Validation of a schedule‐based capacity restraint transit assignment model for a large‐scale network

This paper describes the application of a capacity restraint trip assignment algorithm to a real, large‐scale transit network and the validation of the results. Unlike the conventional frequency‐based approach, the network formulation of the proposed model is dynamic and schedule‐based. Transit vehicles are assumed to operate to a set of pre‐determined schedules. Passengers are assumed to select paths based on a generalized cost function including in‐vehicle and out‐of‐vehicle time and line change penalty. The time‐varying passenger demand is loaded onto the network by a time increment simulation method, which ensures that the capacity restraint of each vehicle during passenger boarding is strictly observed. The optimal‐path and path‐loading algorithms are applied iteratively by the method of successive averages until the network converges to the predictive dynamic user equilibrium. The Hong Kong Mass Transit Railway network is used to validate the model results. The potential applications of the model are also discussed.     

Use of a probabilistic particle tracking model to simulate the Prestige oil spill

A probabilistic particle tracking model is used to simulate the oil dispersion after the Prestige wreckage. This oil spill constitutes a suitable benchmark to analyze the capabilities of a probabilistic model, since the time elapsed from wreckage to oil landing (12 days) is much longer than the reliability time associated with forecast winds, usually on the order of 3–4 days. The particle model can be run in two different modes: real time mode (when existing reliable wind fields for the event under scope) and in probabilistic mode (in absence of reliable wind fields but with historical fields corresponding to a similar period). The validity of the particle model is first evaluated in a hindcast way, running the Prestige case with the wind fields corresponding to the period November 19 to November 30, 2002, which were not available at the moment of the wreckage. Calculations show the accuracy of the model to provide the right impact point and timing. The probabilistic model is then used to simulate the same event by means of historical data. The region where the oil landed is shown to be the area with the highest probability to be impacted.     

怎样卖掉你的车

在汽车消费发达的国家，二手车消费是整个汽车消费的重要组成部分。甚至可以说，科学、合理、完善的二手车消费体制带动了整个汽车消费的发展。在今天的中国，汽车越来越多地进入了家庭，准备置换手中旧车的人也越来越多，所以《爱车》特别邀请美国二手车销售专家M.Brueggemann先生为中国的车主朋友奉献一篇精彩的文章，虽然本文充满美国社会的气息，很多技巧不能直接套用，但是先进的经验是绝对值得借鉴的。[编者按]     

Improved customs inspection at a small international airport: Case study: Colombo

The present procedures for processing arriving passengers at the Colombo International Airport cause inordinte waiting times. An alternate plan, which is based on state of the art customs procedures, and which can reduce waiting times significantly while maintaining a high level of enforcement, is proposed. The present and proposed procedures are analyzed and compared with respect to passenger waiting times, using deterministic queueing theory. An optimal inspection rate of passengers by the customs service is proposed taking into account the fraction of inspected passengers, the waiting time of passengers and the cost of customs processing.     

Development and Evaluation of a High Voltage Supply Unit for Electrorheological Fluid Dampers

Controllable dampers using electrorheological (ER) fluids have attracted considerable interest in recent years. They are proposed for use in semi-active suspensions for ground vehicles. The main advantages of ER fluid dampers are their fast response, ease of control, simple construction and low power requirements. This paper describes the development and testing of a high-voltage supply unit for modulating the damping force of an ER fluid damper. Experimental results on the vibration isolation characteristics of an ER fluid damper with different control strategies, obtained using a quarter-car model test rig, are also presented.     

The influence of food quality on the nutritional acclimation of the copepod Acartia clausi

The influence of food quality on the nutritional metabolism of Acartia clausi was studied experimentally using four different diets: (1) diatom cells of Thalassiosira weissflogii, (2) detritus prepared from the same culture, (3) 50 : 50 mix on a protein basis of the two previous diets, and 4) dinoflagellate cells of Prorocentrum micans. For each trophic, ingestion, gut transit time, trypsin activity and K_m (half saturation constant) were measured at limiting and saturating concentration. Assimilation rates were also estimated for both pure diatoms and mixed live–detrital cell diets. Ingestion followed a Holling type 2 response for diets 1 and 4, a linear one for detritus and an intermediate response for diet 3. Gut transit time displayed different adaptive changes with food regime depending on protein concentration. Trypsin activity was lower for detrital food and trypsin K_m significantly decreased with increasing concentration of live diatoms. Assimilation rates were higher for live food than for mixed live–detrital food. Results illustrated that Acartia-type copepods optimize nitrogen or protein uptake. They suggest that besides chemoreception-mediated selectivity, internal controls by digestion and assimilation also regulate ingestion (feed-back).     

Generation of cyclonic eddies in the Eastern Gotland Basin of the Baltic Sea following dense water inflows: numerical experiments

A sigma (σ)-coordinate ocean model by Blumberg and Mellor (POM) is applied to study the formation processes of mesoscale cyclones observed in the Eastern Gotland Basin following the dense water inflows. The initial conditions simulate a situation when the Arkona and Bornholm basins and partially the Slupsk Furrow are already filled with the inflow water of the North Sea origin, while the Eastern Gotland and Gdansk basins still contain the old water of pre-inflow stratification. Model runs with constant and time-dependent winds, changing the buoyancy forcing, grid geometry and bottom topography display the following. Entering the Eastern Gotland Basin from the Slupsk Furrow, the bottom intrusion of saline inflow water splits in two: one goes northeast towards the Gotland Deep, and second moves southeast towards the Gulf of Gdansk. An intensive mesoscale cyclonic eddy carrying the inflow water is generated just east of the Slupsk Furrow with the inflow pulse. A number of smaller cyclones with boluses of the inflow water are formed in the permanent halocline along the saline intrusion pathway to the Gotland Deep. Following Spall and Price [J. Phys. Oceanogr. 28 (1998) 1598], the cyclones are suggested to form by the adjustment of the high potential vorticity inflow water column to a low potential vorticity environment.     

内置式永磁同步电动机无传感器速度控制和转子初始位置估计方法的应用及实验研究

针对内置式永磁同步电动机传动提出了一种新的无速度传感器控制和转子初始位置估计方法.在内置式永磁同步电动机旋转过程中,采用扩展卡尔曼滤波方法,仅需测量电机定子的电压和电流,便可得到转速和转子位置的估计值.对内置式永磁同步电动机,采用扩展卡尔曼滤波方法的主要困难在于在静止坐标系中其动态模型的复杂性.由于磁路的不对称性,在静止坐标系中建内置式永磁同步电动机的模型比建表面式永磁同步电动机模型更复杂.在无传感器的传动系统中,电机的起动过程是一个问题,因为在起动之前没有任何信息可以获得.转子初始位置估计是在电机静止时,在瞬间对定子绕组施加合适的电压脉冲序列,通过测量峰值电流获得转子位置信息.利用磁饱和效应对凸极性的影响来区分南北磁极.给出基于浮点数字信号处理器TMS320C31平台得到的内置式永磁同步电动机实验结果.     

Stability and competition in intermodal container shipping: finding a balance

This article considers the perennial topic of how to acheive an equilibrium balance between stability and competition in intermodal shipping. It argues that competition is becoming destructive, but that the imbalance is difficult to correct in a climate where competitive pressures are strog everywhere and restraints on competiiton are unfashionable. In this context, pricing of intermodal services, the emergence of multi-trade alliances, the revelance of contestable market theory and developments in regulatory policies are all examimned. Some points towards restoring an equilibrium balance are offered.