Pole location control design of an active suspension system with uncertain parameters

This paper addresses the problem of robust control design for an active suspension quarter-car model by means of state feedback gains. Specifically, the design of controllers that assure robust pole location of the closed-loop system inside a circular region on the left-hand side of complex plane is investigated. Three sufficient conditions for the existence of a robust stabilizing state feedback gain are presented as linear matrix inequalities: (i) the quadratic stability based gain; (ii) a recently published condition that uses an augmented space and has been here modified to cope with the pole location specification; (iii) a condition that uses an extended number of equations and yields a parameter-dependent state feedback gain. Unlike other parameter-dependent strategies, neither extensive gridding nor approximations are needed. In the suspension model, the sprung mass, the damper coefficient and the spring constant are considered as uncertain parameters belonging to a known interval (polytope type uncertainty). It is shown that the parameter-dependent gain proposed allows one to impose the closed-loop system pole locations that in some situations cannot be obtained with constant feedback gains.     

Annual uptake of atmospheric CO2 by the Weddell Sea derived from a surface layer balance, including estimations of entrainment and new production

Data from two cruises, one in April/May 1996 and one in December/January 1993, covering the same wide area in the offshore Weddell Sea, were used to derive the annual extent of entrainment and the capacity of the biological pump. The former property was obtained with the help of dissolved oxygen data, whereas the latter was approximated with nutrients. Especially the data from April/May, representing the initial state of the winter surface layer, were crucial to assess the annual extent of these processes. The results were applied to our carbon dioxide data. The annual increase of the Total CO₂ (TCO₂) concentration in the surface layer due to vertical transport amounts to 16.3 μmol kg⁻¹. An entrainment rate of deep water in the surface layer amounting to 35±10 m yr⁻¹ was deduced. The compensating, biologically mediated TCO₂ reduction was calculated to be larger than the TCO₂ increase due to vertical transport. Since the balance of these two processes determines whether the Weddell Sea is a source or a sink of CO₂, this indicates that the Weddell Sea, albeit upwelling area, is definitely a sink for atmospheric CO₂ on an annual basis. This conclusion is further supported by contemplations that the biological drawdown of CO₂ in the Weddell Sea as a whole is probably underestimated by our calculations. The new production for the Weddell Sea on a per unit area basis was found to be much higher than that for the Antarctic Ocean, when the latter value is being obtained by traditional biological methods. On the other hand, the CO₂ uptake by the Weddell Sea on a per unit area basis is somewhat smaller than the CO₂ uptake by the world ocean.     

Restructuring of the economy and its impacts on the Korean maritime industry

The Korean government has made many efforts to repair the damage done by the financial crisis since November 1997. The restructuring programmes for the Korean economy, including chaebols' (i.e. family-controlled conglomerates) restructuring, have impacted in many ways on the shipping, shipbuilding and port sectors. This is because major shipping lines, shipyards, and recent privatization and operation of container terminals have closely been related to chaebols. This paper is concerned with the impacts of the Korean financial crisis on the shipping, shipbuilding, and port sector, with restructuring of the economy and chaebols.     

Pantograph/Catenary Dynamics and Control

The pantograph-catenary system with its dynamic behaviour turned out to be a crucial component for new train systems required to run at higher speeds. With the present systems, operational limitations have to be accepted when running with several pantographs in the train set, when tilting trains are employed, when running on low quality catenary sections or when stricter noise reduction regulations are forcing lower noise emissions also for the pantographs. This paper gives an overview of the methods to describe the catenary and the pantograph system dynamics. Furthermore, aspects concerning the interaction between current collectors and overhead equipment, the acquisition of the model data and the verification are presented. Finally various constructions of passive pantographs and proposals for active control concepts are discussed.     

A study of the bi-directional pedestrian flow characteristics at Hong Kong signalized crosswalk facilities

This paper investigates the bi-directional flow characteristics at signalized crosswalk facilities in Hong Kong. Pedestrian flow measurements were conducted at selected signalized crosswalks in Hong Kong urban area with and without the Light Rail Transit (LRT) railway tracks in the median of the carriageway. The pedestrian speed-flow functions for these crosswalk facilities were calibrated. The relationships between the walking speed at capacity and directional distribution of pedestrian flow (or flow ratio) are determined. The effects of different flow ratio on the effective capacity are also investigated. The bi-directional pedestrian flow effects on signalized crosswalk facilities with LRT tracks are found more significant than those without LRT tracks. The result could be used as a basis to improve the assessment of the crosswalk's capacity and to determine the design walking speeds under different flow ratios at signalized crosswalks in Hong Kong and in other Asian cities with similar environments.     

