A comparative study on the structural integrity of single and double side skin bulk carriers under collision damage

The primary aim of the present study is to investigate the collision resistance and residual strength of single side skin (SSS) and double side skin (DSS) bulk carriers subject to collision damage. The impact dynamics analyses were conducted using ANSYS LS-DYNA for the evaluation resistance forces, energy absorption and penetration depth for various collision scenarios. The struck vessels of Capsize SSS and DSS designs were assumed to be entirely standstill and the striking vessels of an Aframax-type oil tanker with different bulbous bow shapes were modeled as rigid bodies. The findings were compared, where possible, with existing analytical tools. Residual strength calculations on SSS and DSS vessels were computed corresponding to all considered collision damage scenarios. Traditional Smith's method was applied with the average stress — average strain relationships of elements based on derived semi - analytically. The effect of corrosion was also evaluated by Joint Bulker Project (JBP) Rules on the influence of plate and stiffener thickness. The safety of the vessels was determined as a ratio of the ultimate hull girder strength to bending moment in damaged condition. Finally, results and insights derived from the present work are summarized.     

The economics of port pricing

This short paper is concerned with the problem of improving the methods currently used to price port facilities. It presents a simple economic model of how an optimal pricing policy may be arrived at, employing an adaptation of an interactive supply-demand framework initially developed in the context of allocating car-parking places in urban areas. The model demonstrates the basic economic tenet that charges should be set equal to the full marginal social opportunity cost (M.S.O.C.) of facilities used, with premiums added where capacity restrictions would otherwise lead to excessive queueing. The use of a probability demand curve shows that one of the main fears of the anti-pricing school, namely excessive resource misallocation due to miscalcuations of the marginal cost, tends to be exaggerated. Further, it is argued that many of the other arguments set out against marginal cost pricing of ports are either ill-founded or unlikely to be of practical importance—ports are little different to other goods and services consumed in the economy and standard economic policies apply to them.     

The safety of ferries: an accident injury perspective

This study investigates determinants of fatal and non-fatal injuries in ferry vessel accidents. Poisson regression estimates indicate that fatal and non-fatal injuries are 3.35 and 4.46% higher for fire/explosion than for material/equipment failure or grounding accidents, and 3.13 and 3.38% higher for multi-vessel than for single-vessel accidents. Non-fatal injuries are higher when the weather is foggy but less at night and the older the ferry. Estimated marginal effects indicate that every 100 fire/explosion accidents result in 6.1 fatal injuries, while each fire/explosion accident results in approximately one non-fatal injury.     

An actuary method for the estimation and comparison of urban bus transit cost of services

This paper presents a new cost allocation method developed for estimating the fully-allocated costs of the excess peak hour bus transit service provided by two public transit systems. The estimates were produced for the explicit purpose of carrying out a realistic comparison of these costs and the costs of the potential provision of the same service by private operators. The method utilizes the same service data for the analysis. The pragmatic estimation of the fully allocated costs of service by the public and private sectors enables a more accurate estimation of potential cost savings. Sensitivity analysis was also performed using the same costing procedure to determine the range of cost savings that are feasible in a competitive contract arrangement of private sector providers. The new method separates costs of the direct provision of service from other indirect costs and thus facilitates the identification of each cost item and its significance in comparative cost estimates.     

A methodology for planning bus service

A methodology to assist transportation planners in designing bus services is developed. The methodology is most relevant for use in locations where bus service of the type being studied does not currently exist and therefore no information is available on past choice behavior, or in instances when transferability of travel models estimated in another location is difficult. The methodology assesses the sensitivity of bus service characteristics upon intended bus usage using survey data collected in Orange County, California, by the Orange County Transit District (OCTD). The methodology is based on a nonparametric statistical test developed by Kolmogorov and Smirnov.Scenarios describing hypothetical operations of bus service are presented to survey respondents who indicate their intended levels of bus usage under each situation. Significant differences between the response distributions associated with pairs of scenarios are identified and potential ridership levels, as bus operations become more favorable, are assessed. Various user segments are then identified on the basis of their levels of intended bus usage and the corresponding marketing implications associated with each segment are discussed.     

A multiple criteria approach for the evaluation of the rail transit networks in Istanbul

The deficiencies in the Istanbul transportation system have led the local authorities to plan several alternative transportation projects. In this paper three alternative rail transit network proposals are evaluated by using Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP), a multiple criteria decision support system. The AHP facilitates decision-making by organizing perceptions, experiences, knowledge and judgments, the forces that influence the decision, into a hierarchical framework with a goal, scenarios, criteria and alternatives of choice. Based on this analysis, the decision makers have developed a new alternative as a combination of the most closely competing two alternative rail transit networks. This combination rail transit network is currently under construction.     

An Experimental Investigation of Preview Control

There is mounting theoretical evidence to suggest that preview control can be of substantial benefit to a semi-active suspension for random road inputs. In this paper, the benefits of wheel-base preview control are measured experimentally, using a prototype semi-active damper in a half-car 'Hardware-in-the-loop' (HiL) rig with a planar two-axle heavy vehicle model. The benefits of preview control using the prototype semi-active damper are found to be less than theoretically possible, due to the phase lag between the demanded and achieved damping force. It is shown that the performance of the prototype damper can be improved significantly by having a theoretical simulation running ahead of the HiL vehicle. The theoretical simulation is used to predict the demanded damper force for the HiL vehicle, and thereby compensate for the phase lag in the prototype damper.     

钢管混凝土拱桥徐变影响分析

基于龄期调整有效模量法推导出钢管混凝土轴心受压构件徐变系数公式,采用该公式对钢管混凝土轴心受压构件进行徐变分析.由徐变预测结果与试验数据比较可知,在CEB-FIP 78、CEB-FIP 90及ACI 209R等3种典型徐变系数模式中,ACI 209R模式较其它两种徐变系数模式更为合理.采用ACI 209R徐变系数模式对...