A quarter a century of port management in Europe: objectives and tools

The past quarter of a century has brought with it significant change in the field of port management, both in terms of the goals that are set and the tools used. This trend has resulted in increased pressure on port authorities. The purpose of this paper is to deal in greater detail with developments in this area of port economics.     

Railway Vehicles with Perfect Curving Behaviour Which are Asymptotically Stable at Vanishing Speed

Paper deals with the linear behaviour of a railway vehicle with any arbitrary number of wheelsets, body parts and connecting elements. A vehicle which has both perfect curving properties and asymptotical stability at vanishing speed, has to satisfy a twofold condition, indicated by Wickens in 1978. In the present paper this condition is derived in reliance upon the dimension theorem for linear mappings. How the investigation can be executed in practice, is shown for the case of a two-axled vehicle. At last the behaviour in a transition curve is discussed.     

对桩周土弹性模量确定方法的探讨

综合分析了目前确定桩基础上弹性模量的3种方法：室内试验方法、基于过去工程实践的经验关系的方法及由单桩的荷载试验曲线反算的方法,提出了一种利用单桩荷载－沉降曲线确定土弹性模量的简单方法,并给出了计算公式和图表供工程实际应用。通过实例分析表明,弹性理论法计算桩基础沉降时,应该用单桩荷载试验曲线反算方法得到的土弹性模量作为计算参数。     

Identifying the early adopters of alternative fuel vehicles: A case study of Birmingham,United Kingdom

The transport sector has been identified as a significant contributor to greenhouse gas emissions. As part of its emissions reduction strategy, the United Kingdom Government is demonstrating support for new vehicle technologies, paying attention, in particular, to electric vehicles.Cluster analysis was applied to Census data in order to identify potential alternative fuel vehicle drivers in the city of Birmingham, United Kingdom. The clustering was undertaken based on characteristics of age, income, car ownership, home ownership, socio-economic status and education. Almost 60% of areas that most closely fitted the profile of an alternative fuel vehicle driver were found to be located across four wards furthest from Birmingham city centre, while the areas with the poorest fit were located towards the centre of Birmingham. The paper demonstrates how Census data can be used in the initial stages of identifying potential early adopters of alternative vehicle drivers. It also shows how such research can provide scope for infrastructure planning and policy development for local and national authorities, while also providing useful marketing information to car manufacturers.     

Evaluating the multi-scale patterns of jobs-residence balance and commuting time–cost using cellular signaling data: a case study in Shanghai

Transportation - Assessing jobs-housing balance (JHB) and commuting efficiency is crucial to urban and transport planning. However, the scale dependency problem, meaning that metrics may be biased...     

大攻角划船桨叶的数值模拟

采用非定常非线性涡格法对小展弦比大攻角薄翼的划船运动桨叶进行了定常、非定常运动数值模拟。通过对计算技巧的改进 ,扩展了非定常非线性涡格法的应用范围。对于极小展弦比 (λ=0 .2 )、大攻角 (α=60°)的薄翼的数值计算表明 ,所做的工作是成功的。计算了不同展弦比的平板、圆弧型桨叶的流体动力特性 ,机翼作简谐运动时的流体动力特性 ;计算了目前广泛应用的赛艇“Big Blade”桨叶的流体动力性能以及运动频率对流体动力性能的影响 ,还讨论了攻角、浸水深度等参数对桨叶流体动力性能的影响。     

The problems faced by Indian ports today

Indian ports require substantial physical modernization, but their poor performance can also be attributed to administrative problems. Institutional change is both a necessary condition for privatization and one of its principal benefits.     

An optical tire contact pressure test bench

An optical tire contact pressure test bench developed by the IMMa group is described. The measurement system is based on the frustration of total internal reflection (FTIR) of light. The test bench allows performing normal pressure distribution and patch contact shape measurements on passenger car tires. The system is based on the use of a laterally illuminated glass on which the tire leans. Between them a plastic interphase is located that will cause the FTIR of light. A video camera catches the formed shining image through the glass. The brightness level in each pixel of the image can be related to the existing normal pressure. The study of the contact patch provided by the bench makes it possible to characterize tire behaviour under different loading states, inflation pressure, tire defects and toe and camber angles. The bench incorporates a computerized load and control system of the tire operation parameters, an image acquisition module and a data acquisition system that allow monitoring and acting on the experimental variables of interest in the tests such as load on the tire and environmental conditions. A supporting mechanical system incorporated to the bench allows providing the tire with variable toe and camber angles. From the images obtained with this system, the maximum normal pressure points, total force, size and shape of the patch can be determined, which are related to the tire-use conditions. As an application example, results that show the patch size and shape under different load and tire inflation pressures are presented. A further application, which is the use of the system for the detection and study of defective tires is also presented.     

The impact of port choice on inland transportation

The Belgian government intends to shift part of its funding away from Antwerp and towards other seaports, particularly Ghent and Zeebrugge. In the long run, this policy change will undoubtedly influence the port choice and probably cause a traffic diversion at the expense of Antwerp. This will have a great influence on the structure of inland transportation.

The impact of port choice on inland transportation is the central theme of this paper. To this end a disaggregated model of the demand for freight transport is constructed.     

An investigation of a semiactive suspension for a fork lift truck

This paper investigates the feasibility of a semiactive suspension of the cabin of a fork lift truck as a way of reducing the effect of harmful vibrations on the health of truck drivers. A suspension based on MR fluid dampers has been designed and implemented on an actual vehicle and heuristic control strategy has been developed, which preserves the filtering properties of the passive suspension when the vehicle moves in a straight line with a constant velocity and suppresses the large amplitude pitch and roll motion during turns and braking. Field tests have demonstrated a substantial comfort improvement with respect to the passive suspension, during the braking and turning phases, without any noticeable detrimental effects.