Some New Results in Rolling Contact

In the present paper three problems in the simplified theory of rolling contact are investigated. As to the first problem, three benchmark loadings, derived by Kalker in 1973 for Hertzian rollingcontact, are in existence. Each of these loadings gives rise to a value of the flexibility parameter of the simplified theory. These values are combined to a single, creepage dependent value of the flexibility, which appears to have an error of at most 10 to 15%. Secondly, the law of Coulomb is generalised by introducing two values of the coefficient of friction. The FASTSIM algorithm is adapted to that, and it is found that the traction, and hence the displacement, show a discontinuity inside the contact area. The discontinuity in the displacement is removed by introducing damping in the constitutive relations of the simplified theory. The damping constant is determined experimentally. When the damping coefficient decreases, the damped solution tends to the solution obtained directly without damping. This establishes the correctness of the latter, but it does not compare well with the complete theory as implemented by the program CONTACT. Thirdly and finally, it is shown that inertial effects may be neglected at speeds of around 100 km/h and also for much higher rolling velocities.     

Cost-benefit analysis,government policy and the British railway network

In 1963 the Beeching Report on Britain's railways proposed the closure of a substantial part of the railway network (British Railways Board, 1963). Although many services were withdrawn, disquiet at the Report's failure to analyse the social benefits of rail passenger services eventually led to the application of the technique of cost-benefit analysis to the problem of unremunerative rail services. However, although such studies revealed that the retention of many rural rail services could not be justified on social grounds, these services were not withdrawn. This paper outlines briefly the history of attempts to deal with the question of the optimal size of the rail passenger network. Secondly, it considers the social cost-benefit case for reducing the present size of the network in Britain and the quantifiable benefits from such a reduction. The problem of joint costs is discussed. Finally, it attempts to explain the failure of successive Governments to apply the results of cost-benefit studies in practice, and suggests how the decision-making process might be altered to facilitate a more rational approach towards public transport problems in Britain.     

Environmental traffic management — The end of the road?

This paper questions some aspects of the technical soundness and public acceptability of environmental traffic management scheme of the kind advocated in the Buchanan report, Traffic in Towns. Practical studies have shown that in inner city areas in particular, and perhaps older built-up areas in general, the concept cannot be adequately defended against a wealth of variety of criticism from those whom it most directly affects, i.e. the public. Participation exercises have revealed public fears that the road closures associated with schemes will ruin the viability of local shops, worsen the environmental conditions along local roads chosen as distributors, cause even greater congestion on the main road network due to displaced traffic, and impede the accessibility of local people to their homes. In the light of these, it is suggested a flexible policy be adopted incorporating changes to the forms of vehicles and the manner in which they are used as well as changes to the physical form of the road network.The opinions expressed in this paper do not necessarily reflect those of the organisations to which the authors are attached.     

Short-line railroad managers discuss their industry

In the United States, the 1980 Staggers Rail Act created a positive regulatory environment for the creation of new short-line railroads. At present there are about 450 of these railroads that have less than 250 miles of trackage. This study asked managers/owners of these railroads two basic questions. First, what do you believe is the single most important trend that is currently taking place in your industry. The most frequently noted trend was the frustration of working with the larger Class 1 railroads. Five additional trends were also identified by the respondents. The second question asked the respondents if they thought the short-line sector of the rail industry will become more or less important in the next ten years and why. About 70% of the owner/managers believed their industry would become more important in the next decade. The most commonly expressed reason for this position is that the Class 1 railroads will increasingly specialize in mainline service only. Three other rationales were also enumerated. For the managers that thought their industry would become less important, the most noted reason was their trackage would not safely transport the newer very heavy bulk commodity freight cars.     

YZ20D超重型振动压路机

从主要技术参数、技术特点及工业造型设计应用三个方面对YZ20D新型超重型振动压路机作了全面介绍，以供参考。