Erosion-corrosion damages of water-pump impeller

A steel impeller placed in a water pump has been studied with the aim of understanding the surface erosion-corrosion phenomena responsible for reducing the pumping efficiency of water inside the cooling system. This experiment includes long-term (over about half a year) observations with a powered microscope and precise weight measurements. The experiments were carried out under different conditions of water using several mixtures of water and coolants with water contents of 25%, 50%, 75%, and 100% (i.e., pure tap water). The visual microscopy results reveal that most of the steel surface is pitted and clearly rusty, such that corrosion phenomena are noticeable as time passes. In addition, the amount of weight lost from the sample specimens submerged in static water increased linearly, whereas those placed in mixtures of water and coolant initially gained weight before reaching an almost constant weight. In order to see the dynamic effect of the impeller on the erosion-corrosion phenomena, surface observations of the steel impeller were also made at each time after suitable running conditions in water and water-coolant mixtures, namely around 3∼4 hours of operation per day under changing rotation speeds. The results show that the rate of weight loss was linear and 2∼3 times higher than the impeller in water under both static and dynamic conditions. However, when the impeller was submerged in the mixtures, the weight loss was initially insignificant due to the corrosion-proof ingredients of the coolant, but after around 2 months the weight loss substantially increased and gradually approached a linear curve.     

Development of discomfort evaluation method for car ingress motion

Recent improvements in the quality of life have led to a consumer need for emotional quality. This need is regarded as extremely important, particularly for products that require a close interaction between products and users and thus that directly lead to product purchase. As a result, research on how to design user-friendly products has become an important task for corporations. Discomfort evaluation in product use has been extensively researched for this purpose. Most of the research concludes that the joint angles of the human body are the main cause of discomfort and propose a discomfort evaluation method based on joint angles. In general, when a person uses great force, they feel discomfort, and the level of discomfort varies depending on the size of the force. Accordingly, it can be inferred that the force acting on the muscle is one of the important causes of discomfort, and research on the correlation between discomfort and muscle forces is needed. In this study, the authors developed a method to evaluate discomfort during ingress into a vehicle to design a side panel for comfortable ingress into a vehicle. The correlation between the muscle forces and discomfort was investigated, and a discomfort evaluation method based on muscle forces was developed. To calculate the muscle forces during the ingress motion, an experimental mock-up of a vehicle was made, and a motion capture experiment during the ingress motion was conducted with various side panel design parameters. The biomechanical simulation tool was used to perform motion simulation based on the motion data obtained. The mathematical correlation between the calculated muscle forces and discomfort was obtained by means of fuzzy logic, and the discomfort evaluation method developed in this study was used to propose a method for designing a comfortable side panel for a vehicle.     

Development of the Inner Spherical CVT for a motorcycle

An Inner Spherical CVT (ISCVT) transfers engine power by utilizing the traction force of the lubricant fluid film on the contact point between concave and convex spherical rolling bodies. Since the concave and the convex contact surfaces of the ISCVT are exactly spherical parts, they have a large circular (not elliptic) contact area, and the ISCVT mechanism has a larger torque capacity, less spin loss, and better stability than other traction drive mechanisms. The IVT (Infinitely Variable Transmission) performances also can easily be embodied in the ISCVT. In this work, we developed a prototype of the ISCVT for a motorcycle with a 125cc single cylinder engine having a maximum torque of 13.73 Nm at 8,000 rpm. The design parameters were determined, and the transmission performances were evaluated by optimal design procedure. The transmission efficiency, the life time, the maximum severe stresses on each part of the ISCVT, and the work needed for varying speed ratio were theoretically investigated, and the efficiency performances were experimentally measured. The manufactured prototype was installed in an actual motorcycle, which was fixed on the test-bench equipped with a dynamometer. The parasitic loss of the prototype and the cross-sectional road load performance were tested. The power efficiency of the simulated prototype was between 87∼92%, and the life span was more than 50,000 hours. The tested overall power efficiency was around 70∼92% under frequent driving conditions, which is an impressive performance in a motorcycle transmission despite the small difference from the simulation.     

Development of a knowledge-based hybrid failure diagnosis system for urban transit

Urban transit is a complex system that contains both electrical and mechanical entities; therefore, it is necessary to construct a maintenance system for ensuring safety during high-speed driving. Expert systems are computer programs that use numerical or non-numerical domain-specific knowledge to solve problems. This research aims to develop an expert system that diagnoses the causes of failures quickly and displays measures to correct them. For the development of this expert system, the standardization of a failure code classification and the creation of a Bill of Materials (BOM) were first performed. Through the analysis of both failure history and maintenance manuals, a knowledge base has been constructed. Also, for retrieving the procedure of failure diagnosis and repair linking with the knowledge base, we have built a Rule-Based Reasoning (RRB) engine with a pattern matching technique and a Case-Based Reasoning (CBR) engine with a similar search method. Finally, this system has been developed as web based in order to maximize accessibility.     

