应用于车辆实时动力学仿真的悬架模型

针对车辆动力学实时仿真的要求提出一种新的悬架建模方法。将悬架系统视为车身与车轮之间的无质量复合约束，利用悬架杆系的多体运动学模型和准动力学模型来分析悬架系统的运动和力学传动特性，从而悬架动力学问题简化为代数方程组的求解。与基于侧倾／力矩中心理论建立的等交悬架模型相比，该方法可分析悬架杆系内部作用力，并能更准确地描述悬架在水平方向的约束作用；与应用传统多体动力学理论建立的模型相比，该方法解决了仿真实时性的问题。基于这种方法建立了国产某轿车麦弗逊式悬架模型，并将仿真结果和道路试验及ADAMS仿真结果进行了对比，有较好的一致性。     

Overview of Coupling of Multibody and Control Engineering Tools

The role of Computer Aided Engineering in vehicle development has been significantly increased during the last decade. Specialised simulation tools became very complex, however, growing demands on complexity and particularly interdisciplinarity of vehicles and their simulation models have led to a number of approaches trying either to develop multidisciplinary simulation tools or to connect various specialised simulation tools by interfaces. This paper addresses some aspects of interconnection of the specialised simulation tools as one possibility for simulating complex mechatronic vehicle systems. It classifies the interfaces between specialised software packages in general, mentions some historical development of the interfacing and further discusses the examples of the implemented couplings between the Multibody System codes and Computer Aided Control Engineering tools. Finally, the performance of selected interfaces is compared on an example simulation of a controlled vehicle suspension.     

The <Emphasis Type="Italic">Santiago Panel</Emphasis>: measuring the effects of implementing Transantiago

Although panels offer significant advantages over cross sectional data especially in terms of evaluating the effects of significant policy changes, there are precious few examples of panels built around an important change to an urban transport system. For this reason we took the opportunity of the introduction of Transantiago, a radically new public transport system for Santiago de Chile in February 2007, to form a panel, the first wave of which was taken in December 2006. The final objective was to use this Santiago Panel to estimate mode choice models considering both inertia and policy effects. This document describes both the design and construction of the panel, and presents some results based on an analysis of its four waves; for example, we registered a high percentage of mode change (55.1%) attributable to the introduction of the new system. The panel can claim the highest response rate (or lowest attrition) reported in the literature (95% in the second wave, 92% in the third one, and 85% in the forth one). This hints at the possibility of developing sophisticated models to evaluate the effects of a system shock in the presence of inertia in decision making.     

The taxi industry: working conditions and health of drivers,a literature review

The taxi industry plays an important role in urban transportation systems, both in economic and mobility terms. In the case of the former, it provides employment for a large number of people and circulates significant amounts of money. In the case of the latter, it is a flexible means of transportation capable of arriving at any destination. Although the way the taxi industry is organised varies across countries and even within countries, some factors are shared at varying latitudes of the globe. Working conditions, habits, health, and exposure to road crashes have been a subject of interest for researchers from various disciplines, including medicine, psychology, and economics. However, much of this research focuses on a part of the problem and is not mutually referential. A review of the literature may be useful not only to researchers of diverse disciplines but also to industry representatives and those public officials responsible for transportation, road safety and health policy. This article provides a comprehensive review of the working conditions of taxi drivers, their relationship to road risk exposure and their consequences on the health of workers. It also includes information on coping strategies and protective behaviors. The review is based on a Scopus database search. The search covered the period from 1990 to 2015. This initial search was complemented with other database searches, which yielded some additional studies. Our goal was to summarise existing knowledge, identify possible lines of research and suggest some practical recommendations. It would be important (a) to reduce the workload, establish adequate time for breaks, and provide access to healthcare, (b) to implement actions to promote and maintain healthy habits, (c) to diagnose, detect and treat indicators of occupational fatigue and stress, and (d) to develop programs that make it possible to evaluate work concerns and broaden coping strategies to foster positive changes.     

A literature review of flexible development of airport terminals

The Master Plan has long been the traditional go-to approach to airport development. It was originally conceived for a scenario of stable growth. In recent decades, however, the airport industry has undergone substantial structural changes, with the traditional Master Plan progressively revealing limitations with regard to airports coping with the market’s unpredictability. There have since been increased calls for flexibility in the approach as an alternative or as a complement to the traditional Master Plan. A flexible development plan helps to accommodate changes within terminals. This paper presents a review of the current literature on airport terminal flexibility, covering a total of 19 reference works. The works were analysed in terms of the concepts, definitions and deployment frameworks, or similar. The review reveals that research in airport terminal flexibility is still in its early stages. A consensual definition has yet to be defined and no robust framework for deploying flexibility has been defined. We propose a new definition of flexible development. Furthermore, flexibility has been studied essentially in the context of expansion. However, in certain regions where land availability is scarce, other forms of airport development may be more important. We conclude the paper with suggestions for future research areas.     

Top-down effects and carbon flux in the ocean: A hypothesis

The close relationships between mesozooplankton, chlorophyll, and primary production normally observed across latitudes may be regarded as a bottom-up effect of increased productivity or, conversely, as a top-down effect of mesozooplankton on microzooplankton, releasing phytoplankton growth. The time-course of primary producers and mesozooplankton observed during the Late Winter Bloom in subtropical waters suggests a top-down effect, similar to the results found in lakes and mesocosm experiments. Two scenarios were observed during the development of the bloom in the Canary Island waters. The first was the increase in mesozooplankton as the effect of higher primary production due to mixing. The second scenario was the decrease in mesozooplankton due to the top-down effect of predation by diel vertical migrants upon epipelagic mesozooplankton. The structure of the food web in the euphotic zone was different depending on the presence or not of mesozooplankton, suggesting important consequences for the transport of carbon in those large areas of the ocean.     

