A reduced-gravity model of the Catalan Sea

A reduced-gravity model is used to study the effects of the wind on the upper layer circulation in the Catalan Sea. The model parameters were set by observed features of the circulation in the basin. It is shown that the results are particularly sensitive to the open sea boundary conditions. Simulations were done using the following boundary fluxes: (i) mean values estimated by Bethoux (1980) and (ii) more recent geostrophic transports computed from hydrographic data by Font et al. (1988). The latter seem to lead to more realistic circulation patterns. The influence of seasonal winds (climatological data) on the dynamics is clear, especially during the winter.     

Growth of urban transportation: Peoples republic of China

The Peoples Republic of China, with its great urban populations, is finding it necessary to develop a range of strategies to deal with increasing demand for goods and people movement, increasing motorization and the increasing congestion that results from the increasing travel demand. This paper discusses strategies being adopted in two northern cities, Changchun and Shenyang. Both transit and roadway programs are examined for Changchun. Problems and successes of a new toll road are examined for Shenyang. Sustained infrastructure investment is essential to assure the necessary mobility for economic growth.     

Origin–destination synthesis for aviation network data: examining hub operations in the domestic and international US markets

Hub‐and‐spoke networking is a key feature of current aviation markets in which hubs, as connecting points, function to consolidate and redistribute flows. This indicates that observation of traffic on a segment does not necessarily convey information about the origin to destination routing of passenger journeys because of the unavoidable detours in the system. This paper examines the heterogeneity of the flow composition in domestic and international US markets, which in turn allows us to observe the variation of operations across major hubs. A modified Route Flow Estimator for origin–destination synthesis (or origin–destination matrix estimation) is designed to decompose the segment traffic into itinerary‐based passenger trips. Several public and commercial databases, which are easily accessible, are exploited (and reconciled) for the model in order to (i) generate possible trip itineraries using those segment markets, and (ii) link data‐driven operational conditions with the underlying segment flows. The results are validated with US domestic trip observations and empirical knowledge related to the air transportation system. Then, the variability of the hub operations is examined based on sensitivity tests using the model parameters. From the resolution of itinerary‐based estimates, we observe that major airports' hub operations are spatially uneven, particularly with respect to domestic and international connecting passengers. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The influence of the Agulhas Current on the adjacent coastal ocean: possible impacts of climate change

The dynamics of the coastal ocean along the southeastern coast of Africa is dominated by a strong and intense western boundary current, the Agulhas Current. With a near-uniform, narrow continental shelf and a steep shelf slope that stabilizes this current, the trajectory of the Agulhas exhibits great stability. The only substantial perturbation occurs with the irregular passage of a Natal Pulse, a soliton meander. The initiation of this meander at the Natal Bight is due to a barotropic instability when the intensity of the landward border of the current exceeds a certain threshold value. This may come about with natural fluctuations in the current or with the adsorption of deep-sea eddies onto the current. Under a climate change scenario of altered wind stress curl over the South Indian Ocean it is conceivable that the threshold for the triggering of a Natal Pulse will occur more frequently. This will lead to a situation where the current axis on average lies further offshore. The possible consequences of such a situation on the rainfall of the coast, on the ecology of estuaries and the coastal ocean, and on the socio-economics of the region is discussed.     

Out-of-home activities,daily travel,and subjective well-being

It is argued that utility theory that underpins current cost-benefit analyses of daily travel needs to be complemented. An alternative theoretical framework is to this end proposed which applies subjective well-being (SWB) to travel behaviour analysis. It is posited in this theoretical framework that participation in goal-directed activities, facilitated or hindered by travel, contributes to SWB, that the degree of travel-related stress in participating in these activities reduces SWB, and that positive affect associated with travel in itself has an impact on SWB.     

The Alternative Motor Fuels Act, alternative-fuel vehicles, and greenhouse gas emissions

The corporate average fuel economy (CAFE) standard is the major policy tool to improve the fleet average miles per gallon of automobile manufacturers in the US. The Alternative Motor Fuels Act (AMFA) provides special treatment in calculating the fuel economy of alternative-fuel vehicles to give manufacturers CAFE incentives to produce more alternative-fuel vehicles. AMFA has as its goals an increase in the production of alternative-fuel vehicles and a decrease in gasoline consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. This paper examines theoretically the effects of the program set up under AMFA. It finds that, under some conditions, this program may actually increase the production of fuel-inefficient gasoline vehicles, gasoline consumption and greenhouse gas emissions.     

Rail freight transportation: A review of recent optimization models for train routing and empty car distribution

This paper describes two types of rail transportation problems in detail. These are train routing and makeup, and empty car distribution problems. Some of the recent optimization models which address these problems are reviewed and the areas for potential improvements in rail transportation literature are identified. The type of interactions which exist between routing, makeup, and empty car distribution decisions are highlighted and potential areas for future research are identified.     

Off-set crack propagation analysis under mixed mode loadings

An assessment was carried out herein to study the eccentricity of cracks subjected to mixed-mode loadings. Several loading locations relative to a central line were selected to induce mixed-mode loadings, which were computed using a finite element method. An adaptive meshing technique was adopted during the simulation of crack propagation to ensure the singularity of stress at the tip of the crack. The stress intensity failure criterion was used and programmed, and the node splitting technique was used when the stress intensity factor reached the fracture toughness of the material to simulate crack propagations. It was found that large variations in the stress intensity factor were observed when off-set cracks were used, and that K _II decreased when loading distance increased, but increased when the off-set crack distance was increased. Both crack eccentricity and loading distance played important roles in producing mixed-mode loading, compared to the influence of central cracks. Correction factors were introduced to modify the calculation of stress intensity factors under mixed-mode loadings. Simulations of crack propagation were also conducted to study the effects of crack eccentricities and loading distances. It was found that the crack length, the loading distance relative to the central crack and the crack eccentricity dominated calculations of the integrity of cracked structures.     

Model-based design of a variable nozzle turbocharger controller

Variable Nozzle Turbocharger (VNT) was invented to solve the problem of matching an ordinary turbocharger with an engine. VNT can harness exhaust energy more efficiently, enhance intake airflow response and reduce engine emissions, especially during transient operating conditions. The difficulty of VNT control lies in how to regulate the position of the nozzle at different engine working conditions. The control strategy designed in this study is a combination of a closed-loop feedback controller and an open-loop feed-forward controller. The gain-scheduled proportional-integral-derivative (PID) controller was implemented as the feedback controller to overcome the nonlinear characteristic. As it is difficult to tune the parameters of the gain-scheduled PID controller on an engine test bench, system identification was used to identify the plant model properties at different working points for a WP10 diesel engine on the test bench. The PID controller parameters were calculated based on the identified first-order-plus-dead-time (FOPDT) plant model. The joint simulation of the controller and the plant model was performed in Matlab/Simulink. The time-domain and frequency-domain performances of the entire system were evaluated. The designed VNT control system was verified with engine tests. The results indicated that the real boosting pressure traced the target boosting pressure well at different working conditions.     

Deflection test and transmission error measurement to identify hypoid gear whine noise

T-Hypoid gears are commonly used in rear-drive and 4WD (4 Wheel Drive) vehicle axles. Investigating their sensitivity to deflections is one of the most important aspects of their design and optimization procedures. Therefore, a deflection test was performed in this study in the actual gear mounting using completely processed gear. This test covered the full operating range of gear loads from “no load” to “peak load”. Under peak load, the contact pattern extended to the tooth boundaries without showing a concentration of the contact pattern at any point on the tooth surface. The transmission error was tested under an axle assembly triaxial-real-car-load condition.