Analysis of neck fractures from frontal collisions at low speeds

Neck fracture is a major cause of death in traffic accidents. This pattern of injury normally occurs in a frontal collision or overturn of a vehicle. This study investigates the case of a neck fracture from a low-speed collision. In the examined case, the passenger in the front seat of the car fractured his neck and died. He did not have his seatbelt on when the vehicle slipped on a frozen road surface on a downward slope of a hill and impacted into the shoulder of the road at low speed. In this type of collision, an occupant’s body will be impacted by the windshield or other interior trim of the car. However, in this case, rather unusually, neither body tissue nor fiber remained although the collision involved a broken windshield. Thus, the reason for the passenger death was unidentified. This study applied the computer simulation package Madymo for analyzing the accident. The result of the simulation was that the passenger, who did not wear a seatbelt, moved forward due to inertia. The upper part of the passenger then rotated and lifted when the knee contacted with the dashboard. By evaluating the structural deformation of the vehicle at the front, we deduced that the collision velocity was 30 km/h. Through a computational experiment that was undertaken using Madymo 7.0, NIC was estimated to be 240 m²/s². This result far exceeded the threshold for neck injuries. In particular, in comparison with whiplash injuries, when the passenger’s head directly impacts the roof following a rear-end collision, the bending moment through hyperextension of the neck is greatly increased. In this study, we concluded that the manner of death was the hyperextension of the neck, as the passenger’s head contacted the roof from underneath.     

基于Petri网建模的机务段管理信息系统的研究与实现

将Petri网建模技术应用于机务段信息化系统的开发过程中,并结合Petri网理论和机务段业务流程的特点,提出了机务段业务流程模型,通过定义的模型5元组来描述各检修过程之间的信息、资源和组织之间的关系,引导过程中的检修活动自动进行,对检修活动所需的资源进行调度分配,从而将各检修活动组织成一个顺畅的工作流程,为机务段业务流程的分析优化以及应用软件系统的开发提供了逻辑模型支持;通过矩阵方程对所建网模型进行性能分析,证明该模型的合理性．该模型能顺应机车检修工艺的变化重组业务流程,实现信息系统的可持续升级．     

梯形轨枕横向预应力张拉工装设备的研制

梯形轨枕设计有横向预应力,采用PC钢棒作为预应力筋,但国内没有相应的工装设备。为满足工期要求、节省生产成本,自行研制开发了梯形轨枕横向预应力张拉装置,它主要由穿心式千斤顶、拉杆、联接螺母、套筒、夹片式锚具和支撑小凳等六部分组成。介绍了工装设备的结构、工作原理与工作步骤。施工实践证明,利用此装置可以满足梯形轨枕横向张拉的工艺要求,安全可靠,操作简单方便,经济效益明显,为推广轨枕横向预应力施工技术创造了条件。     

TransNIEMO: economic impact analysis using a model of consistent inter-regional economic and network equilibria

We describe a model that integrates a multiregional input–output (I–O) model of the USA (for 50 States and the District of Columbia) with the national highway network. Inter-state commodity shipments are placed on a congestible highway network. Simulations of major choke-point disruptions redirect traffic which increases the costs of some shipments. Increased costs show up in higher prices which help to determine a new I–O equilibrium. We find economic and network equilibria that are consistent. The simulations show only moderate economic impacts. We ascribe this to the resilience of the highway network. The model provides State-level detail on who bears the costs of the disruptions.     

黄岛地下水封洞库地应力对裂隙岩体渗透特性影响研究

裂隙岩体渗透特性是评价地下水封洞库水幕系统水封效果的核心内容,而裂隙岩体总是赋存于一定的应力场和渗流场中,因此,研究地下水封洞库地应力对裂隙岩体渗透特性的影响具有重要意义。文章以黄岛地下水封洞库建库围岩为例,首先介绍了裂隙岩体渗流运动的基本规律及应力对渗流作用的影响机理;在此基础上,通过水压致裂法和压水试验分别得到了研究区岩体地应力、渗透特性参数及其随孔深的分布规律,并通过回归分析建立了裂隙岩体渗透系数与地应力关系表达式。结果表明,渗透系数随地应力增大而逐渐减小,并呈负指数变化规律。最后分析了渗透系数与地应力呈负指数关系的主要原因。该研究结果可为地下水封洞库埋深设计、水幕孔布置等提供参考。     

Techniques for inserting additional trains into existing timetables

In this paper techniques for scheduling additional train services (SATS) are considered as is train scheduling involving general time window constraints, fixed operations, maintenance activities and periods of section unavailability. The SATS problem is important because additional services must often be given access to the railway and subsequently integrated into current timetables. The SATS problem therefore considers the competition for railway infrastructure between new services and existing services belonging to the same or different operators. The SATS problem is characterised as a hybrid job shop scheduling problem with time window constraints. To solve this problem constructive algorithm and meta-heuristic scheduling techniques that operate upon a disjunctive graph model of train operations are utilised. From numerical investigations the proposed framework and associated techniques are tested and shown to be effective.     

