Influence of turpentine addition in Jatropha biodiesel on CI engine performance,combustion and exhaust emissions

The prospect of using turpentine oil as an additive for Jatropha biodiesel and using it as an alternative fuel for diesel in CI engines has been experimented in this work. Tests were carried out in a single cylinder, air cooled, constant speed, direct injection diesel engine. The results display that the performance of Jatropha-Mineral Turpentine (JMT) and Jatropha- Wood Turpentine (JWT) blends were found close to diesel, emission features were enhanced and combustion parameters were noticed to be comparable with diesel. Brake thermal efficiency of JMT20 blend found closer to diesel at 75 % load. BSFC increases for JMT and JWT blends at part load and maintains at full load. CO, HC and Smoke emissions were reduced with JMT and JWT blends at 75 % load. NOx emissions were on the raise. Furthermore, JMT and JWT blends offered comparable performance and combustion parameters, reduced emissions and both can substitute standard diesel in CI engines.     

Lateral stability control of dynamic steering for dual motor drive high speed tracked vehicle

In this paper, the torque and power required by dual motors for electric tracked vehicle during dynamic steering maneuvers with different steering radiuses are analyzed. A steering coupling drive system composed of a new type of center steering motor, two Electromagnetic (EM) clutches, two planetary gear couplers, and two propulsion motors is proposed for the dual motors drive high speed electric tracked vehicle (2MHETV), which aims to improve its lateral stability. An average torque direct distribution control strategy based on steering coupling and an optimization-distribution-based close-loop control strategy are designed separately to control the driving torque or regenerative braking torque of two propulsion motors for vehicle stability enhancement. Then models of the 2MHETV and the proposed control strategy are established in Recudyn and Matlab/Simulink respectively to evaluate the lateral stability of dynamic steering for the 2MHETV with different steering radiuses on hard pavement.The simulation results show that the lateral stability of the 2MHETV can be significantly improved by the proposed optimization-distribution-based close-loop control strategy based on steering coupling system.     

New routes on old railways: increasing rail’s mode share within the constraints of the existing railway network

This paper describes an integrated methodology for identifying potential ‘quick wins’ for mode shift from road to passenger rail transport. Firstly, a procedure for analysing rail’s relative competitiveness in the market for passenger transport between large urban areas is developed and then applied to a UK case study. The purpose of such analysis is to allow the identification of flows where rail is currently relatively uncompetitive (in terms of journey time in particular) and to assess the reasons for this poor performance, so that the issues which suppress rail use may be addressed. In parallel, a framework, methodology and tool for the assessment of existing and potential capacity (trains, seats, TEUs, etc.) is developed for both passenger and freight traffic, to identify and address network constraints. An illustrative example of the use of these demand and capacity assessment tools is then presented, with the tools used to identify and evaluate flows where rail demand is suppressed by poor service quality and where spare capacity exists which would allow the passenger rail service to be improved without requiring significant investments in infrastructure. The effects of such improvements on demand are predicted, and the cost implications of operating such additional services are discussed. The analysis suggests that there may be significant potential for increasing rail’s mode share by providing additional inter-urban services where rail currently offers an inferior service.     

Willingness to accept commuting time within the household: stated preference evidence

In this study, stated preference data is used to derive estimated values of commuting time (VOCT). Both spouses in two-earner households are individually making trade-offs between commuting time and wage; both with regard to their own commuting time and wage only, as well as when both their own commuting time and wage and their spouse’s commuting time and wage are simultaneously changed. Thus, we are able to compare how male spouses and female spouses value each other’s commuting time. When only ones own commuting time and wage are attributes, the empirical results show that the estimated VOCT is plausible with a tendency towards high values compared to other studies, and that VOCT does not differ significantly between men and women. When decisions affecting commuting time and wage of both spouses are analyzed, both spouses value the commuting time of the wife highest. Further analysis show that this result is driven by households where the man has the highest income. If VOCT were to be gender specific in policy implications, the value might be higher for women than for men in two-earner households.     

Wanting to travel,more or less: Exploring the determinants of the deficit and surfeit of personal travel

This study investigates the determinants of peoples desire to increase or decrease the amount of travel they do. We use data from 1,357 working commuters, residents of three different neighborhoods in the San Francisco Bay Area, California. The dependent variables are indicators of Relative Desired Mobility for ten categories of travel (short- and long-distance overall and by several mode- and purpose-specific categories). These variables are measured on a five-point ordinal scale ranging from much less to much more, through which the respondents indicated the amount of travel they want to do (in the category in question) compared to what they are doing now. Censored ordered probit models were developed for these variables, with explanatory variables including general travel attitudes, specific liking for travel in each of the same separate categories, objective and subjective measures of the amount currently traveled in each category, and personality, lifestyle, and socio-demographic characteristics. The results support the hypotheses that the liking for travel has a strong positive impact, and subjective qualitative assessments of mobility have a strong negative impact, on the desire to increase ones travel. Finally, a number of general types of effects on Relative Desired Mobility were identified, among them complementarity and substitution effects. The results of this study can provide policy makers and researchers with new and valuable insight into key principles that affect individual travel demand.     

