Approximate Dynamic Shimmy Response of Pneumatic Tires*

An improved approximation of the theory of the dynamic frequency response of side force and aligning torque acting upon the rolling wheel when the latter is moved laterally and swivelled about the vertical axis, is presented. The method is particularly suitable for application in vibration problems of steering and suspension systems of automobiles and aircraft where relatively high speed and high frequency phenomena play a role. The theoretical results show satisfactory agreement with experimental data. Calculations indicate that the inertia of the tire decreases the tendency to shimmy at higher frequencies and speeds of travel. For castered wheels however, tire inertia may have an adverse effect due to its unfavorable influence upon the side force response to swivel motions.     

India’s air traffic: towards an empirical framework for systems analysis

The paper explores patterns of flows within India’s Air Traffic System through the lens of carriers’ networks and route structures between 2006 and 2014. Through observations of frequency distributions and their distinct patterns an analytic framework is derived heuristically by means of classification and aggregation. The well-known skewed traffic distribution which spatially concentrates traffic around relatively few airports serves as the starting point for decomposing the air traffic system (ATS) into its constituent route types. Airline operations along distinct route classes allows for classifying individual carrier’s network features as an embedded part of the system. Discussion of their role includes a spatial component. Inferences about development paths – past, present, future – of the Indian commercial ATS can be made.     

Numerical Investigation of Sloshing Under Roll Excitation at Shallow Liquid Depths and the Effect of Baffles

Sloshing is relevant in several applications like ship tanks, space and automotive industry and seiching in harbours. Due to the relationship between ship and s...     

Optimisation of laser-welded sandwich panels with multiple design constraints

This paper investigates the possibilities for structural optimisation of laser-welded sandwich panels with an adhesively bonded core and uni-directional vertical webs. Closed form expressions for the equivalent stiffness and elastic buckling strength of laser-welded sandwich panels are discussed and numerically evaluated to demonstrate the effect of parameter variations on stress and deflection. Due to the number of design variables and constraints a structural optimisation method based on the method of moving asymptotes (MMA) is implemented and used to minimise the structural weight per square meter of panel for a typical accommodation deck configuration. It is concluded that, within the span of production parameters and rule requirements, substantial improvements can be made with or without an adhesively bonded core. Without core material and without any changes to the surrounding structure the structural weight for standard production panels can be reduced considerably, by reducing the face plate thickness and by using thinner and fewer webs. Additional weight can be saved by removing all but a few webs and injecting low-cost polyurethane foam into the cavities, giving added thermal–acoustic insulation, or by incorporating a more structural core with greater thickness and higher density, by which the free span of the sandwich panel can be increased.     

Can passenger flow distribution be estimated solely based on network properties in public transport systems?

Transportation - We present a pioneering investigation into the relation between passenger flow distribution and network properties in public transport systems. The methodology is designed in a...     

HMB Reflectors: A New Horizontal Retro‐reflecting System to Improve Safety at Pedestrian Crossings

Abstract

Each year more than 1000 pedestrians are injured in accidents on pedestrian crossings in Switzerland. The accidents often occur in darkness, twilight or poor visibility during rain at locations without sufficient public street lighting because vehicle drivers notice the pedestrian crossing too late or overlook it altogether. Pedestrian crossings can be made significantly easier for vehicle drivers to recognize at night and in poor visibility by means of HMB reflectors. When crossing sites are made more conspicuous with high horizontal retro‐reflecting markers, the readiness to stop increases. The reflectors can thus contribute to improving road safety at pedestrian crossings. This new low‐cost measure has a wide range of applications. The new reflector system is currently gaining ground in Switzerland and several other European countries.     

The socio-cognitive links between road pricing acceptability and changes in travel-behavior

The objective of this study is to examine the effect of road pricing on people’s tendency to adapt their current travel behavior. To this end, the relationship between changes in activity-travel behavior on the one hand and public acceptability and its most important determinants on the other are investigated by means of a stated adaptation experiment. Using a two-stage hierarchical model, it was found that behavioral changes themselves are not dependent on the perceived acceptability of road pricing itself, and that only a small amount of the variability in the behavioral changes were explained by socio-cognitive factors. The lesson for policy makers is that road pricing charges must surpass a minimum threshold in order to entice changes in activity-travel behavior and that the benefits of road pricing should be clearly communicated, taking into account the needs and abilities of different types of travelers. Secondly, earlier findings concerning the acceptability of push measures were validated, supporting transferability of results. In line with other studies, effectiveness, fairness and personal norm all had a significant direct impact on perceived acceptability. Finally, the relevance of using latent factors rather than aggregate indicators was underlined.     

ERTMS安全性研究——第三篇 ERTMS/ERTML

ERTMS/ERTML是欧洲铁路运输系统管理层的缩写(European Rail Traffic Management Sys-tem/European Rail Traffic Management Layer).ERTML的目标是建立一个高层次的全欧洲铁路运输管理系统.到目前为止,影响其运作决策的主要因素是双边协议及合同.     

Reconstructions of marine environmental conditions and scenarios for future changes

Long-term changes of environmental conditions are fundamentally important for many sectors in the maritime industry. Observational evidence from which such long-term changes may be reliably derived is often limited. Here we briefly illustrate the present situation and present an approach on how quasirealistic environmental models can be used in combination with existing data to reconstruct recent long-term changes and to derive scenarios of future developments. We concentrate on variables of primary importance for the maritime industry, namely wind-storms, wind-waves and storm surges. Examples are provided for the North Sea area.     

A global view on port state control: econometric analysis of the differences across port state control regimes

This article is based on 183 819 port state control inspections from various port state control regimes for the time frame 1999 to 2004. Using binary logistic regression, we establish the differences of port state control inspections across several regimes, even though theory predicts there should be no significant differences in treatments of vessels. The results indicate that the differences towards the probability of detention are merely reflected by the differences in port states and the treatment of deficiencies and not necessarily by age, size, flag, class or owner as perceived by the industry and regulators. The analysis further shows that some differences can be found across ship types and regimes and that there appears to be room for further harmonization in the area of port state control.