A maritime productivity study 1859-1919

This is one of two papers designed to test the ability of a theoretical model of productivity measurement [1] with times series empirical data. The analysis was able to identify trends in productivity growth for sailing ships and stcamships. scparating long and short run components . One of the interesting features of the findings is that the long run growth rate is the same for both sailing and steamships. Although sail and steam appear to be two unique technologies, it is found that technologica progress is evolutionary not revolutionary.

The techique using covariance analysis proved useful for times series productivity measurement.     

Rogue ships—a shipowner's view

The paper, first of all, examines what a 'rogue ship' is and then moves on to the various practical solutions as to how to deal with the problem. There is no one single answer but the author believes that it is in the interest of society in general to get rid of these ships.     

Automobile Directional Characteristics and Driver Steering Performance

Driver steering performance in a simple circular lane-keeping task, as dependent on the directional response characteristics of the vehicle, was measured. Response Surface Methodology models of steering performance are presented. Several canonical variables describe the drivers responses to vehicle changes. Clear-cut optimum vehicle characteristics cannot be determined, but certain combinations of vehicle characteristics are seen to be undesirable for various reasons related to theoretical mechanisms of driver steering control.     

A utility-theory travel demand model incorporating travel budgets

A model of traveler behavior is proposed which is consistent with the possibility that travelers expend average daily amounts of time and money on travel with stable regularities both among urban areas and over time in the same area. The model is founded on economic utility theory. It is designed to forecast: (1) the amount of total travel generated by types of households, (2) the division of travel among available modes, and (3) the relationship between the amounts of time and money allocated to travel expenditures. The qualitative properties of the model are shown to be consistent with economic principles. Specific theoretical results reveal that, in the simultaneous presence of constraints on both time and money, travel budgets are not strictly constant proportions of income and time available as they are in the cases of single constraints relevant to classes of travelers to whom time is scarce compared to money, or conversely. Constant expenditure proportions are shown to be linear approximations which are subject to empirical validation. The relevant economic principle is that expenditures can be considered fixed in the short run but become flexible in the long run when utility maximization is applied to the expenditures themselves and not just to their allocation. Empirical tests of the model using data from three urban areas are positive, but additional tests are called for. The most important output of the research is deemed to be the establishment of theoretical hypotheses which can be used in continuing tests of travel budgets.     

Stationar- und Ubergangsverhalten von Sattel- und Lasttugen bei der Kreisfahrt: Lineare Berechnungen

Steady and Transient Turning of Tractor-Semitrailer and Truck-Trailer Combinations: A Linear Analysis

A simplified analysis is made of the yaw stability and control of the two types of the commercial vehicle combinations (tractor-semitrailer, truck-trailer) at a constant forward velocity during steady and transient turning. The combined vehicle is treated as a linear dynamic system (Fig. 2). The steer angle at the front wheels of the tractor (or truck) and the steady-state responses if the road verhicle train (yaw rate, articulation angles and sideslip angle) are calculated (Equations 18 to 25). Exploratory calculations are performed to determine the influence of the cornering stiffness of the tires for the two types of the vehicle combinations upon the steady-state responses (Figs. 7 to 10). For a linear simplified model of articulated vehicle the steady-state turning behaviour is stable also under conditions of rather high driving speed (70 km/h). A simplified analysis of the transient turning behaviour of the two types of road trains has shown the tractor-semitrailer to preserve stability even under driving speeds exceeding 70 km/h (Fig. 13), whereas the truck-trailer combinations appear to become oscillatory unstable if the driving speed rises above the 60 km/h margin (Fig. 14).     

Trucking industry demand for urban shared use freight terminals

The issue of shared use urban freight facilities first received attention during the 1970s when it was observed that, while inter-urban freight movements were becoming increasingly efficient, there were significant diseconomies in the movement of freight via truck within urban areas. Early research suggested that shared urban freight facilities should be constructed so that trucking companies could consolidate smaller shipments into larger ones. In the past few years, the concept of Urban Ports has gained increasing attention, not just for carriers who need to load and unload freight, but to provide a place near the urban center for truckers to wait out peak traffic periods. In this paper, using recently developed survey data, we examine trucking company interest in such facilities by examining the results of an ordered probit demand model.     

High-strain-rate fracture of adhesively bonded composite joints in DCB and TDCB specimens

Double-cantilever beam (DCB) and tapered double-cantilever beam (TDCB) specimens are the test configurations most commonly used to measure the fracture toughness of composites and adhesive joints. Strain rates of 1 to 18.47 m/s were applied to the test specimens via high-speed hydraulic test equipment. Because the fracture occurs through the adhesively bonded joints and the cracks grow rapidly, the crack length and beam displacement were recorded by a high-speed camera. An energy range from 0 to 10 J was often observed in the high-strain-rate fracture experiments for nonlinear plastic behavior of the dynamically loaded adhesively bonded DCB and TDCB specimens. The range of energy release rates (fracture energy) for TDCB specimen was 2 to 3 times higher than that of a DCB specimen for all high strain rates. The fracture energy of automotive adhesive joints can be estimated using the experimental results in this study for the fracture toughness (G_IC) under high rates of loading. The crack grows as the applied fracture energy exceeds the value of the critical energy release rate (G_IC) at the crack tip. The energy release rate was calculated using the fracture mechanics formula. The key fracture mechanics parameter, the fracture energy GIC, was ascertained as a function of the test rate and can be used to assess and model the overall joint performance.     

New lead-acid battery management system based on generator regulation

A novel regulation system for a vehicle generator and lead-acid battery is proposed in this paper. By integrating the regulation method, the output voltage of the generator is determined and controlled by the algorithm to save electrical energy and protect the lead-acid battery. The regulation algorithm is implemented in Matlab/Simulink, and the logic function of the system is verified using the dSPACE/AutoBox workbench. The experimental results show that the new algorithm improves the performance of the fuel economy of the vehicle and the battery state-of-health compared to the traditional control method.