An activity-based assessment of the potential impacts of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles on energy and emissions using 1-day travel data

This paper assesses the potential energy profile impacts of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles and estimates gasoline and electricity demand impacts for California of their adoption. The results are based on simulations replicating vehicle usage patterns reported in 1-day activity and travel diaries based on the 2000–2001 California Statewide Household Travel Survey. Four charging scenarios are examined. We find that circuit upgrades to 240 V not only bring faster charging times but also reduce charging time differences between PHEV20 and PHEV60; home charging can potentially service 40–50% of travel distances with electric power for PHEV20 and 70–80% for PHEV60; equipping public parking spaces with charging facilities, can potentially convert 60–70% of mileage from fuel to electricity for PHEV20, and 80–90% for PHEV60; and afternoons are found to be exposed to a higher level of emissions.     

Ventilation of bottom water in the North Sea–Baltic Sea transition zone

The transition zone between the North Sea and the Baltic Sea is a highly dynamic region where a general estuarine circulation forms a regional scale frontal system from northern Kattegat to the Arkona Sea. This system is characterized by an upper low saline out?owing Baltic water mass from the in?owing saline Skagerrak bottom water to the Kattegat and Belt Sea area. Large and rapid ?uctuations of the frontal system are caused by barotropic transports, forced by changing sea level difference between northern Kattegat and the western Baltic Sea, and this results in high variability of the hydrographic conditions and also in frequent in- and out?ow events to the Baltic. The dynamics in the region are here analyzed by a regional model of the transition zone, covering the area from the northern Kattegat to the Arkona Sea. The model is validated against water level, temperature and salinity measurements from the region, and the transports through the Danish straits are related to previous estimates and empirical relations. A sensitivity study quantify the role of bathymetry, the tidally induced mixing and the in?owing Skagerrak bottom water for ventilating the bottom water with Skagerrak water or surface water.Furthermore, the dynamics in the region is analyzed with tracers representing the age of the water. The distribution of age tracers with different boundary conditions are analyzed, and the role of advection and mixing for ventilating the bottom water is quanti?ed in terms of the water age. It is shown that the Great Belt area is a very dynamical area where bottom water is ventilated with surface water. The interannual variation of the ventilation of bottom water in the period 2001–2003 is analyzed by various age tracers and related to observed oxygen conditions, and it is shown that the extreme hypoxic event in the autumn 2002 in the southern Kattegat, the Great Belt and in the western Baltic Sea coincide with an unusual low vertical ventilation rate in the Great Belt area, but normal advection rates of bottom water from the northern Kattegat. This indicates that during this particular event, and probably in general, ventilation of bottom water in the Great Belt has signi?cant in?uence on oxygen conditions in the southern part of the region and for ventilation of bottom waters in the western Baltic Sea. In contrast, the central Kattegat is primarily ventilated by advection of bottom water from the Skagerrak. An age tracer representing the ventilation rate of bottom water with either Skagerrak water or surface water is shown to be inversely correlated to the observed oxygen distribution in the region.     

重载货车径向转向架的经济效益及其性能

介绍了Resco Engineering公司研发的货车用构架式径向转向架.经AAR试验表明,与常规转向架及性能良好的转向架相比,Resco径向转向架的曲线通过能力非常优越,动力学稳定性极好.从经济效益角度,概述了采用Resco径向转向架所能产生的一系列节约效果.     

Isotopic composition of carbon and nitrogen of suprabenthic fauna in the NW Balearic Islands (western Mediterranean)

Stable isotope (δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N) analyses were performed on suprabenthic fauna collected in the western Mediterranean (NW Balearic Islands), at depths ranging between 350 and 780 m. Samples were collected seasonally at bi-monthly intervals during six cruises performed between August 2003 and June 2004, using a Macer-GIROQ suprabenthic sledge (0.5 mm mesh size). Twenty-four separate species (5 mysids, 12 amphipods, 2 cumaceans, 2 isopods, 1 euphausiid, 1 decapod and 1 fish) and bulk copepods were analyzed on a seasonal basis for stable carbon and nitrogen isotopes. Stable nitrogen isotope ratios (δ¹⁵N) ranged from 2.3‰ (the amphipod Lepechinella manco in September 2003) to 13.0‰ (the amphipod Rhachotropis caeca in August 2003). δ¹³C values ranged from − 24.2 (the cumacean Campylaspis sulcata in June 2004) to − 16.1 (the amphipod Bruzelia typica in November 2006). Both δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N values suggest that there are three trophic levels within the suprabenthic community. However, considering the bathymetric range of the species, the results suggest that the deepest assemblage supported only two trophic levels. The stable isotope ratios of suprabenthic fauna displayed a continuum of values and confirmed a wide spectrum of feeding types (from filter-feeders to predators). In general, and in spite of the poor knowledge about diets available for most suprabenthic species, higher δ¹⁵N were found for carnivorous amphipods (e.g. Rhachotropis spp., Nicippe tumida) consuming copepods. Low overlap for δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N values was observed, though δ¹⁵N values where less variable than δ¹³C, which suggests high resource partitioning in this assemblage. Seasonal variations in isotopic composition for both δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N were low (less than 1‰ and 3‰, respectively) and variable depending on species. Low correlations between δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N of suprabenthic fauna were found for all periods studied, though increasing from February 2004 to June 2004 (after the main peak of primary production in surface). C:N ratio (indicator of lipid content) showed higher values in summer than in winter. This suggests that lipid content may explain the seasonal patterns of δ¹³C variability and, due to the increase of storage products in phytoplankton and zooplankton, it possibly indicates the peak of primary production at the surface.