Modeling and verification of heavy-duty truck drivers’ car-following characteristics

In order to capture drivers’ car-following characteristics and apply this information to the design of an Adaptive Cruise Control algorithm, this paper builds a driver car-following model with vehicle speed-dependent control gains. Proposed for use with heavy-duty truck drivers, we introduced the concept of driver sensitivity to tracking errors, identified driver’s sensitivity to tracking errors and analyzed quantitatively the relationship between control gain and vehicle speed. To model the driver characteristics precisely and concisely, a SVE/SDE (Sensitivity to Velocity Error/Sensitivity to Distance Error) based linear car-following model was built and a nonlinear optimization algorithm was adopted to identify the model parameters. When validating the model accurancy, we proposed a comparative verification method based on hypothesis-testing theory here to reduce the influence of randomicity in the drivers’ manipulation. The modeling and verification indicate that the proposed car-following model is superior to the tranditional linear car-following model, but its structure still approximates linear, which implies it is applicable for the design of a vehicular following controller.     

Partial range scaling method based washout algorithm for a vehicle driving simulator and its evaluation

Unlike an actual vehicle, a vehicle driving simulator (VDS) has limited kinematics, workspace, and bounded dynamic characteristics making it very difficult to simulate dynamic motions of an actual vehicle. To solve these problems, a washout algorithm was developed. The developed algorithm restricts the workspace of the VDS to within the kinematic limit and makes the person driving the VDS perceive movement of an actual vehicle. However, the classic washout algorithm contains several problems, such as time delay and the generation of a wrong motion signal caused by characteristics of the filters. So the driver feels “simulator sickness,” such as fatigue, nausea, headache and so on because of differences between the sense of movement of the VDS and that of a real vehicle. In this paper, a partial range scaling method based washout algorithm, including a tilt coordination system, is developed to enhance the perception of motion and reduce simulator sickness. It is verified by a simulation, a survey, and a bio signal analysis using an electrocardiogram (ECG).     

Enhancement of NOx-PM trade-off in a diesel engine adopting bio-ethanol and EGR

For realizing a premixed charge compression ignition (PCCI) engine, the effects of bio-ethanol blend oil and exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) on PM-NOx trade-off have been investigated in a single cylinder direct injection diesel engine with the compression ratio of 17.8. In the present experiment, the ethanol blend ratio and the EGR ratio were varied focusing on ignition delay, premixed combustion, diffusive combustion, smoke, NOx and the thermal efficiency. Very low levels of 1.5 [g/kWh] NOx and 0.02 [g/kWh] PM, which is close to the 2009 emission standards imposed on heavy duty diesel engines in Japan, were achieved without deterioration of the thermal efficiency in the PCCI engine operated with the 50% ethanol blend fuel and the EGR ratio of 0.2. It is found that this improvement can be achieved by formation of the premixed charge condition resulting from a longer ignition delay. A marked increase in ignition delay is due to blending ethanol with low cetane number and large latent heat, and due to lowering in-cylinder gas temperature on compression stroke based on the EGR. It is noticed that smoke can be reduced even by increasing the EGR ratio under a highly premixed condition.     

GPS资料获取的四川地区应变率演化状态

为了研究汶川5·12地震事件对青藏高原东南缘及四川盆地的应力再分配作用及该区域现今的地震危险性,使用1997-2015年共计355个GPS站点观测资料获取了该区域1997-2008、2009-2011、2011-2013、2013-2015年共计4期独立的速度场,基于规则格网和张力样条插值方法计算了上述速度结果对应的面膨胀率、垂直轴旋转率及最大剪应变率.以2008年汶川Ms8.0级地震为主要节点,以芦山2013年Ms7.0级地震、康定2014年Ms6.3级地震为参考节点,分析了应变率场的时空演化过程及其与地震事件的潜在关联性.研究结果显示:随着汶川震后的时间推移,沿龙门山断裂的3种应变率分布均有减弱趋势,但至今仍未恢复至震前状态,说明该区域的震后回弹受下地壳黏弹性流变物质的弛豫影响较为显著;安宁河-则木河断裂及周边的面压缩率在汶川地震之后有增强趋势,该趋势可能与区域的地震危险性有所关联;安宁河-则木河断裂带及鲜水河断裂北段是未来一段时间该研究区域内应该持续关注的主要地震危险区.      

