Added resistance acting on hull of a non ballast water ship

In this paper, added resistances acting on a hull of non ballast water ship(NBS) in high waves is discussed. The non ballast water ships were developed at the laboratory of the authors at Osaka Prefecture University, Japan. In the present paper, the performances of three kinds of bow shapes developed for the NBS were theoretically and experimentally investigated to find the best one in high waves. In previous papers, an optimum bow shape for the NBS was developed in calm water and in moderated waves. For a 2 m model for experiments and computations, the wave height is 0.02 m. This means that the wave height is 15% of the draft of the ship in full load conditions. In this paper, added resistances in high waves up to 0.07 m for a 2 m model or 53% of the full load draft are investigated. In such high waves linear wave theories which have been used in the design stage of a ship for a long time may not work well anymore, and experiments are the only effective tool to predict the added resistance in high waves. With the computations for waves, the ship is in a fully captured condition because shorter waves, λ/Lpp0.6, are assumed.     

Robust adaptive horizontal vibration isolation of towed seismic streamers

The horizontal vibration of towed seismic streamers is a main reason for efficiency reduction of the seismic survey and tail tangling. A vibration suppression scheme of towed seismic streamers is investigated in this paper. The towed seismic streamer is divided into two spans, a controlled span, i.e., the low tension span, and an uncontrolled span, i.e., the high tension span, by a bird. The system model includes a hyperbolic partial differential equation with variable coefficient describing the towed seismic streamers, and an ordinary differential equation describing the dynamic of bird. Robust based-model knowledge and adaptive controllers, based on the Lyapunov method, are designed to isolate the vibration of towed seismic streamers caused by the course deviations of towing vessel, the variations of towing vessel velocity and the variations of towed seismic streamer density. The robust based-model knowledge and adaptive controllers exponentially and asymptotically drive the span-towed seismic streamer displacement to zero, respectively. A finite difference scheme is used to validate the efficiency of the control law. The proposed controller can isolate effectively the disturbance originated from the towed vessel, and can provide the improved damping but not sacrifice the isolation performance. The adaptive scheme can tolerate the lack of knowledge of some uncertain parameters and can directly execute the online adjustment of the parameters. Meanwhile, the proposed control law is robust and can resist the model uncertainty due to parameter incertitude, model error and unknown disturbance and so on. The control law only includes velocity and slope, while it does not need the displacement which is difficult to measure in the practical operations. Thus it is easy to implement.     

Design of fuzzy controller for direct drive wind turbines

Based on the research results of these years, this paper proposes a design of 3MW direct-driven wind generation inverter, and takes much effort in the control algorithm research and MATLAB simulation. Some wonderful results are obtained. All this may provide the reference for practical application. The fuzzy controllers are designed, based on fuzzy logic control theory, which can perfect control of wind generation system with no mathematic model. Models of permanent magnet synchronous generator (PMSG) and dual pulse width modulation (PWM) converter with their controllers are set by MATLAB/Simulink. In addition, experiments are made on the simulation platform of variable speed constant frequency (VSCF) wind power generation system. The behavior of dual PWM converter is demonstrated by simulations and experiment, and the control strategy is valid and correct.     

Evolutionary algorithms for solving unconstrained multilevel lot-sizing problem with series structure

This paper presents a comparative study of evolutionary algorithms which are considered to be effective in solving the multilevel lot-sizing problem in material requirement planning (MRP) systems. Three evolutionary algorithms (simulated annealing (SA), particle swarm optimization (PSO) and genetic algorithm (GA)) are provided. For evaluating the performances of algorithms, the distribution of total cost (objective function) and the average computational time are compared. As a result, both GA and PSO have better cost performances with lower average total costs and smaller standard deviations. When the scale of the multilevel lot-sizing problem becomes larger, PSO is of a shorter computational time.     

A detailed analysis of how an urban trail system affects cyclists’ travel

Transportation specialists, urban planners, and public health officials have been steadfast in encouraging active modes of transportation over the past decades. Conventional thinking, however, suggests that providing infrastructure for cycling and walking in the form of off-street trails is critically important. An outstanding question in the literature is how one’s travel is affected by the use of such facilities and specifically, the role of distance to the trail in using such facilities. This research describes a highly detailed analysis of use along an off-street facility in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA. The core questions addressed in this investigation aim to understand relationships between: (1) the propensity of using the trail based on distance from the trip origin and destination, and (2) how far out of their way trail users travel for the benefit of using the trail and explanatory factors for doing so. The data used in the analysis for this research was collected as a human intercept survey along a section of an off-street facility. The analysis demonstrates that a cogent distance decay pattern exists and that the decay function varies by trip purpose. Furthermore, we find that bicyclists travel, on average, 67% longer in order to include the trail facility on their route. The paper concludes by explaining how the distance decay and shortest path versus taken path analysis can aid in the planning and analysis of new trail systems.

