Parametric study on the effects of pile inclination angle on the response of batter piles in offshore jacket platforms

Offshore jacket-type platforms are attached to the seabed by long batter piles. In this paper, results from a finite element analysis, verified against experimental data, are used to study the effect of the pile’s inclination angle, and its interaction with the geometrical properties of the pile and the geotechnical characteristics of the surrounding soil on the behavior of the inclined piles supporting the jacket platforms. Results show that the inclination angle is one of the main parameters affecting the behavior of an offshore pile. We investigated the effect of the inclination angle on the maximum von Mises stress, maximum von Mises elastic strain, maximum displacement vector sum, maximum displacement in the horizontal direction, and maximum displacement in the vertical direction. The pile seems to have an operationally optimal degree of inclination of approximately 5°. By exceeding this value, the instability in the surrounding soil under applied loads grows extensively in all the geotechnical properties considered. Cohesive soils tend to display poorer results compared to grained soils.     

Developing an activity-based trip generation model for small/medium size planning agencies

The primary shortcoming of traditional four-step models is that they cannot capture derived travel demand behaviors. However, travel demand modeling (TDM) is an essential input for urban transportation planning. TDM needs to be highly precise and accurate by integrating the accurate base year estimation along with suitable alternatives. Currently, activity-based models (ABMs) have been developed mostly for large metropolitan planning organizations (MPO), whereas smaller/medium-sized MPOs typically lack these models. The main reason for this disparity in ABM development is the complexity of the models and the cost and data requirements needed. We posit however that smaller MPOs could develop ABMs from traditional travel surveys. Therefore, the specific aim of this paper is to develop a probabilistic home-based destination activity trip generation model considering travel time behavior. Results show that the developed model can significantly capture the actual number of trip generations.     

Sensitivity analysis and optimisation of suspension bushing using Taguchi method and grey relational analysis

In this paper, a novel method is presented for investigating suspension bushing based on mechanical properties of the bushing, their effective directions, spring stiffness and damping coefficient of bushing. The vehicle vibration model and suspension geometry parameters are used to optimise the vehicle suspension based on multi-body dynamics simulation (ADAMS/CAR) initially. Several experiment tests based on ISO 4128 and ISO 7401 have been performed in one of main Iranian automaker (SAIPA) in order to verify the ADAMS/CAR model. The grey relational analysis based on using Taguchi L27 orthogonal array is used to obtain the optimum suspension. Then the bushing characteristics are optimised considering the indicated method. This method considers a combination of ride comfort and handling qualities of vehicle as objective functions simultaneously. The results of optimum suspension are compared with typical Renault Logan which declares the accuracy and efficiency of this method in optimising suspension bushing.     

Nature of influence of out‐of‐vehicle time‐related attributes on transit attractiveness: a random parameters logit model analysis

This paper describes the nature of the impacts of walking distances and waiting time on transit use. The relative trade‐offs of walking and transfer components with other transit service attributes are also discussed. A total of 449 completed stated‐preference interviews were collected; with six observations from each respondent, the total number of observations was 2694. This data set was used to estimate the coefficients in different utility functions using a random parameters logit model. The results demonstrated that walking distances to and from transit stops have important and significant nonlinear negative influences on the attractiveness of transit. Transfer waiting time was also shown to have a significant nonlinear negative impact on transit attractiveness. The random parameters logit model had a better model fit than the standard logit model. Some of the findings obtained here are novel, while others are consistent with previous works. These findings have implications for both theory and practice. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Numerical Modeling of an Advanced Semi-SWATH Hull in Calm Water and Regular Head Wave

A small waterplane area twin hull (SWATH) has excellent seakeeping performance and low wave-making resistance, and it has been applied to small working craft, p...     

双隔板矩形液舱内抑制晃荡的优化研究（英文）

A dual-baffled rectangular tank with different configurations is proposed to reduce the sloshing effect, and design optimization is conducted through numerical simulations with open-source software, namely Open FOAM, based on the computational fluid dynamic model. A series of physical experiments in the dual-baffled rectangular tank is performed for model validation and design optimization with the measured water surface elevation distributions along the tank. The optimization uses the calculate...     

