Nonlinear adaptive sliding mode control for vehicle handling improvement via steer-by-wire

This paper proposes a nonlinear adaptive sliding mode control that aims to improve vehicle handling through a Steer-By-Wire system. The designed sliding mode control, which is insensitive to system uncertainties, offers an adaptive sliding gain to eliminate the precise determination of the bound of uncertainties. The sliding gain value is calculated using a simple adaptation algorithm that does not require extensive computational load. Achieving the improved handling characteristics requires both accurate state estimation and well-controlled steering inputs from the Steer-By-Wire system. A second order sliding mode observer provides accurate estimation of lateral and longitudinal velocities while the driver steering angle and yaw rate are available from the automotive sensors. A complete stability analysis based on Lyapunov theory has been presented to guarantee closed loop stability. The simulation results confirmed that the proposed adaptive robust controller not only improves vehicle handling performance but also reduces the chattering problem in the presence of uncertainties in tire cornering stiffness.     

New insights from fractional order skyhook damping control for railway vehicles

Active suspensions for railway vehicles have been a topic of research for a number of decades and while their applications in service operation are limited, it seems clear that they will in due course see widespread adoption. Railway suspension design is a problem of compromise on the non-trivial trade-off of ride quality versus track following (guidance), and the skyhook damping control approach has been paramount in illustrating the potential benefits. Since skyhook damping control, various advanced control studies appeared contributing to redefine the boundaries of the aforementioned trade-off. Yet there is no study on the impact of fractional order (FO) methods in the context of skyhook railway active suspensions and in particular related to skyhook damping control. This is the area to which this paper strongly contributes. We present findings from a current project on FO controllers for railway vehicles active suspensions, in particular work on the effect of FO methods in basic skyhook damping control schemes, i.e. pure and intuitively based skyhook. First, we present a brief review of conventional skyhook damping control and then proceed to a rigorous investigation of the impact of FO on the ride quality/track following trade-off. The relevant benefits from FO methods are appraised and new insights highlighted.     

Daily and seasonal variations of the partial pressure of CO2 in surface seawater along Belgian and southern Dutch coastal areas

The variations of the partial pressure of CO₂ (pCO₂) and related parameters were determined in surface seawater along the Belgian coast, from January 1995 to June 1996, at both daily and seasonal time scales. The distribution of pCO₂ in this area is regulated by river input from the Scheldt, biological activity and hydrodynamics. The contribution of each of these processes varies as a function of the considered time scale: (i) the daily variation of pCO₂ depends on the tide although modulated by the biological diel cycle; (ii) the seasonal variation of pCO₂ depends on the input from the Scheldt and the seasonal variations of phytoplanktonic biomass. During winter, the plume of the river Scheldt is oversaturated in pCO₂ with respect to the atmosphere. During spring and summer, phytoplankton blooms occur both in the lower Scheldt estuary and in the river plume and may lead to undersaturation of pCO₂ in the easternmost area of the river plume. However, the degradation of phytoplankton induces oversaturation of pCO₂, in the westernmost area of the plume. Furthermore, the inter-annual variation of pCO₂ depends partly on the fluctuations of the discharge of the Scheldt. Our preliminary results strongly suggest that, on an annual basis, the Scheldt plume behaves as a net source of CO₂ to the atmosphere.     

Numerical simulation of the anti-shock performance of a gear case

Both sea battles and testing of ship in underwater explosions reveal unacceptably poor anti-shock performance of important shipboard equipment. Anti-shock performance of shipboard equipment is a significant factor determining fighting strength and survivability. The anti-shock performance of a shipboard gear case based on BV043/85 was investigated using numerical simulation. A geometric model of the gear case was built using MDT software and meshed in HyperMesh software, and then the finite element model of the gear case was formed. Using ABAQUS software, the anti-shock performance of the gear case was simulated. First, shock response of typical regions of gear case was determined. Next, some generalizations were made about the anti-shock performance of the gear case by analyzing the Mises stress of typical regions varied with shock inputs. Third, weak regions were determined from simulation results. The threshold values of shock resistance of the gear case at different impulse widths were obtained through interpolating the numerical simulation results selected from the most dangerous spot. This research provides a basis for further optimization of the design of gear cases.     

