Analysis of an O(N2) heuristic for the single vehicle many-to-many Euclidean dial-a-ride problem

We develop an O(N²) heuristic to solve the single vehicle many-to-many Euclidean Dial-A-Ride problem. The heuristic is based on the Minimum Spanning Tree of the modes of the problem. The algorithm's worst case performance is four times the length of the optimal Dial-A-Ride tour. An analysis of the algorithm's average performance reveals that in terms of sizes of single-vehicle problems that are likely to be encountered in the real world (up to 100 nodes) and in terms of computational complexity, the O(N²) heuristic performs equally well, or, in many cases, better than heuristics described earlier by Stein for the same problem. The performance of the heuristic exhibits statistical stability over a broad range of problem sizes.     

Major sources of hydrocarbon emissions in a premixed charge compression ignition engine

Although premixed charge compression ignition (PCCI) combustion engines are praised for potentially high efficiency and clean exhaust, experimental engines built to date emit more hydrocarbons (HCs) and carbon monoxide (CO) than the conventional machines. These compounds are not only strictly controlled components of the exhaust gas of road vehicles but are also an energy loss indicator. The prime objective of this study was to investigate the major sources of the HCs formed in the combustion chamber of an experimental PCCI engine in order to suggest some effective technologies for HC reduction. In this study, to explore the dominant sources of HC emissions in both operation modes, a single cylinder engine was prepared such that it could operate using either conventional diesel combustion or PCCI combustion. Specifically, the contributions of the top-ring crevice volume in the combustion chamber and the bulk quenching of the lean mixture were investigated. To understand the influence of the shape and magnitude of the crevice on HC emissions, the engine was operated with 12 specially prepared pistons with different top-ring crevices installed one after another. The engine emitted proportionally more HCs as the depth of the crevice increased as long as the width remained narrower than the prevailing quench distance. The top-ring-crevice-originated exhaust HCs comprised approximately 31% of the total HC emissions in the baseline condition. In a series of tests to estimate the effects of bulk quench on exhaust HC emissions, intake air was heated from 300K to 400K in steps of 25K. With the intake air heated, HC and CO emissions decreased with a gradually diminishing rate to zero at 375K. In conclusion, the most dominant sources of HC emissions in PCCI engines were the crevice volumes in the combustion chamber and the bulk quenching of the lean mixtures. The key methods for reducing HC emissions in PCCI engines are minimizing crevice volume in the combustion chamber and maximizing intake air temperature allowed based on the permissible NOx level.     

Comparison of the optimum designs of center pillar assembly of an auto-body between conventional steel and ahss with a simplified side impact analysis

This study compares the optimum designs of center pillar assembly with advanced high-strength steel (AHSS) to that of conventional steel for crashworthiness and weight reduction in side impacts. A simplified side impact analysis method was used to simulate the crash behavior of the center pillar assembly with efficient computing time. Thickness optimization aims to perform an S-shaped deformation of the center pillar toward the cabin to reduce the injury level of a driver in a crash test. Center pillar members were regarded as an assembly of parts that are fabricated with tailor-welded blanks, and the thickness of each part was selected as a design variable. The thickness variables of parts that have significant effects on the deformation mechanism were extracted as the main design variables for thickness optimization based on the results of a sensitivity analysis with design of experiments. The optimization condition was constructed to induce an S-shaped deformation mode and reduce the weight of the center pillar assembly. An optimum design was obtained after several iterations with response surface methodology (RSM). Optimization was first performed with conventional steel and then with AHSS with the same procedure to optimize the crashworthiness of the center pillar assembly. After thickness optimization, optimum designs were applied to the full vehicle analysis to evaluate the validity of the optimization scheme with the simplified side impact analysis method. Then, the crashworthiness of optimum designs with conventional steel and AHSS were compared using the full vehicle analysis. This comparison demonstrates that AHSS can be more effectively utilized than conventional steel to obtain a lightweight design of an auto-body with enhanced crashworthiness.     

