On-road emissions from urban buses with SCR + Urea and EGR + DPF systems using diesel and biodiesel

Due to growing concerns about NO_x and particulate matter (PM) emissions from diesel engines, stricter regulations are being introduced requiring advanced emission control technology. In response the diesel industry has begun testing various emission control technologies and applying them. To assess vehicle renewal policies of bus companies, two exhaust after-treatment technologies are compared: the combination of a diesel particulate filter and an exhaust gas re-circulation system and the combination of a selective catalytic reduction and urea. On-board emission measurements were conducted under real-world driving conditions on a specific bus route in the city of Madrid.     

Numerical Analysis of Thermal Distortion and Residual Stresses in H13 Steel Due to Vacuum Gas Quenching

IntroductionVacuumgasquenchinginvolvinghighpressuregasasacoolingmedium,is.anincreasinglypoPularheattreatffienttechniquefor1argesteeldieblocks,forexamPleHl3die.ItisconsideredessefltialtounderstandthentheeofthegasflowandtheinfiuencethishasontemPeratureprofilesandresultaflresidualstresseswithintheheattTeatedcomPonent.SimulatingthisprocessinvolvesthesimulationofgasflowinthefurnaceaswellasthesimulationofthethermalbehaviourofthecomPoneni.However,thereisnosinglecomPatersoftwarepackageavailabletot…     

Capitalization of BRT network expansions effects into prices of non-expansion areas

A before and after hedonic model is used to determine the property value impacts on properties already served by the transit system caused by extensions to Bogotá’s bus rapid transit system. Asking prices of residential properties belonging to an intervention area (N = 1407 before, 1570 after) or a control area (N = 267 before, 732 after) and offered for sale between 2001 and 2006 are used to determine capitalization of the enhanced regional access provided by the extension. Properties offered during the year the extension was inaugurated and in subsequent years have asking prices that are between 13% and 14% higher than prices for properties in the control area, after adjusting for structural, neighborhood and regional accessibility characteristics of each property. Furthermore, the appreciation is similar for properties within 500 m and properties between 500 m and 1 km of the BRT.     

Mixed assembly line rebalancing: A binary integer approach applied to real world problems in the automotive industry

Industrial organizations have increasingly sought to optimize the resources needed for the manufacture of its products from the competition, in order to maintain their profit margins. The search for balance of resources and balanced distribution of tasks in various types of industrial environments is called balancing. When adjustments are made and adequacy of an assembly line that is already in operation, this process is called rebalancing. This paper presents a case study involving a problem of rebalancing of automotive assembly line in an environment of arbitrarily mixed models of products, also known as mix. The proposed procedure for solving the rebalancing in the company in question is based on Binary Integer Programming, in particular the branch and bound algorithm. For comparison, we used a heuristic method based on precedence diagrams for solving the rebalancing of lines. To evaluate the results obtained between the two procedures were used performance indicators such as number of workstations created, average load of work and level of unbalance. The proposed algorithm has resulted in significant improvements in the production line capacity.     

Extended Ground-Hook - New Concept of Semi-Active Control of Truck's Suspension

This paper deals with the novel control concept, so called ground-hook for active and mainly semi-active suspension of vehicles with the ultimate objective to minimize the tyre-road forces and thus the road damage. The basic ground-hook concept is extended to the several variants which enable to decrease criteria of road damage as well as to increase driver's comfort for a broad range of road unevennesses. Parameters of control law are determined by the parameter optimization for generally nonlinear model. The influence and interaction of the damping rate limits and time constants of variable shock absorbers are also taken into account. The influence of implementation of more complicated truck models is also discussed.     

Innovative design optimization strategy for the automotive industry

In order to effectively solve modern automotive design problems including the results of nonlinear FEA and multi-body dynamics, a progressive meta-model based design optimization is presented. To reduce the number of initial sample points, two sampling methods are introduced. Then, for efficient and stable construction of meta-models, three metamodel methods are newly introduced which are numerically based on the singular value decomposition technique. To design a practical system considering manufacturing tolerances and optimizing multiple performances, a robust design optimization, 6-sigma constraints and multi-objective strategies are implemented when solving the approximate optimization problem constructed from the meta-models. Until the convergence criteria are satisfied, the initially developed meta-models are progressively improved by adding only one point that minimizes the approximate Lagrangian in the consecutive optimization iterations. Finally, one validation sample and four automotive applications are solved to show the effectiveness of the proposed approach.     

Numerical analysis of the effect of inhomogeneous pre-mixture on the pressure rise rate in an HCCI engine using multi-zone chemical kinetics

The HCCI (Homogeneous Charge Compression Ignition) engine is an internal combustion engine under development, which is capable of providing both high diesel-like efficiency and very low NO_x and particulate emissions. However, several technical issues must be resolved before the HCCI engine is ready for widespread application. One issue is that its operating range is limited by an excessive pressure rise rate which is caused by the excessive heat release from its selfaccelerated combustion reaction and the resulting engine knock in high-load conditions. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the potential of thermal and fuel stratification for reducing the pressure rise rate in HCCI engines. The NO_x and CO concentrations in the exhaust gas were also evaluated to confirm combustion completeness and NO_x emissions. The computational work was conducted using a multi-zone code with detailed chemical kinetics, including the effects of thermal and fuel stratification on the onset of ignition and the rate of combustion. The engine was fueled with dimethyl ether (DME) which has a unique two-stage heat release, and methane which has a one-stage heat release.     

Modelling shopping destination choice behaviour using the basic multinomial logit model and some of its extensions

This paper reviews basic multinomial logit (MNL) models of shopping destination choice and some extensions to the basic MNL model. Issues include the identification and form of inclusion of measures of destination attractiveness, identification of the appropriate destination choice set, modelling multidestination tours and choices over time, and linking destination choice models with activity measures. The paper begins with a discussion of modelling philosophy and forecasting‐related informational needs and concludes with a summary of areas requiring further research.