When strike comes to town… anticipated and actual behavioural reactions to a one-day,pre-announced,complete rail strike in the Netherlands

We conducted secondary analysis on data collected among rail users, days before and after a national rail strike in the Netherlands. Our aim was to compare anticipated and actual behavioural reactions to the rail strike, investigate associations with traveller and trip characteristics, and perceived behavioural control and satisfaction with the chosen alternative. Forty-four percent of the people who had anticipated to travel by train on the day of the strike abandoned their trip, 24% switched to car as driver, 14% switched to another mode (as passenger), 18% stayed with the train and rescheduled the planned activity to another day. Almost half of people who had anticipated travelling by car expected to change behaviour as well. Multinomial logistic regression showed low preference for car among rail users. Considerable marginal effects were found for several variables, e.g.: young people and females were less likely to switch to car; short and middle distance trips were less likely abandoned or switched to another day; commute and business trips were more likely done by car, and business trips less likely cancelled. Despite high levels of perceived behavioural control and satisfaction with the chosen alternative, permanent modal shift as result of this strike is not expected.     

Waiting profiles: An efficient protocol for enabling distributed planning of container barge rotations along terminals in the port of Rotterdam

We consider the problem of aligning barge rotations with quay schedules of terminals in the port of Rotterdam. Every time a barge visits the port, it has to make a rotation along, on average, eight terminals to load and unload containers. A central solution, e.g., a trusted party that coordinates the activities of all barges and terminals, is not feasible for several reasons. We propose a multi-agent based approach of the problem, since a multi-agent system can mirror to a large extent the way the business network is currently organized and can provide a solution that is acceptable to each of the parties involved. We examine the value of exchanging different levels of information and evaluate the performance by means of simulation. We compare the results with an off-line scheduling algorithm. The results indicate that, in spite of the limited information available, our distributed approach performs quite well when compared to the central approach. In addition, our experiments indicate that an information exchange based on waiting profiles reduces the average tardiness per barge with almost 80% when compared to the situation with no information exchange. We therefore think that waiting profiles provide a promising protocol to tackle this problem.     

Comparison of several traffic forecasting methods based on travel time index data on weekends

Traffic forecasting provides the estimation of future traffic state to help traffic control,travel guide,etc. This paper compared several widely used traffic forecasting methods,and analyzed each one's performance in detail to make conclusions,which could redound to researchers choosing an appropriate traffic forecasting method in their own works. Compared with conventional works,this paper creatively assessed the performance of traffic forecasting methods based on travel time index (TTI) data prediction,wh...     

A reconfigurable stamping die and its stamping process

A reconfigurable flexible poles die was developed. The die can be used to implement the process of “the multi-point pressing and forming sheet”. Sheet metal is restricted by the elastic pressing forces putting on the upper and lower surfaces of sheet in stamping process. The method is an effective way to enhance the buckling critical stresses and reduce wrinkling of sheet. The results of tests indicate that the die can achieve “one die brings multi-purpose” and suppress the wrinkle of sheet. The process of the multi-point pressing and forming sheet provides a practical and effective way for the curved sheet metal forming.     

导航仪为何是电子狗杀手

目前，针对公路上的“电子眼”，一些车主购买了“反雷达测速器”（俗称电子狗）来对抗，目的是为了避免收到“牛肉干”（罚款单）。但是“电子狗”质量参差不齐，而且价格也不菲，这让车主对“电子狗”又爱又恨。随着国内导航软件技术的进步及导航地图更完整地包含了雷达测速器位置，“电子狗”功能整合在导航系统中已成为现实。导航仪价格的不断下降，     

Lateral dynamics of single unit skid-steered tracked vehicle

In the design and development of high-speed tracked vehicles, it is necessary to have an understanding of the interrelationship between the terrain factors and the vehicle characteristics during steering. The handling behavior of skid-steered tracked vehicles is more complex than that of wheeled vehicles because of non-linear characteristics arising from the sliding interface between the track and the ground. In the present work, a five degree-of-freedom (DOF) steering model of a tracked vehicle is developed, and the handling behavior during non-stationary motion is studied when operating at high and low speeds. It is demonstrated that the inclusion of roll and pitch DOF changes the steering response when compared to the response from three DOF models proposed earlier by several researchers. This is due to the strong coupling between the pitch and yaw motions. The effect of the initial forward velocities on the trajectory of the vehicle during non-stationary motion is also studied. It is observed from the results that the stability is influenced by the type of steering input, steering ratio and vehicle forward speed.