Prediction of the dimensional deformation of the addendum and dedendum after the warm shrink fitting process using a correction coefficient

The warm shrink fitting process is generally used to assemble automobile transmission parts (shafts/gears). However, this process causes a deformation in the addendum and dedendum of the gear depending on the fitting interference and gear profile, and this deformation causes additional noise and vibration between the gears. To address these problems, the warm shrink fitting process is analyzed by considering the error in the dimensional deformation of the addendum and dedendum found when comparing the results of a theoretical analysis and finite element analysis (FEA). A correction coefficient that reduces this error is derived through an analysis of the difference in the cross-sectional area between the shapes used for the theoretical analysis and that of the actual gear, and a closed-form equation to predict the dimensional deformation of the addendum and dedendum is proposed. The FEA method is proposed to analyze the thermal-structural-thermal coupled field analysis of the warm shrink fitting process (heating-fitting-cooling process). To verify the closed-form equation using the correction coefficient, measurements are made of actual helical gears used in automobile transmissions. The results are in good agreement with those given by the closed-form equation.     

SWAN和MOHID联合模型在连云港港30万吨级航道建设中的应用

根据连云港海域的特点,建立能考虑风浪影响的三维潮流、泥沙数学模型,对真实的"韦帕"台风作用下的潮流场和泥沙场进行模拟,力求更合理地反映近岸泥沙运动规律。数学模型计算得到的流场、含沙量场和航道回淤结果与现场实测资料进行验证,二者吻合较好。在此基础上,对连云港港30万吨级航道在"韦帕"台风作用下的回淤情况进行了预测,给出了航道的沿程淤强分布,为航道的设计提供依据。     

Formal Safety Assessment: an updated review

The method of Formal Safety Assessment (FSA) was devised several years ago with the intent to help the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and other policy makers formulate policies and regulations by the proper use of the scientific method in matters pertaining to maritime safety and the protection of the marine environment. A host of FSA studies have been submitted over the last several years and have been reviewed by the IMO. Also, progress has been recently accomplished as regards incorporating environmental risk evaluation criteria within FSA. On the basis of these developments, revisions of the FSA guidelines have been proposed and adopted. This paper presents a review of the FSA method in light of these developments. This review updates an earlier review of FSA by Kontovas and Psaraftis [Marine Technol 46(1):45?C59, (2009)]. It also takes this opportunity to identify some deficiencies of FSA, either due to an incorrect application of the method or to the method itself, and makes some suggestions for further action in this area.     

余弦载荷作用下圆锥壳的动力屈曲研究

本文采用数值方法对圆锥壳在余弦载荷作用下的动力屈曲问题进行了探讨.利用非线性几何方程建立了锥壳的基本动力屈曲方程.采用级数展开和伽辽金法等方法对方程进行了简化,使之成为常微分方程.方程的求解则采用龙格库塔法,最后给出临界冲击载荷值.     

Performance of Two Types of Mooring Systems in the Heave Motion of a Two-body Floating Wave Energy Converter

Journal of Marine Science and Application - This work investigated the influence of two types of mooring systems on the hydrodynamic performance of a two-body floating wave energy converter (WEC)....     

An application of a rank ordered probit modeling approach to understanding level of interest in autonomous vehicles

Surveys of behavior could benefit from information about people’s relative ranking of choice alternatives. Rank ordered data are often collected in stated preference surveys where respondents are asked to rank hypothetical alternatives (rather than choose a single alternative) to better understand their relative preferences. Despite the widespread interest in collecting data on and modeling people’s preferences for choice alternatives, rank-ordered data are rarely collected in travel surveys and very little progress has been made in the ability to rigorously model such data and obtain reliable parameter estimates. This paper presents a rank ordered probit modeling approach that overcomes limitations associated with prior approaches in analyzing rank ordered data. The efficacy of the rank ordered probit modeling methodology is demonstrated through an application of the model to understand preferences for alternative configurations of autonomous vehicles (AV) using the 2015 Puget Sound Regional Travel Study survey data set. The methodology offers behaviorally intuitive model results with a variety of socio-economic and demographic characteristics, including age, gender, household income, education, employment and household structure, significantly influencing preference for alternative configurations of AV adoption, ownership, and shared usage. The ability to estimate rank ordered probit models offers a pathway for better utilizing rank ordered data to understand preferences and recognize that choices may not be absolute in many instances.