effectiveness in ship production as well as numerical analysis of the performance. Traditionally, the form of a ship hull is constructed from a set of cross-sectional data. This approach entails difficulties in the cross-sectional spacing and accuracy of the characteristic curves, such as the stern and bow profiles, deck side line, bottom tangential line, and unconnected curves. Genetic algorithms (GAs) have attracted increasing attention as a multimodal optimization solution for surface reconstruction that enable construction of a single non-uniform B-spline (NUB) surface at the initial stage of ship design with constraints such as knuckles, discontinuity conditions, and bulbous bows with high curvatures, . The first, simultaneous multi-fitting GA determines the boundary curves, such as the stem and stern profiles, and finds the common knot values for both curves. Similarly, the same GA technique is applied for other boundary curves at the bottom and the deck. The second GA is employed to fit the interior data points after the boundary curves are fitted. The encoded design variables for surface construction are the locations of the vertices and the knot values. Those variables are modified for improving the surface quality until a predefined degree of precision is attained. In four instances of application, the GA technique developed in this research has been shown to provide good, single, NUB surfaces with high efficiency. In the early design stage, a single NUB surface is more convenient for performance visualization and finite-element methods. It can be readily translated into many CAD/CAM packages, which facilitate the smooth transition of data across the different design stages.     

Some managerial and technical issues in transport sector development projects

In development projects there is only one problem, but it is huge: everything is connected to everything else. The authors separated from the whole the following important issues: (1) Project management and coordination: The Recipient Country’s Aid Coordination Unit (ACU) and Project Implementation Unit (PIU) staffed with competent local experts are necessary to hold the reform process memory. This issue is considered in the context of “Ownership” and “Government Leadership” as it is recognized in donor aid forums in the last decade. (2) Human resource development: Most technical assistance is oriented toward providing solutions, and the development of local capacities is ignored. The authors point out the importance of specially selected local experts—the “Technical Communication Officers”. (3) Institutional functioning: A ‘process consultation’ approach to institutional restructuring is promoted in which the Recipient has the key role. It is also recommended that the Recipient is the initiator of technical assistance in the projects. (4) Design standards are a recurrent and difficult problem. Recommendations are necessary how to transit to the new standards and how to mediate their approval process. (5) Procurement and management of consulting services: The authors argue that the recipient country qualified professionals have to be in the lead role. The vignettes in the paper are from the “real world” although they are modified slightly to protect privacy.     

Model Predictive Coordinated Control for Dual-Mode Power-Split Hybrid Electric Vehicle

Power-split hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) have great potential fuel efficiency and have attracted extensive research attention with regard to their control system. The coordinated controller in HEV plays an important role in tracking the optimal state reference generated by the energy management strategy (EMS), so as to reach the desired fuel efficiency. Meanwhile, the coordinated controller also has a significant impact on driving performance. To improve its performance, the design of a model predictive control (MPC) based coordinated controller in power-split HEV is presented. First, a non-linear, time-varying constrained control oriented transmission model of a dual-mode power-split HEV is formulated to describe this control problem. Then, to solve this problem, the non-linear part in the transmission model is linearised, and a linear MPC is used to obtain the control signals for the motors and engine at each time step. To meet the requirements of real-time computation, a fast MPC method is also applied to reduce the online computation effort. Simulations and experiments demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed MPC-based coordinated controller.     

Optimal Design for the Rear-Glass Joint of an Automobile for Squeak and Rattle Noise Reduction

Ever since vehicle noise, vibration, and harshness (NVH) reduction technology made dramatic improvements, vehicle interior noises represented by Squeak and Rattle (S/R) becomes an ever more important factor to improve the emotional quality of vehicles. Generally, people detect S/R noises on automotive interior parts, brake system, suspension, Body in White (BIW), etc. Among them, the rear-glass joint is a major source for vehicle interior noise, and can cause S/R noises under a variety of environmental and driving conditions. This study uses, two approaches, experimental and numerical approaches, to define the cause of S/R noise at the rear-glass section. Based on these two approaches, this study confirms that S/R noises generate through the contact between bottom side of molding and BIW. The sealant penetration length, panelmolding distance, and sealant width are the parameters affecting noise generation. In addition, this study created an optimal design with Design of Experiments (DOE) of the rear-glass joint. The design maximized the sealant penetration length, which is a parameter that majorly affects noise. The optimal design comprises of two steps: sealant injections shape optimization and rear-glass joint parameter optimization. Each step is carried out with FEA and validated by sealant penetration experiments. Through these optimizations, this study obtained an optimum combination of design parameters and fignificantly reduced the noise generated by rear-glass section.     

The development of road and rail transport safety valuation in the United Kingdom

An extensive body of theoretical and empirical work has been undertaken in the UK since the middle of the last century on the estimation of values of safety for use in the appraisal of proposed transport projects, particularly road and rail. This research has focused largely on ‘willingness-to-pay’ based values in order to measure the strength of the travelling public's preference for marginal improvements in transport safety, relative to consumption of other goods and services. In terms of practical policy making, the research has resulted in a set of values for the prevention of statistical fatalities and non-fatal injuries that are applied not only in transport safety decision making, but also in other public sector contexts. This paper summarises the main findings of this research.     

The authors in this issue

This paper analyses the impacts on a particular region of a recent policy change regarding public transit subsidy in New Zealand, under which the contributions of local authorities are increased from 0 to 50% of net direct expenditures. The options open to the community are examined and their effects on regional income, future development and social equitability are analysed. It also illustrates the cost effectiveness of a natural monopoly under increased accountability.     

Ludwig?s Ratchet and the Collapse of New England Groundfish Stocks

The stocks of principal groundfish species off New England have collapsed, creating economic hardship and dislocation in fishing communities from Rhode Island to Maine. In this article we analyze the causes of this collapse using the ?ratchet effect? described by Ludwig, Hilborn, and Walters (1993) as a framework. According to Ludwig, Hilborn, and Walters, powerful economic and political interests drive fisheries to overcapitalize and overexploit despite scientific evidence that stocks are declining. When the fishery is no longer economically viable, governments provide financial assistance to minimize economic hardship. When stocks increase there is another rush to invest, and the cycle repeats itself. The history of groundfish management in New England conforms well to this model. Optimism among fishers and government over U.S. control of this fishery in 1977 stimulated successive rounds of investment that built up excessive fishing capacity despite warnings from scientists that stocks were becoming weaker. Management regimes designed by the New England Fishery Management Council were ineffective in constraining fishing effort. Collapse of the stocks has led to severe restrictions on fishing and to government assistance. We suggest that the integration of science, management, and harvesting sectors through ecosystem-based management offers the best means of avoiding similar situations in the future.     

Changing patterns of urban travel Part 2. public transport and future patterns of travel

This two‐part paper contains most of a report prepared by TRRL for the European Conference of Ministers of Transport, and presented by one of the authors to the Council of Ministers in November 1984. Part 1, which was published in the January‐March 1986 issue of Transport Reviews, looked at the way cities have been changing over the years and the influence of growing car ownership on trip patterns. This part examines the changes in public transport use in more detail, considers the interactions between the various underlying trends, speculates on future travel patterns by both public and private means and considers the likely impact of land use and transport policies.