A heuristic for the train pathing and timetabling problem

In a railroad system, train pathing is concerned with the assignment of trains to links and tracks, and train timetabling allocates time slots to trains. These important tasks were traditionally done manually, but there is an increasing move toward automated software based on mathematical models and algorithms. Most published models in the literature either focus on train timetabling only, or are too complicated to solve when facing large instances. In this paper, we present an optimization heuristic that includes both train pathing and train timetabling, and has the ability to solve real-sized instances. This heuristic allows the operation time of trains to depend on the assigned track, and also lets the minimum headway between the trains to depend on the trains’ relative status. It generates an initial solution with a simple rule, and then uses a four-step process to derive the solution iteratively. Each iteration starts by altering the order the trains travel between stations, then it assigns the services to the tracks in the stations with a binary integer program, determines the order they pass through the stations with a linear program, and uses another linear program to produce a timetable. After these four steps, the heuristic accepts or rejects the new solution according to a Threshold Accepting rule. By decomposing the original complex problem into four parts, and by attacking each part with simpler neighborhood-search processes or mathematical programs, the heuristic is able to solve realistic instances. When tested with two real-world examples, one from a 159.3 km, 29-station railroad that offers 44 daily services, and another from a 345 km, eight-station high-speed rail with 128 services, the heuristic obtained timetables that are at least as good as real schedules.     

Planning and control of paratransit services in Hong Kong

As paratransit services, Hong Kong's taxis and public light buses (PLB) carried some 30% of the 9.7 million daily public transport boardings in Hong Kong in 1988. Most of the vehicles are individually owned, and services are operated as commercially viable concerns. While operators have a high degree of operational flexibility, taxis and PLBs are closely regulated by the Government. The fleet sizes are controlled by licensing. There is a system of zoning for taxis, and operational prohibitions and restrictions for PLBs. Over the years, Hong Kong has developed some practicable means of operational control on taxis and PLBs. It has been 20 years since PLBs were legalized in 1969. The transition experienced by this mode, from no control to regulated operations, signifies a major step forward from the point of view of transport administration. The Government's participation in the planning for PLB services has guided the development of this mode. In this paper, the planning and control mechanisms for Hong Kong's paratransit modes are introduced. Identified deficiencies are also discussed.     

Telemetric system for monitoring and automation of railroad networks

This paper describes a new method of real-time train monitoring based on the ZigBee/IEEE 802.15.4 protocol. The system consists of a mobile device embedded in the moving train which transmits parameter signals that are being measured by a base unit with the help of routers. When applied, the technique monitors and controls vehicles operating on permanent routes, making a real-time evaluation of their performance and location, and allowing an effective planning of trains. It consists of a low cost, low power consumption and safe modular technology capable of monitoring many different variables simultaneously.     

A decision support system for port selection

Abstract

A number of studies have been carried out on the factors determining port choice, derived from the perspectives of shippers, carriers or both. Recently, some studies using multi-criteria analysis, more specifically Saaty's analytical hierarchy process (AHP), have been undertaken to address port competitiveness and port selection by shipping lines. Based on a review of the literature on port selection, this article proposes a decision support system (DSS) for port selection using AHP methodology. The proposed DSS is web-based and thus it can be accessed by more decision makers and data collection can be carried out faster. Moreover, AHP addresses the issue of how to structure a complex decision problem, identify its criteria, measure the interaction among them and finally synthesise all the information to arrive at priorities, which depict preferences. AHP is able to assist port managers in obtaining a detailed understanding of the criteria and address the port selection problem utilising multi-criteria analysis. This article presents the architecture and the port selection procedure of the web-based DSS, and then illustrates three different cases. It shows how technology advancement can bring positive effects of strategic planning to shipping firms.     

Mesh generation and hysteretic loss prediction of 3-D periodic patterned tire

This paper is concerned with the numerical prediction of the hysteretic loss-induced rolling resistance of 3-D periodic patterned tire. Elastomeric rubber compounds of rolling tire exhibit the hysteretic loss owing to the phase difference between stress- and strain-time responses. By virtue of this physical characteristic, the rolling resistance is considered as a pseudo-force resisting the tire rolling. The 3-D periodic patterned tire model is constructed by copying an 1-sector mesh in the circumferential direction, and strain cycles of each strain component are approximated by 3-D static tire contact analysis. According to the principal value of half strain amplitudes, the hysteretic loss is calculated in terms of the amplitude of the maximum principal strain and the loss modulus of rubber compound. The numerical results of 3-D periodic patterned tire are justified with the experimental data and compared with those of 3-D smooth tire.     

Objective evaluation of human perception of automotive sound based on physiological signal of human brain

This paper presents a novel approach to apply the physiological signal of the human brain to the sound quality evaluation of automotive sound. In the previous work, psychoacoustic metrics were applied to the sound quality evaluation of automotive sound. Loudness among psychoacoustic metrics is used for one of major sound metrics for the objective evaluation of the sound quality of the acceleration sound inside a car. Subjective evaluation of the sound quality of the acceleration sound shows different results depending on the two different groups of participants. One group liked powerful sound when a car is accelerated: the other group liked the refine sound. Loudness of the acceleration sound is not correlated with the subjective rating of the former group whilst it is correlated with that of the latter group. This evaluation suggests that for the people who like the powerful acceleration sound, it needs to find the sound metric for the objective evaluation of the sound quality of the acceleration sound. In this paper, a driver’s brain signal is measured using electroencephalography (EEG) when a driver hears the acceleration sound of passenger cars. The signal is analyzed to obtain the relationship between brain signals and human perception. According to these results, the alpha wave correlates to the human perception of powerful sound quality of passenger cars. This interesting relationship can be used for objective evaluation of passenger car sounds.