Sense of Place as a Source of Tension in Canada’s West Coast Energy Conflicts

Canada’s west coast has been a hotspot of environmental conflict, most recently in defense of climate action and natural places under threat by energy development. This study examined sense of place as a source of tension in conflicts sparked by two energy proposals. The Bute Inlet run-of-river hydroelectric project would power British Columbia’s remote Central Coast, and the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion would transport bitumen from Alberta’s oil sands to tankers for export. Surveys, interviews, and mapping were used to investigate the depth and character of participants’ sense of favorite places and places expected to be affected by the projects, with appreciation, concern, and responsibility for nature as organizing themes. We discovered a regional, nature-centric sense of place on the south coast, and a sense of place among Albertans linked to that province’s oil and gas economy and its reputation as Canada’s chief breadwinner. Ties to natural places were found to underpin environmental advocacy by tapping into deep place connections as well as place connections conveyed through network ideologies and the protests themselves. We outline for consideration key characteristics of a regional sense of place, and offer ways to mitigate place-based economy versus environment conflicts.     

Modelling and optimisation of online container stacking with operational constraints

Container transportation plays a critical role in the global shipping network and container terminals need to improve their operations to increase efficiency. Storage yard of a container terminal is a temporary area where the containers stay until they are shipped to their next destination. We concentrate on increasing the efficiency of the storage yard by developing online stacking policies for each incoming container. An unproductive move of a container, performed to reach another container stored underneath, is called reshuffling. The objective in container stacking problem is to minimise the number of reshuffles, thereby increasing the efficiency of terminal operations. Additional weight-related operational constraints bring additional complexity to the online stacking decisions. We propose a mathematical model for the optimal online assignment of an incoming export, transit, import or empty container. We also propose an optimal online stacking policy and compare it with a random policy through simulation. Additionally, lower bounds for the performance measures are obtained through simulation by relaxing the operational constraints of the problem in a third stacking policy. We present and discuss the computational results in terms of four main performance measures.     

Virtual product development for an automotive universal joint

Constant velocity universal joints play a very important role in automotive drivelines. The traditional development method, based on a physical prototype and experimenting, is time consuming and costly. This test-based method does not easily identify rational design clues. Therefore, a virtual product development method, which is based on dynamics modeling and simulation, is necessary. Virtual prototyping for a universal joint has been developed using the simulation software package MSC.ADAMS. Dynamics simulation has been performed to predict and evaluate joint behaviors. This virtual product development method has been implemented by the WanXiang Group Co., which is one of the most famous Chinese automotive component manufacturers.     

Development of a hardware in the loop simulation system for electric power steering in vehicles

In this paper, a hardware-in-the-loop simulation (HILS) system was developed before the development of an electric power steering (EPS) system in a vehicle. This study was focused on the establishment of the HILS system. Driving conditions are simulated with the HILS system. The actual steering input parameters are confirmed on the monitor while driving the HILS system. The steering forces observed in the simulation with the developed HILS system are similar to those in real vehicle tests. The developed HILS system can be applied in the development of various types of EPS systems.     

Road identification in monocular color images using random forest and color correlogram

This paper presents a system to identify road and non-road regions from monocular color images of paved and unpaved roads. Despite being a single object, the road in these images is subject to large changes in appearance due to environmental effects and track materials. This condition has challenged the practical application of road identification. The proposed system combines random forest with color correlogram to overcome such conditions and offers a classifier for road and non-road regions in traffic images. As a color feature, the color correlogram depicts the spatial correlation of color changes in an image. Using random forest, road identification is formulated as a learning paradigm. The combined effects of color correlograms and random forest create a robust system capable of identifying roads even in variable situations in real time. This combination is more effective than other combinations, such as a color histogram plus random forest, a color correlogram plus neural network, or a color histogram plus neural network.     

Compensation factor method for modeling springback of auto parts constructed with high-strength steel

To more accurately manufacture an auto-body workpiece, a predictive compensation factor method was used to predict the workpiece’s springback, and the factors influencing springback are introduced. Based on this method, a numerical simulation was produced to simulate the springback compensation after distortion of the workpiece. After analyzing the simulation results, a compensation method was introduced to reduce the springback influence on an actual workpiece. Here, we used a fortified B-pillar, which is a kind of longitudinal stand-frame workpiece, made with a high-strength steel material (TRIP700). The simulation results indicated that the proposed method is feasible and can be efficiently used for predicting the distortion of springback compensation of an auto-body workpiece.     

