Improving paratransit scheduling using ruin and recreate methods

Abstract

In this paper we study the effects of using ruin and recreate methods in a replanning phase of a dynamic dial-a-ride problem. Several such methods are proposed, and a modeling system is used to evaluate how they improve the quality of the solutions. We show that simple changes to existing planning methods can increase the efficiency of the service. Two cases, with different forms of costs inflicted on the vehicles, are evaluated and significant improvements are found in both cases. The best results of our study are found with ruin methods based on removal of sequences of requests.     

Quantifying the transport-related impacts of parental school choice in England

School travel is becoming increasingly car-based and this is leading to many environmental and health implications for children all over the world. One of several reasons for this is that journey to school distances have increased over time. This is a trend that has been reinforced in some countries by the adoption of so-called ‘school choice’ policies, whereby parents can apply on behalf of their child(ren) to attend any school, and not only the school they live closest to. This paper examines the traffic and environmental impacts of the school choice policy in England. It achieves this by analysing School Census data from 2009 from the Department for Education. Multinomial logit modelling and mixed multinomial logit modelling are used to illustrate the current travel behaviour of English children in their journey to school and examine how there can be a significant reduction in vehicle miles travelled, CO₂ emissions and fuel consumption if the ‘school choice’ policy is removed. The model shows that when school choice was replaced by a policy where each child only travelled to their ‘nearest school’ several changes occurred in English school travel. Vehicle Miles Travelled (VMT) by motorised transport fell by 1 % for car travel and 10 % for bus travel per day. The reduction in vehicle miles travelled could lead to less congestion on the roads during the morning rush hour and less cars driving near school gates. Mode choice changed in the modelled scenario. Car use fell from 32 to 22 %. Bus use fell from 12 to 7 %, whilst NMT saw a rise of 17 %. With more children travelling to school by walking or cycling the current epidemic of childhood obesity could also be reduced through active travel.     

Seventy Minutes Plus or Minus 10 — A Review of Travel Time Budget Studies

Abstract

This paper provides a comprehensive review of travel-time budget (TTB) studies in the literature for about the past four decades. Starting with the concept of TTBs, it discusses both the studies that support the existence of TTB and also those that deem the concept to be unfounded. Sociodemographic variables and their relation to TTB are also discussed briefly. However, as past studies use different data sources, survey techniques, and methodology for analysis, cross comparison of studies is not possible. Most importantly, the underlying cause of the regularity that is found at an aggregate level is still not known. The idea of TTB is important because, if it exists, it would mean that the total time spent on travelling per person per day will remain unchanged in spite of all improvements to transport. TTB has immense implications for transport policies and it is usually ignored. The paper also explores the available theoretical explanation of this concept, past research gaps and new analysis potentials. Recent directions in TTB studies are also discussed together with the potential use of multiday multiyear panel data in TTB research to explore the phenomenon better than before.     

Quantifying the Difference Between Self-Reported and Global Positioning Systems-Measured Journey Durations: A Systematic Review

Accurate measurement of travel behaviour is vital for transport planning, modelling, public health epidemiology, and assessing the impact of travel interventions. Self-reported diaries and questionnaires are traditionally used as measurement tools; advances in Global Positioning Systems (GPS) technology allow for comparison. This review aimed to identify and report about studies comparing self-reported and GPS-measured journey durations. We systematically searched, appraised, and analysed published and unpublished articles from electronic databases, reference lists, bibliographies, and websites up to December 2012. Included studies used GPS and self-report to investigate trip duration. The average trip duration from each measure was compared and an aggregated, pooled estimate of the difference, weighted by number of trips, was calculated. We found 12 results from eight eligible studies. All studies showed self-reported journey times were greater than GPS-measured times. The difference between self-report and GPS times ranged from over-reporting of +2.2 to +13.5 minutes per journey. The aggregated, pooled estimate of the difference, weighted by number of trips, was over-report of +4.4 minutes (+28.6%). Studies comparing self-reported and GPS-measured journey duration have shown self-reported to be consistently over-reported across the study sample. Our findings suggest that when using self-reported journey behaviour, the journey durations should be treated as an over-estimation.     

Development of a biology inspired manufacturing system for machining transmission cases

Disruptions in automated manufacturing systems for machining automotive parts caused by system changes and disturbances reduce the productivity, and increase the downtime as well as the cost of products. To cope with these challenges, the paper presents a biology inspired manufacturing system (Bio-MS). The model of Bio-MS is inherited from the organization of the living systems in biology and nature such as ant colony, school of fish, bee’s foraging behaviors, and so on. In which, the resources of the manufacturing system are considered as biological organisms, which are autonomous entities so that the manufacturing system has the advanced characteristics inspired from biology such as self-adaptation, self-diagnosis, and self-healing. To realize the Bio-MS, the cognitive agent and swarm intelligence were proposed. The disturbances happening when machining the transmission cases at an automotive company in Korea were analyzed to classify them and to find out the corresponding management methods. Currently, the system utilization was too low due to the manual recovery, only 70–76 percent of total production time is used for manufacturing and the rest of the time is wasted in different disturbances. The Bio-MS with autonomous behaviors adapts efficiently to the changes of the manufacturing environment. It enables to increase the system utilization more than 80 percent.     

