A three-stage least squares approach to the analysis of airline strategies for aircraft size and airline frequency on the north Atlantic: an airline case study

In response to increasing demand, airlines may increase capacity by increasing the frequency of flights or they may choose to increase aircraft size. This may yield operating cost economies. If the airports they operate from are capacity constrained, they will be limited in the extent that they can change frequency which will limit their ability to compete with the number of frequencies offered. This article focuses on this trade-off and pays particular attention to the practices of a specific airline. Conclusions are offered on the impact of inter alia competition, changes in aircraft technology, 9/11 and the impact of slot constraints. It appears that changes in size are more important than frequency, which is consistent with the presence of slot constraints and there is a significant impact of competition. As the concentration of carriers increases, so aircraft size falls. 9/11 also has a significant impact on traffic whereas the introduction of the Boeing 777, as an illustration of a change in technology, does not.     

Road boundary detection and tracking for structured and unstructured roads using a 2D lidar sensor

Road boundaries can give useful information for evaluating safe vehicle paths in intelligent vehicles. Much previous research has studied road boundary detection, using different types of sensors such as vision, radar, and lidar. Lidar sensors, in particular, show advantages for road boundary extraction including high resolution and wide field of view. However, none of the previous studies examined the problem of detecting road boundaries when roads could be either structured or unstructured. In this study, we developed a road boundary detection and tracking algorithm using lidar sensing for both structured and unstructured roads. The algorithm extracts road features as line segments in polar coordinates relative to the lidar sensor. The extracted road features are then tracked with respect to a vehicle’s local coordinates using a nearest neighbor filter. The proposed algorithm accurately detected the road boundaries regardless of the road type.     

An experimental study of the effect of low-noise wheels in reducing noise and vibration

Wheel/rail interaction is a major source of railway noise. A low-noise wheel structure is developed and its effect on noise reduction is investigated. This low-noise wheel employs a rubber material inserted into the steel rim or mounted on the wheel surface. The low-noise wheel has low stiffness and a high-damping ratio compared to a solid wheel. Measurement shows that it reduces rolling and squealing. It turns out that a subway line with the proposed wheel could reduce its interior noise level by 4–5 dB(A) and vehicle vibration level by 7–8 dB. While the proposed structure seems promising in noise reduction for railway vehicles, the endurance and cost effectiveness of the low-noise wheel are yet to be verified.     

Analysis of a regenerative braking system for Hybrid Electric Vehicles using an Electro-Mechanical Brake

The regenerative braking system of the Hybrid Electric Vehicle (HEV) is a key technology that can improve fuel efficiency by 20∼50%, depending on motor size. In the regenerative braking system, the electronically controlled brake subsystem that directs the braking forces into four wheels independently is indispensable. This technology is currently found in the Electronic Stability Program (ESP) and in Vehicle Dynamic Control (VDC). As braking technologies progress toward brake-by-wire systems, the development of Electro-Mechanical Brake (EMB) systems will be very important in the improvement of both fuel consumption and vehicle safety. This paper investigates the modeling and simulation of EMB systems for HEVs. The HEV powertrain was modeled to include the internal combustion engine, electric motor, battery and transmission. The performance simulation for the regenerative braking system of the HEV was performed using MATLAB/Simulink. The control performance of the EMB system was evaluated via the simulation of the regenerative braking of the HEV during various driving conditions.     

Model-based analysis of the mechanical subsystem of an air brake system

Most commercial vehicles such as buses and trucks use an air brake system, often equipped with an S-cam drum brake, to reduce their speed and/or to stop. With a drum brake system, the clearance between the brake shoe/pad and the brake drum may increase because of various reasons such as wearing of the brake shoe and/or brake drum and drum expansion caused by high heat generation during the braking process. Hence, to ensure proper functioning of the brake system, it is essential that the clearance between the brake shoe and the brake drum is monitored. In this paper, we present a mathematical model for the mechanical subsystem of the air brake system that can be used to monitor this clearance. This mathematical model correlates the push rod stroke transients and the brake chamber pressure transients. A kinematic analysis and a dynamic analysis of the mechanical subsystem of the air brake system were performed, and the results are corroborated with experimental data.     

A probabilistic damage tolerance concept for welded joints Part 2: a supplement to the rule based S–N approach

The first part of this paper presented the required statistics and stochastic models for reliability analysis of the fatigue fracture of welded plate joints. This present Part 2 suggests a probabilistic damage tolerance supplement to the design S–N curves for welded joints. The goal is to provide the practising engineer with simple tools that predict the reliability against fatigue fracture during service life. The impact of the chosen fatigue design factors (FDF) and the uncertainty in the applied stresses is revealed. The effect of an in-service inspection programme is also predicted. The results are presented as dimensionless matrices and suggested for use in support of decision-making at the design stage, without any advanced fracture mechanics modelling and stochastic simulation. One important advantage of this format is that the probability levels are presented regardless of actual weld class and target service life (TSL). This is obtained by introducing the FDF as a key parameter to the results. This parameter is defined as the ratio of predicted fatigue life over TSL. FDF is always calculated in the S–N approach which is mandatory in fatigue life prediction. Various welded details (classes) will have the same reliability level for the same FDF. This is true at the end of TSL and at earlier stages, i.e. fractions of TSL. The absolute value of TSL is immaterial for a given FDF. In the case of in-service inspection, the inspection interval is also given without dimensions as a fraction of TSL.

Only the influence of future scheduled inspections is treated. Updating based on actual inspection results is not included as the scope of work is inspection planning at the design stage. Results for some frequent cases occurring in practice are readily derived and presented.     

Is DOC the main source of organic matter remineralization in the ocean water column?

Recent interpretations of carbon flux data and deep-sea processes have led to a reconsideration of the role of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) in supporting water column remineralization and other mid-water biogeochemical transformations (Suzuki et al., 1985; Cho and Azam, 1988; Karl et al., 1988; Christensen et al., 1989; Naqvi and Shailaja, 1993). To date, there have been no direct comparisons of particulate carbon flux data with water column metabolic rates. Here, for the first time, particulate carbon flux and respiratory electron transport activity (from which metabolic CO₂ production is derived), have been monitored simultaneously for one year in the same area of the northwestern Mediterranean Sea. In the aphotic layer (200–1000 m), particulate organic carbon (POC) can support only 20% of the overall organic matter remineralization. Remineralization rates are consistent with recent calculations of DOC exported from the euphotic layer in this area, confirming the vital importance of DOC in maintaining deep-water metabolism. This finding would apply to other regions of mesotrophic and oligotrophic production and thus affect our understanding of carbon recycling in the water column, new production and O₂ utilization.     

New approaches to transportation forecasting models

In 1992, the Federal Highway Administration awarded small research contracts to four teams of transportation researchers to design alternative approaches for improving the urban travel demand forecasting process. The purpose of these contracts was to enable each research team to explain how transportation planning models could and should be improved to meet the new forecasting requirements brought on by recent legislation, to address the impacts of new transportation technology, and to exploit the travel behavior theories and methodologies that have developed over the past two decades.This paper presents a summary and synthesis of the ideas which emerged from the four research reports. Its purpose is to identify common themes suggested by several of the research teams, to point out what appear to be critical elements missing from some approaches, and to combine the best aspects of the four approaches into a research plan for improving the current generation of travel demand models.Abbreviations CAAA Clean Air Act Amendments - FHWA Federal Highway Administration - GIS Geographic Information System - IIA Independence of Irrelevant Alternatives - IT Information Technology - IVHS Intelligent Vehicle Highway System - SUE Stochastic User Equilibrium - TCM Transportation Control Measures - UTPS Urban Transportation Planning System - VMT Vehicle Miles of Travel The paper was prepared as a report for the Federal Highway Administration.