Network performance improvement under stochastic events with long-term effects

This paper is devoted to the problem of improving network performance to withstand incidents such as earthquakes, which have long-term adverse-effect upon the networks. A measure of link importance is presented based on consumers surplus. This measure is then used to define and solve a network improvement problem. Computational complexities are reduced by introducing an approximate measure of link importance which performs almost as good, and hence may be used for solving large scale problems. Several example networks are used to clarify the discussion numerically.     

Modelling behavioural rules for daily activity scheduling using fuzzy logic

The paper focuses on how trip time variability affects re-scheduling of daily activities. A delay in a trip or an early arrival can contribute to changes in the timing, location of the next activity, and to the deletion/addition of some activities. We propose the idea of using fuzzy logic rules to explain the effect of variability in travel time on the benefits perceived by an individual with the changes, and to model different actions that the individuals take in order to re-establish the steadiness of the existing timetable. The fuzzy model is used to handle the imprecision of the data which is unstructured text. The results show that large deviations in trip duration are more likely to induce significant changes in the timetable whereas small deviations are either ignored or translated into modified timing of the next activity. In choosing an action, greater importance is assigned to the flexibility of the following activity, to the magnitude of the trip time saving/delay, and to the duration of the next activity. Time savings are not favoured unless they can be readily transferred into additional activity time allocated to the next activity or to a new activity. The fuzzy rules based system is capable of predicting satisfactorily the strategy of coping with uncertainty in travel times and the satisfaction sensed with the change.     

Specification of a tour-based neighborhood shopping model

This paper presents a state-of-the practice neighborhood shopping travel demand model. The model structure is designed to incorporate decisions across five dimensions of shopping travel, including decisions of: (1) household tour frequency; (2) participating party; (3) shopping tour type; (4) mode, and (5) destination choices using a tour-based nested-logit model. As a neighborhood model, we have also captured the interrelated effects of three main factors associated with shopping travel decisions both within and outside of the neighborhood, including the residential location within the neighborhood, the neighborhood regional setting and the household structure. The model was validated using the travel data collected in three neighborhoods located in the Puget Sound region, WA. Results show that household socio-demographics have significant effects on the decisions for household tour frequency, mode and destination choices, while the characteristics of the traveling party have considerable impacts on the decisions for tour type. The level of service and the zone attractions influence decisions about mode and destination choices. The day of week variable (weekday versus weekend) is statistically significant in all models, indicating that weekday shopping travel decisions differ from weekend, across all five dimensions of interest. The paper concludes with a discussion about how the model can be used to examine policy-related neighborhood issues (e.g. accessibility).     

Effect of width-to-thickness ratio and thickness profile changing on the critical instable shape during cold strip rolling

Based on the volume constancy with equal flow-per-second and elastic sheet stability theory, a coupling relationship among lateral thickness difference, width-to-thickness ratio of cold rolling strip steel under ideal and actual working conditions, and shape is concluded according to the comprehensive influence principle of various factors on the critical instable shape analyzed in-depth. Firstly, the influence model under actual working condition is developed by referring to the basic relationship between lateral thickness difference and shape under ideal condition. The test results prove that for thin strips with thickness below 0.3 mm, their lateral thickness differences have significant effect on the shape. After then, the combined influence of lateral thickness difference and width-to-thickness ratio on the critical instable shape is concluded according to the elastic sheet stability model, with the synthetic effect of these three factors analyzed. Test data indicate that for cold rolling strip steel with width-to-thickness ratio above 3 000, the critical instability stress difference decreases significantly. Actual measurements are conducted on the lateral thickness differences of two rolls of typical strip manufactured by a sixhigh cold mill, with the influence law of lateral thickness variation and width-to-thickness ratio comprehensively investigated. It is demonstrated that during the production of ultrathin strip steel with different width-to-thickness ratios, the loading roll shapes should be fine adjusted according to the lateral thickness difference of input strips.Therefore, the variation of lateral thickness difference of output strips can meet the requirement of shape stability,so as to obtain fine shape.     

Regression analysis of initial stress field around faults based on fault throw by displacement discontinuity method

The back analysis of initial stress is usually based on measured stress values, but the measuring of initial stress demands substantial investment. Therefore, amounts of underground engineering have no measured initial stress data, such as tunneling engineering. Focusing on this problem, a new back analysis method which does not need measured initial stress data is developed. The fault is assumed to be caused by initial load, the displacement discontinuity method (DDM) which considered non-linear fault is adopted to establish a numerical model of the engineering site, and the multivariable regression analysis of the initial stress field around the faults is carried out based on the fault throw. The result shows that the initial stress field around the faults is disturbed significantly, stress concentration appears in the tip zone, the regressive fault throw matches the measured values well, and the regressive initial stress field is reliable.