Robust design optimization of suspension system considering steering pull reduction

This paper presents robust design optimization method to reduce steering pull phenomenon. One of the biggest causes of steering pull phenomenon is tolerance of suspension system such as hard point, spring, damper and bush. Therefore, the relationship between suspension systems and steering pull phenomenon has as nonlinear characteristics. But, it can be very difficult to evaluate the analytical design sensitivity. Thus, it is impossible to directly apply a well-developed optimization algorithm based on gradient information. To avoid these difficulty, this study uses sequential approximation optimization process based on a meta-model. The robust design process has 28 random design variables with tolerance. For efficient design process, the sample variances for the design goals are approximated from meta-models. The proposed approach required only 62 evaluations until it converged. Optimal design reduced the drift by 80% and its deviation by 38.7%, respectively. This result proves that the suggested design method of suspension system is effective and useful.     

Experiments and thermal-electrical analysis of buss bar and relay assemblies in junction blocks

A junction block (or electrical distribution box) is electrical equipment that has been densely assembled from components such as buss bars, relays, and fuses to control the electric current flow in vehicles. Joule heat is generated in these parts as a result of electrical bulk resistance and electrical contact resistance. The generation of heat increases due to the complex behavior of modern vehicle electronic systems. Overheated parts can be damaged during operation due to thermal energy. The thermal assessment of a junction block is an important issue in automobile development. We suggest a methodology to simulate the transient temperature distribution of buss bars and electrical relays in a junction block. A finite element formulation of a coupled electro-thermal problem, which includes the effect of Joule heating, is introduced to the simulation. Finite element analysis (FEA) and experiments at the component level of buss bars and relays are conducted to investigate the thermal performance of a junction block. To verify the accuracy of the FEA procedure, the temperature history obtained by FEA is compared with the results obtained from experiments. The thermal-electric analysis of a typical junction block assembly is also discussed.     

Prediction of failure characteristics of spot welds of DP and trip steels with an equivalent strength failure model

This paper proposes a new equivalent failure strength model for spot welds under combined axial and shear loading. To evaluate the pure-shear strength of spot welds fabricated under the same welding conditions with a two-layered lap joint, a test fixture and a specimen were newly designed and proposed. The failure tests of spot welds of TRIP590 1.2t, DP780 1.0t, DP780 1.2t, and DP980 1.2t were carried out at seven different loading angles ranging from 0° to 90° at an internal angle of 15° to obtain the failure loads. The failure loads obtained from the experiments were utilized to construct the failure criterion and thus describe the failure behavior of spot welds in the crash analysis or strength analysis of an auto-body. It is noted that the value of β in the failure criterion for spot welds of AHSS is different from the values of conventional steels. The new equivalent failure strength model proposed in this paper was derived from the failure test results to provide a representative failure model that can be used to accurately compare the failure characteristics of different materials under the same conditions.     

Gasoline multiple premixed compression ignition (MPCI): Controllable, high efficiency and clean combustion mode in direct injection engines

A novel combustion concept namely “multiple premixed compression ignition” (MPCI) in gasoline direct injection compression ignition (GDICI) regime is proposed. Its predominant feature is the first premixed and followed quasipremixed combustion processes in a sequence of “spray-combustion-spray-combustion”. The multiple-stage premixed combustion decouples the pressure rise with pollutants formation process, which means the pressure rise rate and emissions can be reduced simultaneously, while achieving a high thermal efficiency. The gasoline MPCI mode has been demonstrated in a research engine with a compression ratio of 18.5. Gasoline with the research octane number (RON) of 94.4 was tested under 1400 rpm, 0.6 MPa IMEP conditions, without EGR and intake boosting. A parameter study of common rail pressure and intake temperature was implemented to investigate their effects on the performance of MPCI mode. Compared to the single-stage diffusion combustion in traditional diesel engines, the gasoline MPCI mode achieves lower emissions of soot, NO, CO, as well as slightly higher indicated efficiency, with a penalty of higher THC emissions when the common rail pressure is larger than 80 MPa in this study. With intake temperature sweeping, the gasoline MPCI mode also has the foregoing advantages compared to the diesel under the same operating conditions.