Spatial Dynamics of Multibody Tracked Vehicles Part II: Contact Forces and Simulation Results

In this part of the paper, three dimensional computational capabilities, that includes significant details, are developed for the nonlinear dynamic analysis of large scale spatial tracked vehicles. Three dimensional nonlinear contact force models that describe the interaction between the track links and the vehicle components such as the rollers, sprockets, and idlers as well as the interaction between the track links and the ground are developed and used to define the generalized contact forces associated with the vehicle generalized coordinates. Tangential friction and contact forces are developed in order to maintain the stability of the track motion and avoid the slippage of the track or its rotation as a rigid body. Body and surface coordinate systems are introduced in order to define the spatial contact conditions. The nonlinear equations of motion of the tracked vehicle are solved using the velocity transformation procedure developed in the first part of this paper. This procedure is used in order to obtain a minimum set of differential equations, and avoid the use of the iterative Newton-Raphson algorithm. A computer simulation of a tracked vehicle that consists of one hundred and six bodies and has one hundred and sixteen degrees of freedom is presented in order to demonstrate the use of the formulations presented in this study.     

Spatial Dynamics of Multibody Tracked Vehicles Part I: Spatial Equations of Motion

In this paper, the nonlinear dynamic equations of motion of the three dimensional multibody tracked vehicle systems are developed, taking into consideration the degrees of freedom of the track chains. To avoid the solution of a system of differential and algebraic equations, the recursive kinematic equations of the vehicle are expressed in terms of the independent joint coordinates. In order to take advantage of sparse matrix algorithms, the independent differential equations of the three dimensional tracked vehicles are obtained using the velocity transformation method. The Newton-Euler equations of the vehicle components are defined and used to obtain a sparse matrix structure for the system dynamic equations which are represented in terms of a set of redundant coordinates and the joint forces. The acceleration solution obtained by solving this system of equations is used to define the independent joint accelerations. The use of the recursive equations eliminates the need of using the iterative Newton-Raphson algorithm currently used in the augmented multibody formulations. The numerical difficulties that result from the use of such augmented formulations in the dynamic simulations of complex tracked vehicles are demonstrated. In this investigation, the tracked vehicle system is assumed to consist of three kinematically decoupled subsystems. The first subsystem consists of the chassis, the rollers, the sprockets, and the idlers, while the second and third subsystems consist of the tracks which are modeled as closed kinematic chains that consist of rigid links connected by revolute joints. The singular configurations of the closed kinematic chains of the tracks are also avoided by using a penalty function approach that defines the constraint forces at selected secondary joints of the tracks. The kinematic relationships of the rollers, idlers, and sprockets are expressed in terms of the coordinates of the chassis and the independent joint degrees of freedom, while the kinematic equations of the track links of a track chain are expressed in terms of the coordinates of a selected base link on the chain as well as the independent joint degrees of freedom. Singularities of the transformations of the base bodies are avoided by using Euler parameters. The nonlinear three dimensional contact forces that describe the interaction between the vehicle components as well as the results of the numerical simulations are presented in the second part of this paper.     

含水率对路用水泥混凝土的影响及微波在线测湿系统

在讨论了含水率对路用土质量的影响因素后，通过对不同种类测试器的分析，确定了较为适用的微波传感器，并给出了微波传感器的输出电压与集料含水率之间的关系式，进而对测试准确度进行计算。     

Fuzzy-logic applied to yaw moment control for vehicle stability

In this paper, we propose a new yaw moment control based on fuzzy logic to improve vehicle handling and stability. The advantages of fuzzy methods are their simplicity and their good performance in controlling non-linear systems. The developed controller generates the suitable yaw moment which is obtained from the difference of the brake forces between the front wheels so that the vehicle follows the target values of the yaw rate and the sideslip angle. The simulation results show the effectiveness of the proposed control method when the vehicle is subjected to different cornering steering manoeuvres such as change line and J-turn under different driving conditions (dry road and snow-covered).     

运用车辆动态模拟装置提高东海道新干线列车的乘坐舒适性

介绍了车辆动态模拟装置在评价车辆乘坐舒适性方面的应用情况,并阐述了车辆动态模拟装置在车辆部件研发过程中的重要作用.     

理解消费者对质量的定义

汽车产品的质量总是会受到巨大的关注。质量较差会导致财务成本的增加,这使得制造商把提升质量作为一项商业必要的手段。过去的数年中有无数方法和流程被用来减少浪费和消除缺陷 (比如6-Sigma法和TQM完全质量管理法)。我们并不缺少这样的衡量工具,来衡量因质量问题和返工而产生的负面经济效益。运用这些衡量工具能够理解质量对每辆车或者公司的盈利能力造成的影响,并且帮助公司取得显著的产品质     

Determinants of the property damage costs of bulk barge accidents

This study investigates determinants of the vessel, cargo, and other-property damage costs of bulk barge accidents in US inland waterways. Tobit estimation of a three-equation recursive model suggests that, in bulk barge accidents: (1) vessel damage cost is greater for collision, fire/explosion, and material/equipment failure accidents than for groundings; (2) cargo damage cost is greater at night and when the weather is foggy and increases with barge age; and (3) otherproperty damage cost is greater for multi-vessel accidents, but decreases with barge size. A dollar of vessel damage cost increases other-property damage cost by $1.38, while a dollar of cargo damage cost increases this cost by $6.90. An important result for formulating bulk barge accident cost-reduction policies is that a given determinant might have a negative effect on one type of damage cost but a positive effect on another.     

Institutional reform in ports of developing countries: the case of Lebanon—part I: the plan

Upon the expiry of the concession contract signed between Lebanon and a private company for the Port of Beirut operation (in December 1990), the Government appointed a temporary commission to operate the port under the rules of the expiring concession. The legality of this measure has since always been questioned, while the temporary commission underwent three major personnel changes which clearly prevented any long-term thinking or planning. In 1998, the temporary commission entered into a 20-year joint venture for the establishment of a container terminal. Meanwhile, Lebanon's two main ports were facing major regional competition, while competing against each other to some degree. Thus, the need became urgent to end the temporary status and propose reforms to the entire sector. To that end, the Ministry of Public Works and Transport was commissed by the Government to propose a permanent institutional framework for the port of Beirut while assessing the need for a national maritime sector regulator. This paper presents the recommendations for the institutional reform of the Lebanese maritime transport sector.     

Lagrangian flow in the California Undercurrent, an observation and model comparison

During the period 1992–1998, 38 isobaric RAFOS floats were deployed to sample the subsurface flow of the California Undercurrent. The deployments, released over the California continental slope west of San Francisco, have sampled robust year-round poleward subsurface flow associated with the Undercurrent most seasons and the combined inshore current and Undercurrent in winter. Two other types of flow have been seen: a region of weak flow with little net displacement just west of the California Undercurrent, and an active westward propagating eddy field. This eddy field appears to be the primary mechanism for moving floats from the Undercurrent into the ocean interior. The observations and statistics from the RAFOS floats are compared with Lagrangian estimates of particles tracked in a global high resolution ocean simulation in order to evaluate the fidelity of the model along an eastern boundary. The results show that the model reproduces the general character of the flow reasonably well, but underestimates both the mean and eddy energies by a substantial amount.     

Estimation of wave-induced ship hull bending moment from ship motion measurements

A time-domain technique for estimating wave-induced ship hull bending moment from ship motion measurements is presented. This technique is developed to improve hull response monitoring systems. Artificial neural networks are used to model the time-domain relationship between the wave-induced vertical bending moment and the coupled heave and pitch motions. The application of the proposed technique is validated using experimental data.