Isrss: Integrated side/rear safety system

As driver assistant systems (DAS) and active safety vehicles (ASV) with various functions become popular, it is not uncommon for multiple systems to be installed on a vehicle. If each function uses its own sensors and processing unit, it will make installation difficult and raise the cost of the vehicle. As a countermeasure, research integrating multiple functions into a single system has been pursued and is expected to make installation easier, decrease power consumption, and reduce vehicle pricing. This paper proposes a novel side/rear safety system using only one scanning laser radar, which is installed in the rear corner of the driver’s side. Our proposed system, ISRSS (integrated side/rear safety system), integrates and implements four system functions: BSD (blind spot detection), RCWS (rear collision warning system), semi-automatic perpendicular parking, and semi-automatic parallel parking. BSD and RCWS, which operate while the vehicle is running, share a common signal processing result. The target position designation for perpendicular parking and parallel parking situations is based on the same signal processing. Furthermore, as system functions during running and those during automatic parking operate in exclusive situations, they can share common sensors and processing units efficiently. BSD and RCWS system functions were proved with 13025 and 2319 frames, respectively. The target position designation for perpendicular and parallel parking situations was evaluated with 112 and 52 situations and shows a success rate of 98.2% and 92.3%, respectively.     

Performance of radial-type metal foam diesel particulate filters

An analytical study of the performance of a radial-type, metal foam diesel particulate filter is reported. A mathematical model for the filtration and regeneration of soot in a metal foam filter was developed. Nickel foam was selected for the filter medium due to its large specific area, high porosity, and high thermal resistance. For various metal foams, the filtration efficiency and the pressure drop through the filter were calculated, as was the deposition of soot. The results from the analytical model were compared with experimental data. In comparison with a conventional wall flow filter, the metal foam diesel particulate filter (DPF) is effective in utilizing the volume of material, due to the porous structures. As the size of the metal foam pores in the DPF increases from 580 μm to 800 μm, the filtration efficiency decreases from 90% to 50%, and the pressure drop decreases from 380 mbar to 20 mbar. The metal foam DPF with a large pore size is effective in utilizing the volume of material with a small pressure drop. The regeneration is completed within four minutes by the flow of hot exhaust gases under full load conditions.     

Optimization of bus rollover strength by consideration of the energy absorption ability

Buses are an integral part of the national transportation system of each country. A rollover event is one of the most important hazards that concerns the safety of the passengers and the crew in a bus. In the past, it was observed after the accident that the deforming superstructure seriously threatens the lives of the passengers. Thus, the stiffness of the bus frame is the first thing that needs to be considered. The unfortunate side of strengthening the bus superstructure is that it usually causes the bus weight to increase. This paper presents an efficient and robust analysis method with which to design the bus superstructure for a reduction in occupant injuries from rollover accidents while the weight of the strengthened bus is maintained at the same level. First, the absorbed energy of the bus frame and its components during a rollover were investigated by using a LS-DYNA numerical study. The highest energy absorption region, which is the side section of the bus frame, was found and focused on for the investigation of a means to re-distribute the energy-absorption ability of the side frame component. Then the thickness parameters that were obtained from the re-distribution of the energy-absorption ability were used in the analysis to optimize the design. Finally, a prototype of the bus with a reasonable thickness for the window pillars and the side wall bars, which was based on the optimized parameters, was verified to ensure it satisfied ECE R66. In this paper, an effective usage of materials and an efficient and robust analysis method were presented to design the bus superstructure. Although the optimization process for increasing the stiffness is simple, this study improves the upper displacement by 39.9% and the lower displacement by 49.3% (versus the bus survivor space) while maintaining the bus weight at the existing level.     

Subjective well-being related to satisfaction with daily travel

Previous research demonstrates an impact on subjective well-being (SWB) of affect associated with routine performance of out-of-home activities. A primary aim of the present study is to investigate whether satisfaction with daily travel has a positive impact on SWB, either directly or indirectly through facilitating the performance of out-of-home activities. A secondary aim is to determine whether emotional-symbolic or instrumental reasons for car use results in higher satisfaction with daily travel than other travel modes. A survey of a population-based sample of 1,330 Swedish citizens included measures of car access and use, satisfaction with daily travel, satisfaction with performance of out-of-home routine activities, and affective and cognitive SWB. The results confirmed that the effect on affective and cognitive SWB of satisfaction with daily travel is both direct and indirect via satisfaction with performance of activities. Percent weekly car use had a small effect on satisfaction with daily travel and on affective SWB, although fully mediating the effect of satisfaction with performance of the activities. This suggests that car use plays a minor role for satisfaction with daily travel and its effect on SWB. This role may be larger if investigated after a forced reduced car use.