Hydrographic structure and zooplankton abundance and diversity off Paita, northern Peru (1994 to 2004) — ENSO effects, trends and changes

The objective of the present study was to verify possible spatial, seasonal, and inter-annual changes in the zooplankton off Paita (northern Peru), an upwelling area located closely to the limits of cold Humboldt Current and warm Equatorial Surface Waters. Zooplankton was sampled at subsurface on 53 occasions from August 1994 to December 2004 at four stations located 2 to 30 km offshore with a WP-2 net (300 µm). Extremely high surface water temperatures combined with low salinities were observed during the 1997/98 El Niño up to 29.0 °C) and in April 2002 (up to 25.0 °C). Temperatures more than 2 °C above monthly average were also observed in October 1994, in April 2000, and in November 2004. Significant trends were observed for oxygen concentration (increase) and several horizontal and vertical gradients. Among the copepods (72% of all individuals), the most abundant species were Paracalanus parvus (28%), Acartia tonsa (26%), and Calanus sp. (10%). The strong 1997–98 El Niño (EN) event led to drastic changes in species composition that were reversed during the 1998–99 La Niña (LN) event. Community parameters such as total abundance, diversity, equitability and species richness displayed marked variations associated with the 1997–98 EN and long-term trends. Long-term trends were significant for several vertical and horizontal temperature and oxygen gradients, indicating an increase in upwelling intensity at the shelf during the study period. 10-year-trends were also significant for total zooplankton abundance (increase) and community evenness (J, decline). Our data confirmed the importance of the weak EN in 2002/03 for the study region. Within the trend of increasing zooplankton abundance, a sharp step or shift was observed from 1999 to 2000. When using sequential t-tests to detect shifts in (x + 1) transformed abundance data, a significant rupture was found between the last sampling in 1999 and the first sampling in 2000. Also, a substantial decrease in diel variability occurred after 1999, probably due to changes in vertical migration patterns. The considerable increase in zooplankton abundance over the study period, the ENSO effect, and the 1999–2000 transition are discussed with regard to synchronicity with other zooplankton time series. The present study contributes with the first evidence from an important area located in the Humboldt Current for synchronous trends and changes that were previously observed elsewhere in the Pacific. Our results demonstrated the importance of long-term zooplankton monitoring studies in upwelling areas, and confirms the idea of dramatic changes in pelagic ecosystem structure occurring in the East Pacific.     

Optimizing bus-size and headway in transit networks

Optimization models for calculating the best size for passenger carrying vehicles in urban areas were popular during the 1980s. These studies were abandoned in the ‘90s concluding that it was more efficient to use smaller buses at higher frequencies. This article returns to this controversial question, starting from the point of view that any calculation of bus size can only be made after considering the demand for each of the routes on the system. Therefore, an optimization model for sizing the buses and setting frequencies on each route in the system is proposed in accordance with the premises detailed below. The proposed model is a bi-level optimization model with constraints on bus capacity. The model allows buses of different sizes to be assigned to public transport routes optimizing the headways on each route in accordance with observed levels of demand. At the upper level the model considers the optimization of the system’s social and operating costs, these are understood to be the sum of the user’s and operator’s costs. At the lower level there is an assignment model for public transport with constraints on vehicle capacity which balances the flows for bus sizes and headways at each iteration. By graphically representing the results of the model applied to a real case, a series of useful conclusions are reached for the management and planning of a fleet of public transport vehicles.     

Participation and desire: leisure activities among Canadian adults with disabilities

As a signatory of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, Canada has assumed the obligation to foster the fundamental right of individuals with impairments to participate in all normal activities and relationships of society. Currently, however, relatively little is known about the extent to which Canadians with disabilities are able to exercise of this right. Previous research has investigated the employment status and commute distance of persons with disabilities in Canada. In this paper, we use the 2006 Participation and Activity Limitation Survey to investigate, from the perspective of Canadian adults with disabilities, the factors that influence (1) their frequency of participation in various leisure and recreation activities; (2) the role of transportation in activity participation; and (3) the desire for more leisure and recreation activities during spare time. The latter question is closely associated to the experience of exclusion. The results of the analysis indicate that some of the very factors that tend to reduce participation also relate to a desire for more leisure and recreation activities.     

Nonlinear gating control for urban road traffic network using the network fundamental diagram

This work proposes a nonlinear model predictive controller for the urban gating problem. The system model is formalized based on a research on existing models of the network fundamental diagram and the perimeter control systems. For the existing models, modifications are suggested: additional state variables are allocated to describe the queue dynamics at the network gates. Using the extended model, a nonlinear model predictive controller is designed offering a ‘non‐greedy’ policy compared with previous, ‘greedy’ gating control designs. The greedy and non‐greedy nonlinear model predictive control (NMPC) controllers are compared with a greedy linear feedback proportional‐integral‐derivative (PID) controller in different traffic situations. The proposed non‐greedy NMPC controller outperforms the other two approaches in terms of travel distance performance and queue lengths. The performance results justify the consideration of queue lengths in dynamic modeling, and the use of NMPC approach for controller design. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.