Assessing the accuracy of the Sydney Household Travel Survey with GPS

Over the past few years, GPS has been used in a number of surveys in the US to assess the accuracy of household travel surveys. The results have been somewhat alarming in that most of these exercises have shown that the standard trip-based CATI survey conducted in the US under-reports travel by about 20–25%. It was decided to use GPS to assess the accuracy of the Sydney Household Travel Survey, a continuous survey conducted by face-to-face interviewing. The procedure used was for the interviewers to recruit households for the household travel survey in the normal manner, and then, if the household met certain criteria, to endeavour to recruit the household to also undertake a GPS survey. A small sample of about 50 households was obtained, and GPS devices successfully retrieved that measured data on the same day as the travel diary was completed. In addition, participants in the GPS survey completed a prompted recall survey a week or two later, using maps and tabulations of travel obtained from the GPS devices, to identify mode, purpose and occupancy for trips measured by the GPS, and also to check for accuracy in defining trip ends and total number of trips. Based on the analysis of the GPS compared to the diary results, it was found that respondents under-reported their travel by about 7%, which is much less than in the US CATI results. Respondents were also found to under-report travel distances and over-report travel times. There was also a high incidence of non-reporting for VKT.

Travel mode choice: affected by objective or subjective determinants?

This contribution presents theoretical considerations concerning the connections between life situation, lifestyle, choice of residential location and travel behaviour, as well as empirical results of structural equation models. The analyses are based on data resulting from a survey in seven study areas in the region of Cologne. The results indicate that lifestyles influence mode choice, although slightly, even when life situation is controlled for. The influence of life situation on mode choice exceeds the influence of lifestyle. The influence that lifestyle, and in part also life situation, has on mode choice is primarily mediated by specific location attitudes and location decisions that influence mode choice, respectively. Here objective spatial conditions as well as subjective location attitudes are important.

Singapore motorisation restraint and its implications on travel behaviour and urban sustainability

The example of Singapore shows that rapid urban and economic growth does not have to bring traffic congestion and pollution. Singapore has chosen to restrain car traffic demand due to its limited land supply. Transport policy based on balanced development of road and transit infrastructure and restraint of traffic has been consistently implemented for the past 30 years. Combined with land use planning, it resulted in a modern transport system, which is free from major congestion and provides users with different travel alternatives. As the economic growth caused a substantial increase in demand for cars, several pricing policies were introduced with the aim of restraining car ownership and usage. Growth of the vehicle population is now controlled and potentially congested roads are subject to road pricing. These measures help to keep the roads free from major congestion, maintain car share of work trips below 25% and keep the transport energy usage low. Although Singapore conditions are in many aspects unique, its travel demand experience can provide useful lessons for other rapidly growing cities in Asia.

Do changes in neighborhood characteristics lead to changes in travel behavior? A structural equations modeling approach

Suburban sprawl has been widely criticized for its contribution to auto dependence. Numerous studies have found that residents in suburban neighborhoods drive more and walk less than their counterparts in traditional environments. However, most studies confirm only an association between the built environment and travel behavior, and have yet to establish the predominant underlying causal link: whether neighborhood design independently influences travel behavior or whether preferences for travel options affect residential choice. That is, residential self-selection may be at work. A few studies have recently addressed the influence of self-selection. However, our understanding of the causality issue is still immature. To address this issue, this study took into account individuals’ self-selection by employing a quasi-longitudinal design and by controlling for residential preferences and travel attitudes. In particular, using data collected from 547 movers currently living in four traditional neighborhoods and four suburban neighborhoods in Northern California, we developed a structural equations model to investigate the relationships among changes in the built environment, changes in auto ownership, and changes in travel behavior. The results provide some encouragement that land-use policies designed to put residents closer to destinations and provide them with alternative transportation options will actually lead to less driving and more walking.

Modeling residential sorting effects to understand the impact of the built environment on commute mode choice

This paper presents an examination of the significance of residential sorting or self selection effects in understanding the impacts of the built environment on travel choices. Land use and transportation system attributes are often treated as exogenous variables in models of travel behavior. Such models ignore the potential self selection processes that may be at play wherein households and individuals choose to locate in areas or built environments that are consistent with their lifestyle and transportation preferences, attitudes, and values. In this paper, a simultaneous model of residential location choice and commute mode choice that accounts for both observed and unobserved taste variations that may contribute to residential self selection is estimated on a survey sample extracted from the 2000 San Francisco Bay Area household travel survey. Model results show that both observed and unobserved residential self selection effects do exist; however, even after accounting for these effects, it is found that built environment attributes can indeed significantly impact commute mode choice behavior. The paper concludes with a discussion of the implications of the model findings for policy planning.