A multi-objective train scheduling model and solution

This paper develops a multi-objective optimization model for the passenger train-scheduling problem on a railroad network which includes single and multiple tracks, as well as multiple platforms with different train capacities. In this study, lowering the fuel consumption cost is the measure of satisfaction of the railway company and shortening the total passenger-time is being regarded as the passenger satisfaction criterion. The solution of the problem consists of two steps. First the Pareto frontier is determined using the -constraint method, and second, based on the obtained Pareto frontier detailed multi-objective optimization is performed using the distance-based method with three types of distances. Numerical examples are given to illustrate the model and solution methodology.     

船首形状对自由液面水下航行体阻力影响的试验研究（英文）

In this paper, towing tank experiments are conducted to study the behavior of flow on a model of the underwater vehicle with various shapes of bows, i.e. tango and standard bows in free surface motion tests. The total resistances for different Froude numbers are considered experimentally. The towing tank is equipped with a trolley that can operate in through 0.05–6 m/s speed with ±0.02 m/s accuracy. Furthermore, the study is done on hydrodynamic coefficients i.e. total, residual and friction resistance coefficients, and the results are compared. Finally, the study on flow of wave fields around bows is done and wave filed around two bows are compared. The Froude number interval is between 0.099 and 0.349. Blockage fraction for the model is fixed to 0.005 3. The results showed that the residual resistance of the standard bow in 0.19 to 0.3 Froude number is more than the tango bow in surface motion which causes more total resistance for the submarine. Finally, details of wave generated by the bow are depicted and the effects of flow pattern on resistance drag are discussed.     

Dynamic adaptive finite element analysis of acoustic wave propagation due to underwater explosion for fluid-structure interaction problems

In this paper, an investigation into the propagation of far field explosion waves in water and their effects on nearby structures are carried out. For the far field structure, the motion of the fluid surrounding the structure may be assumed small, allowing linearization of the governing fluid equations. A complete analysis of the problem must involve simultaneous solution of the dynamic response of the structure and the propagation of explosion wave in the surrounding fluid. In this study, a dynamic adaptive finite element procedure is proposed. Its application to the solution of a 2D fluid-structure interaction is investigated in the time domain. The research includes: a) calculation of the far-field scatter wave due to underwater explosion including solution of the time-depended acoustic wave equation, b) fluid-structure interaction analysis using coupled Euler-Lagrangian approach, and c) adaptive finite element procedures employing error estimates, and re-meshing. The temporal mesh adaptation is achieved by local regeneration of the grid using a time-dependent error indicator based on curvature of pressure function. As a result, the overall response is better predicted by a moving mesh than an equivalent uniform mesh. In addition, the cost of computation for large problems is reduced while the accuracy is improved.     

A similarity-based neuro-fuzzy modeling for driving behavior recognition applying fusion of smartphone sensors

Drivers’ behavior evaluation is one of the most important problems in intelligent transportation systems and driver assistant systems. It has a great influence on driving safety and fuel consumption. One of the challenges in this regard is the modeling perspective to treat with uncertainty in judgments about driving behaviors. Really, assessing a single maneuver with a rigid threshold leads to a weak judgment for driving evaluation. To fill this gap, a novel neuro-fuzzy system is proposed to classify the driving behaviors based on their similarities to fuzzy patterns when all of the various maneuvers are stated with some fuzzy numbers. These patterns are also fuzzy numbers and they are extracted from statistical analysis on the smartphone sensors data. Our driving evaluation system consists of three processes. Firstly, it detects the type of all of the maneuvers through the driving period, by using a multi-layer perceptron neural network. Secondly, it extracts a new feature based on the acceleration and assigns three fuzzy numbers to driver’s lane change, turn and U-turn maneuvers. Thirdly, it determines the similarity between these three fuzzy numbers and the fuzzy patterns to evaluate the safe and the aggressive driving scores. To validate this model, Driver’s Angry Score (DAS) questionnaires are used. Results show that the fusion of Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) sensors of smartphones is enough for the proposed driving evaluation system. Accuracy of this system is 87% without using GPS and GIS data and this system is independent of smartphones and vehicles types.