Changing ownership structures in the Dutch fleet

The new Dutch shipping policy has given rise to high expectation and curiosity in the world of shipping. This, together with the obvious difficulties of an ex-post study of the effectiveness of such innovative policy, has prompted the authors to take an interest in attempting to investigate changes in ownership of the Dutch fleet 2 years after the new policy has been introduced. To do this, a rather new concept of ‘flagging out’ has been adopted, which is interpreted as a process leading to different degrees of ‘foreignness’ in a shipping operation. In this paper, a method to structure is presented, and ownership information, and changes in it are presented, that are essentially based on the theory of stochastic processes. The data used is the Dutch fleet data, which includes information on the nationality of the flag, parent ownership and management over the period 1994–1998. The results yield interesting insights in the shifts in the ownership and operational structure of shipping companies induced by the new policy. In particular, they allow one to establish the origin of new vessels, in which stage of ownership/operation it is most likely that shifts occur, and to determine the relationship between the different stages of the ‘flagging out’ process. These results, thus, enable an evaluation of the areas in which the policy can be expected to yield results.     

Fast passenger ferries and their future

This papers examines the different choices of High Speed Craft (HSC) hull design available and briefly looks at the advantages and disadvantages of each hull form. The trends in various design aspects of HSC such as speed, capacity and size are studied. An investigation on the HSC development is conducted and the future of HSC in the UK is studied. A study onboard an HSC with the aim of trying to determine what passengers think of HSC and why they travel by them is also conducted. Finally, an analysis of the possible market for HSC is carried out.     

A Study in Port Planning: The Example of Mina Zayed

The correct number of berths that a port should provide is solved by a model which minimizes the total port usage cost in terms of the costs of berth provision and the costs accruing to ships from time spent in the port. This model is then applied to Mina Zayed in the Arabian Gulf as an aid to future planning, and from different sets of cargo forecasts an optimal stategy is derived using a game-theoretic approach.     

汽车制动真空助力器真空增压阀的应用与开发

介绍一种有效利用文氏管效应的汽车制动真空助力器真空增压阀的应用。还介绍了其设计原理、产品性能及测试结果。     

Efficiency and ecological characteristics of a VCR diesel engine

Compression ratio (CR) is a design parameter with highest influence on efficiency, emission and engine characteristics. In conventional internal combustion (IC) engines, the compression ratio is fixed and their performance is, therefore, a compromise between conflicting requirements. One fundamental problem is that drive units in the vehicles must successfully operate at variable speed and loads and in different ambient conditions. If a diesel engine has a fixed CR, a minimal value must be chosen that can achieve a reliable self-ignition when starting the engine in cold start conditions. In diesel engines, variable compression ratio (VCR) provides control of peak cylinder pressure, improves cold start ability and low load operation, enabling the multi-fuel capability, increase of fuel economy and reduction of emissions. By application of VCR and other mechanisms, the optimal regime fields are extended to the prime requirements: consumption, power, emission, noise, etc., and/or the possibility of the engine to operate with different fuels is extended. An experimental Diesel engine has been developed at the Faculty of Engineering, University of Kragujevac. The changes of CR are realized by changing the piston chamber diameter. Detailed engine tests were performed at the Laboratory for IC engines. Special attention has been given to decrease of fuel consumption and exhaust emissions. An optimal field of CR variation has been determined depending on the given objectives: minimal fuel consumption, minimal nitric oxides, and particulate matter emissions, etc.     

Effect of rear slant angle on vehicle crosswind stability simulation on a simplified car model

It is important to know the effect of the aerodynamic forces and moments on driving stability because it is responsible for the excitation and influences the response of the vehicle. The purpose of this paper is to study the effect of rear slant angle of a surface vehicle on crosswind sensitivity for stability analysis. The vehicle mathematical model used to conduct a dynamic simulation was based on a simple reduced order lateral dynamics of sideslip and yaw rate motion coupled with aerodynamics model. The intention here is to compare the effect of rear slant angles response to crosswind and to rank the crosswind sensitivity ratings. The aerodynamic loads are defined as the function of the aerodynamic derivatives from the static wind tunnel tests. Result shows a 20° rear slant angle demonstrates the highest rating of crosswind sensitivity, while zero degree slant exhibits the least.     

现代有轨电车系统票务方案初探

现代城市建设迫切需要建立一个多层次、立体化的综合公共交通体系，重点是发展以轨道交通为骨干的公共交通网络：根据各城市的发展实际需要，进行合理规划、科学分析论证，从而建立大、中、低客运量相互匹配的多种形式相结合的客运交通工具。现代有轨电车系统是我国城市轨道交通体系中的崭新模式．具有优越的性能和良好的发展前景。现对现代有轨电车系统的适用性及与其适用的票制、售检票方式等进行研究和探讨。     

早龄期混凝土超声波检测技术

简述早龄期混凝土构件质量的超声波检测原理、判定方法及检测实例。实践证明,用超声波检测早龄期混凝土构件质量是行之有效的。     

市区大型拆除爆破的安全防护及施工组织

以控制爆破拆除沈阳市浑河老桥为例,介绍在市区大型拆除爆破中确定施工队伍、施工方案、安全防护和施工组织的经验,可供在市区内实施大型爆破拆除工程参考。