Not All Transfers Are Created Equal: Towards a Framework Relating Transfer Connectivity to Travel Behaviour

Abstract

Walking from origins to transit stops, transferring between transit lines and walking from transit stops to destinations—all add to the burden of transit travel, sometimes to a very large degree. Transfers in particular can be stressful and/or time‐consuming for travellers, discouraging transit use. As such, transit facilities that reduce the burdens of walking, waiting and transferring can substantially increase transit system efficacy and use. In this paper, we argue that transit planning research on transit stops and stations, and transit planning practice frequently lack a clear conceptual framework relating transit waits and transfers with what we know about travel behaviour. Therefore, we draw on the concepts of transfer penalties and value of time in the travel behaviour/economics literature to develop a framework that situates transfer penalties within the total travel generalized costs of a transit trip. For example, value of time is important in relating actual time of waiting and walking to the perceived time of travel. We also draw on research to classify factors most important to users’ perspectives and travel behaviour—transfer costs, time scheduling and five transfer facility attributes: (1) access, (2) connection and reliability, (3) information, (4) amenities, and (5) security and safety. Using this framework, we seek to explicitly relate improvements of transfer stops/stations with components of transfer penalties and changes in travel behaviour (through a reduction in transfer penalties). We conclude that the employment of such a framework can help practitioners better apply the most effective improvements to transit stops and transfer facilities.     

Effect of minor elements on the creep resistance of Mg-Zn-Mn-(Ca) alloy

Along with alumium, titanium and composite alloys, magnesium alloys have been given much attention by industry for applications such as lightweight automobiles and electronics because of their high strength, low specific density and good damping characteristics. In this paper, creep tests were done with magnesium alloys (Mg-3% Zn-1% Mn, Mg-1.2% Zn-1% Mn, and Mg-3% Zn-1% Mn-0.3% Ca) containing different amounts of Zn to investigate the effect of Zn and Ca on the deformation behavior and the rupture time for Mg alloy creep under elevated temperatures. The alloys were obtained as follows: (1) pure magnesium (9.7 kg) was melted at 720°C in an SF6 atmosphere; (2) the temperature was increased up to 800–820°C after adding 0.3 kg of pure Mn to make the Mg-1% Mn master alloy; (3) the minor element (Zn, Ca) was added to the master alloy; and (4) the magnesium alloy melts were cast into a metallic mold preheated to 150°C. The creep tests were executed under a constant load and temperature to measure the steady-state rate and rupture time of creep. Based on the experimental results, the creep behavior of the alloys seemed to be controlled by dislocation climb at around 0.5∼0.55T_m (T_m; melting temperature). In addition, the results showed that the addition of Ca was effective for increasing the creep resistance of a Mg alloy: the more Zn present in the alloy, the stronger the creep strength of the alloy.     

New design of a road profiler

Macro and micro road profiles are of significant importance for vehicular motion studies, reliable calculations of vehicle system properties, and ensuring vehicular safety. As such, road profiles should be considered carefully. Macro profiles consider the spatial geometry of the road (curves, longitudinal and lateral slopes) while micro profiles consider roughness in longitudinal and lateral directions. These profiles have random characteristics that can be quantified under onroad and off-road conditions using a road profiler. This paper presents an analysis of a new concept for a universal profiler without gyroscopic stabilizers.     

Rollover mitigation for a heavy commercial vehicle

A heavy commercial vehicle has a high probability of rollover because it is usually loaded heavily and thus has a high center of gravity. An anti-roll bar is efficient for rollover mitigation, but it can cause poor ride comfort when the roll stiffness is excessively high. Therefore, active roll control (ARC) systems have been developed to optimally control the roll state of a vehicle while maintaining ride comfort. Previously developed ARC systems have some disadvantages, such as cost, complexity, power consumption, and weight. In this study, an ARC-based rear air suspension for a heavy commercial vehicle, which does not require additional power for control, was designed and manufactured. The rollover index-based vehicle rollover mitigation control scheme was used for the ARC system. Multi-body dynamic models of the suspension subsystem and the full vehicle were used to design the rear air suspension and the ARC system. The reference rollover index was tuned through lab tests. Field tests, such as steady state cornering tests and step steer tests, demonstrated that the roll response characteristics in the steady state and transient state were improved.     

Active Suspension Control; Performance Comparisons Using Control Laws Applied to a Full Vehicle Model

Based on a mathematical model of an actively suspended vehicle, the effects of the following issues in deriving the control laws are studied:

(a)representation of the ground surface as integrated or filtered white noise.

(b)cross-correlation between left and right track inputs.

(c)wheelbase time delay between front and rear inputs.

The third of these issues is shown to be by far the most important. Considerable improvements at the rear suspension can be obtained if the control law includes the information that the rear input is simply a delayed version of the front input. Effectively this provides feedforward terms in the control law for the rear actuator. For the full state feedback case, these improvements are indicated by reductions in the rear body acceleration and rear dynamic tyre load of around 20% and 40% respectively with no increase in suspension working space.