Estimates of vertical mixing during a Lagrangian experiment off the Galician coast

An adjoint 1-D model was used to determine vertical diffusivity coefficients from temperature profiles collected within a filament escaping from the Galician coast following an upwelling event. The optimisation scheme ended with relatively high diffusivity values within the thermocline (9×10⁻⁵ m² s⁻¹). Such high values are relevant for biogeochemical exchanges between surface and deep waters in stratified areas.The optimised values were several orders of magnitude higher than the bulk of diffusivity measurements recorded with a free-falling device; however, the optimisation solution was consistent with the arithmetic mean of the measurements in the thermocline (7.7×10⁻⁵ m² s⁻¹), giving more weight to the few largest values. Below the thermocline, the data assimilation method failed because of the three-dimensional nature of the advective field of the upwelling system. Ignoring this advective forcing in the model led to estimates that were two orders of magnitude too high.The results suggest that turbulent mixing is a random process where a few intense events determine the average mixing that drives the long-term evolution of the water column structure. This statistical property is very important when one wants to use instantaneous diffusivity measurements for modelling purposes.     

爆胎汽车整车运动分析及控制

通过轮胎试验得到GT175/60 R14轮胎在正常胎压及零胎压下的力学特性参数,以此为依据,运用CarS im软件对爆胎汽车进行整车动力学仿真,找出汽车偏航原因,分析驾驶员不同操作所引起的整车运动性能变化以及汽车稳定性控制系统对爆胎汽车的影响。仿真结果表明,稳定性控制系统对于减轻爆胎带来的后果具有积极的作用。     

季节性冻土地区路基的冻胀与融沉

在季节性冻土地区，路基经常发生翻浆和冒泥现象，对公路造成很大的破坏，其中主要是由于冻胀和融沉造成的结果。因此研究季节性冻土，最重要的是认识和掌握其冻胀和融沉机理。     

An analysis of the determinants of children’s weekend physical activity participation

This paper examines the out-of-home, weekend, time-use patterns of children aged 5–17 years, with a specific emphasis on their physical activity participation. The impact of several types of factors, including individual and household demographics, neighborhood demographics, built environment characteristics, and activity day variables, on physical activity participation is analyzed using a joint nested multiple discrete–continuous extreme value-binary choice model. The sample for analysis is drawn from the 2000 San Francisco Bay Area Travel Survey. The model developed in the paper can be used to assess the impacts of changing demographics and built environment characteristics on children’s physical activity levels.     

Preview Control Algorithms for the Active Suspension of an Off-Road Vehicle

The potential performance improvement using preview control for active vehicle suspension was first recognized in the late nineteen sixties. All work done since that time has been based on optimal control theory using simple vehicle models.

In this article, the performance of quarter vehicle preview controllers when applied to a real off-road vehicle is simulated using both two degree of freedom quarter and ten degree of freedom full vehicle models. The results, which are compared with non-preview active and conventional passive suspensions, confirm that preview control reduces vertical acceleration of the body centre of gravity, which results in improved ride quality. Further, reductions in pitch and roll motion result from smaller vertical displacements of the vehicle quarters. Coupling between quarters, through the vehicle body, appears to have a smoothing effect on the control.

As an alternative to optimal control theory based controllers, a simple ad hoc preview controller based on isolating the vehicle body from dynamic loads transmitted through the suspension is proposed. Simulation results show that such a controller outperforms the optimal control theory based controllers over small discrete disturbances but responds poorly to disturbances encountered from other than steady state.     

前轮定位参数与轮胎特性对前轮摆振影响的研究

前轮定位参数对前轮摆振的影响是极其复杂的,它不仅影响了前轮的几何特性,并且对摆振系统的运动,约束与受力状况均产生重要影响。本文建立了包括全部前轮定位参数的前轮摆振数学模型;并在轮胎试验的基础上,比较系统、全面地研究了前轮定位参数对前轮摆振的影响规律。本文还研究了轮胎蛇形运动频率对汽车动力学摆振的影响。     

沥青路面水损坏原因及预防措施

通过对沥青路面的建设和养护实践,对沥青路面水损坏的形式和原因进行调查分析,并提出预防水损坏的具体措施。     

公路高路堤互锚式薄壁支挡新结构试验与仿真研究

以大型模拟试验、结构仿真、试验路段试验为依托，介绍公路高路堤支挡新结构试验研究的技术路线、主要内容和研究成果。     

水泥混凝土路面碎石化层应力强度因子有限元分析

为比较是否碎石化对加铺后沥青路面结构应力的影响,本文从断裂力学入手,借助有限元软件,按等参八节点二维平面应变单元分析了两者在沥青加铺层情况相同时层底的应力强度因子。经对比分析,两者的Ⅰ型应力强度因子差别很大,而Ⅱ型应力强度因子基本相同,表明碎石化后沥青加铺层层底具有更好的受力特性,与不破碎直接加铺相比,能显著降低沥青加铺层底反射裂缝的可能性。这表明碎石化工艺对旧水泥混凝土路面的处治能满足加铺要求,达到了工艺处理的目的。     

A multiple discrete-continuous model for independent- and joint-discretionary-activity participation decisions

This paper presents a multiple discrete-continuous econometric structure to model the daily time-investment decisions of couples in solo- and joint-discretionary activities incorporating intra-personal and inter-personal inter-dependencies. The empirical model was estimated using data from the 2000 Bay Area Travel Survey. The results indicate evidence of the positive impact of vehicle availability on independent activity participation and the negative impacts of the presence of children and mandatory time investments on the joint discretionary-activity engagement of the spouses. In addition, we also find the mandatory- and maintenance-activity-participation characteristics of the spouse to influence the discretionary activity choices of individuals. Finally, the analysis also indicates a strong impact of common unobserved factors on the decisions of couples. From a policy analysis perspective, these results imply that demand-management actions directly impacting one adult could also result in changes to the activity patterns of his/her spouse and to changes in joint activity participation characteristics. Dr. Sivaramakrishnan Srinivasan is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Civil and Coastal Engineering at the University of Florida. His research interests include travel-behavior analysis, activity-based travel-demand modeling, and the application of advanced econometric methods for transportation problems. Dr. Chandra R. Bhat has contributed toward the development of advanced econometric techniques for travel behavior analysis, in recognition of which he received the 2004 Walter L. Huber Award and the 2005 James Laurie Prize from the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE).