Traffic congestion and economic context: changes of spatiotemporal patterns of traffic travel times during crisis and post-crisis periods

Transportation - This paper aims to evaluate the impacts of the economic context on traffic congestion and its consequential effects on private vehicle accessibility. We conduct a long-term...     

基于因子叠加法的滑坡灾害危险性区划——以衡桂高速公路为例

滑坡灾害危险性区划是将区域内产生滑坡灾害的发生条件、外界影响因素、和滑坡灾害的现状进行综合统计分析,定量或半定量地评价区域内滑坡灾害的危险性程度等级。选择湖南省衡桂高速公路滑坡灾害的分类与区划为研究示范区,对衡桂高速公路沿线滑坡灾害进行危险度研究,采用因子叠加法进行滑坡灾害区划。     

基于支持向量机的船舶操纵运动在线建模

支持向量机算法以结构风险最小化为准则,具有良好的泛化性,是一种先进的人工智能算法。文章根据最小二乘支持向量机对其增量式算法进行推导,并应用该算法对船舶操纵运动进行在线建模。通过仿真试验对粘性力和舵力水动力导数进行在线辨识,通过自航模试验对操纵性K、T指数进行在线辨识,并利用K、T指数对自航模的转首角速度进行了预报,所得结果都同试验值非常接近,证明了增量式最小二乘支持向量机应用于船舶操纵运动在线建模的有效性。     

State-owned Spanish Port System oversizing: an analysis of maximum operational capacity

The State-owned Spanish Port System (SPS) includes 46 ports for general use that are managed by the 28 port authorities distributed along the 8000 km of Spanish coast. SPS has not grown at a rate comparable to that of international maritime transportation. In our paper, we start from the hypothesis of a port system that appears to be oversized, subsidized, with regard to container traffic. Quantifying the maximum operational capacity of the different container terminals along the Spanish coast and their mooring capacities will provide the available dimensions for this type of traffic. In a second step, we will analyse whether SPS are sufficient (according to the perspective of international standards) to meet Spain’s needs, which is related to Spain’s strategic geographic location and its need to move containerized cargo for the domestic market. The paper concludes SPS has an oversized that limits competitiveness, which is indicated by the average transshipment ratio of approximately 50% and an average unweighted idle ratio of port facilities designed for container traffic of over 60% in the eight main ports.     

鼓形齿轮联轴器齿廓分析研究

从滚刀基本蜗杆齿面出发，按照滚切鼓形齿轮的运动，运用空啮合理论，导出了滚切加工的鼓形齿轮面方程，定量分析了齿廓形状及其影响因素，得到了滚切加工的鼓形外齿轮除中央截面为浙开线外，其余任何垂直于轴心线的截面或是过球心的截面都不是浙开线齿形，而且还存在严重的齿面扭曲畸变的结论。     

Port competitiveness in container traffic from an internal point of view: the experience of the Port of Algeciras Bay

The objective of this article is to analyse the factors that affect port competitiveness from the perspective of the agents and companies that operate in one of the Mediterranean ports most active in container traffic: the Port of Algeciras Bay (PAB). It is essential to understand the perspective of the suppliers of port services, in order to apply the necessary judgment when formulating policies to strengthen the competitive position of a port. The model selected to meet the objective outlined is based on the 'extended diamond' of Porter. The universe for the study comprises all the institutions and companies involved in the containerization process in the Port of Algeciras Bay. Within this methodology, two procedures are utilised. First, from the quantitative perspective, a survey has been conducted to obtain responses to two groups of questions, one dealing with situation and the other with perceptions. Second, and from a qualitative perspective, several open interviews have been conducted to corroborate the responses obtained to the questionnaire. From the data obtained in the survey, a model has been estimated that minimises the sum of the residuals in absolute value, utilizing the L1 regression; this model enables the competitive advantages and disadvantages of the PAB, from the point of view of the port operators, to be determined by an analysis of residuals. This analysis demonstrates that the variables representing greater competitive advantages are associated with trans-shipment, and with the maritime accessibility of the Port to vessels, whereas those generating greater disadvantages are associated with rail transport (which, according to those surveyed, has resulted in the diversion of significant volumes of traffic to other Spanish or European ports with better communications, particularly Valencia, Barcelona and Gioia-Tauro, and with the state of competition in container trans-shipment activities.     

Benthic assemblages of a temperate estuarine system in South America: Transition from a freshwater to an estuarine zone

The objectives of the present study were to describe the species composition, diversity and distribution of the zoobenthic assemblages, to estimate the abundance and biomass of the dominant species, and to identify the main environmental factors determining the distribution patterns of the invertebrates from a freshwater to an estuarine zone in a temperate estuary of South America. The Río de la Plata estuary is a microtidal system characterized by a high concentration of suspended solids. Fifty-three taxa of meso- and macro-invertebrates were identified in the samples collected during November and December 2001. Molluscs, annelids, crustaceans and nematodes were found at 90% of the sampling sites. Molluscs comprised up to about 90% of the total zoobenthos biomass: the remaining percentage corresponded mainly to annelids and less to nematodes and crustaceans. An ecocline along the salinity gradient could be observed for the benthic assemblages from the freshwater to the estuarine zone in Rio de la Plata. A Canonical Correspondence Analysis shows that results from sampling sites in the outer zone were strongly related to salinity, depth and pH and less to oxygen and percentage of clay. The results from stations in the inner zone, and part of the middle zone, were mainly related to the occurrence of sand and contents of NH₄⁺–N, NO₃⁻–N, and PO₄³⁻–P.     

Comparative performance of alternative humanitarian logistic structures after the Port-au-Prince earthquake: ACEs,PIEs, and CANs

The paper analyzes the performance of different post-disaster humanitarian logistic structures that arose in response to the Port-au-Prince earthquake of January 12th, 2010. Based on field work conducted by the authors, the paper defines a typology of structures; assesses their relative performance in terms of delivering relief aid; and identifies the causes that explain the differences between them. Three structures are defined for comparative purposes: Agency Centric Efforts (ACEs), Partially Integrated Efforts (PIEs), and Collaborative Aid Networks (CANs). These structures differ to the extent to which they are integrated with the local social networks during the relief effort. Representative examples were analyzed to illustrate their inherent strengths and weaknesses, and reach conclusions of general applicability. The authors strengthen the analyses with discussions of “comparables,” i.e., other cases not fully discussed in the paper that shed additional light onto the performance of the structures.The paper’s analyses are based on dozens of interviews, both formal and informal, conducted with individuals directly involved in the relief effort, complemented with critical analyses of news accounts, and reports produced by the agencies involved. Based on its chief findings, the paper makes policy recommendations to maximize the effectiveness of future relief distribution efforts in response to disasters of various sizes.     

Choked flow in water/CO2 solutions on air-independent propulsion systems

We develop a simplified model of choked flow in pipes for CO₂-water solutions as an important step in the modelling of a whole hydraulic system with the intention of eliminating the carbon dioxide generated in air-independent submarine propulsion. The model is based on an approximate fitting of the homogeneous isentropic solution upstream of a valve (or any other area restriction), for given fluid conditions at the entrance. The relative maximum choking back-pressure is computed as a function of area restriction ratio. Although the procedure is generic for gas solutions, numeric values for the non-dimensional parameters in the analysis are developed only for choking in the case of carbon dioxide solutions up to the pure-water limit.     

Tourism growth versus airport environmental capacity: An application of Ramsey pricing to Spanish tourist airports

Airport infrastructure in many countries is being up-graded to meet the growing demands of tourism, and air travel more generally, but this poses problems for sustainable development. Thus, there is the need to establish an alternative to the traditional airport pricing structure for landing fees so as to reflect the true cost that air transports imposes on others. This paper analyses one application of Ramsey pricing to some Spanish tourist airport that embraces environmental as well as conventional financial costs.