Improving pollutant emissions in diesel engines for heavy-duty transportation using retarded intake valve closing strategies

A combined theoretical and experimental study has been carried out to determine the real potential of reducing pollutant emissions in a HD diesel engine by means of retarding the intake valve closing. The effects produced by this alteration of the basic operation cycle have been examined by a preliminary modelling study, and from the obtained results, a modified camshaft was manufactured with a delayed intake valve closing of 60 crank angle degrees. Single-cylinder engine tests were carried out with this modified camshaft, and the emissions and fuel consumption were recorded. The results showed that the retarded intake valve closing can enhance the premixed combustion phase, and thus simultaneously reduce soot and NOx emissions. Moreover, the combustion process attained is extremely tolerant to exhaust gas recirculation, and by adoption of this measure, Euro-5 emissions limits can be achieved at the tested conditions without after-treatment.     

Trip generation of vulnerable populations in three Canadian cities: a spatial ordered probit approach

This paper provides an analysis of trip generation of three vulnerable groups: single-parent families, low income households, and the elderly. It compares the mobility of these groups to that of the general population in three Canadian urban areas of Hamilton, Montreal and Toronto, based on data from large-sample metropolitan transport surveys. An ordered probit model with spatially expanded coefficients is used for the analysis. Spatial expansion shows that there are spatial mobility trends for elderly populations and low-income populations even after socio-economic attributes are accounted for. Such spatial differences are not generally found for single parent families. This novel spatial analysis provides clues as to where vulnerable populations may experience greater degrees of social exclusion. It provides information to help prioritize transportation infrastructure projects or other social programs to take into account the needs of vulnerable populations with the lowest levels of mobility.     

Assessment of diesel combustion noise overall level in transient operation

Combustion noise in passenger cars powered with direct injection (DI) diesel engines is frequently the main reason why end-users are reluctant to drive this type of vehicle. Thus, the great potential of diesel engines for environment preservation — due to their lower CO₂ emissions — could be missed. This situation worsens with the current design trends (engine downsizing) and the emerging new diesel combustion concepts (Homogeneous Charge Compression Ignition-HCCI, Premixed Charge Compression Ignition-PCCI, etc.), which are intrinsically noisy. This negative feature can be even more critical in transient operation due to the contribution of the temporal changes of both source and transmission path on engine noise. Therefore, combustion noise must be considered as an additional essential factor in engine development, together with performance, emissions and driveability. Thus, suitable evaluation procedures that can be integrated into the global engine development process in a timely and cost-effective manner are imperative. Regarding the evaluation procedures, most of the work available in the literature addressed combustion noise at steady operation. To surpass this limitation, two possible approaches — adapted from the classical and multiple regression methods — for the overall level assessment of combustion noise in transient conditions are evaluated in this paper.     

Adapting the light · biomass (BZI) models of phytoplankton primary production to shallow marine ecosystems

Several authors have reported a strong linear relationship between daily phytoplankton production and the product of chlorophyll biomass, photic depth, and incident irradiance for a variety of estuaries. This “light · biomass” (BZ_pI_o) formulation has been proposed as an alternative to traditional mechanistic approaches for computing phytoplankton production in numerical estuarine models. One limitation to their application in shallow systems is that the BZ_pI_o models have been developed in relatively deep estuaries where light does not reach the bottom. We propose a nonlinear correction factor to adapt the BZ_pI_o relationship to shallow systems where light does reach the bottom. Our function takes into account variations in incident irradiance, attenuation coefficient for light, photosynthetic efficiency, and maximum rate of photosynthesis. A series of correction polynomials are proposed for various ranges of incident irradiance, and are integrated into a single multiple polynomial which applies across all irradiance levels. Our new correction factor was tested against a ¹⁴C-based productivity dataset from shallow stations in Narragansett Bay, RI and an O₂-based dataset from shallow (1.1 m) lagoon mesocosms at the University of Rhode Island. Results showed that our polynomials accurately correct BZ_pI_o-predicted rates of production in shallow water columns. Application of our correction factor to a series of shallow water productivity datasets from the literature together with theoretical calculations show how significant the shallow water correction can be, especially in very shallow water columns with low turbidity.     

Biologically induced differences in erodibility and aggregation of subtidal and intertidal sediments: a possible cause for seasonal changes in sediment deposition

This study was carried out to describe the difference in erodibility and aggregation in a tidal basin including both subtidal and intertidal study sites and to use these results to explain the shifting erosion/deposition cycles at the sites. Erosion thresholds, erosion rates and settling velocities of the eroded material were measured at a mudflat transect and at sediment cores taken from a nearby tidal channel during surveys made in May 2000 and March 2002. Surface samples were analysed for grain-size, chl. a content, faecal pellet content, dry bulk density and organic content. Additionally, surface samples were taken at eight occasions in the period January 2002 to May 2003 from shallow tidal channels in the area. These samples were analysed for mud content and showed that major shifts in sediment distribution occurred in the period. The erodibility of the mudflat was generally high due to pelletization by the mudsnail Hydrobia ulvae but close to the salt marsh much lower erodibility was found, probably due to stabilisation by microphytobenthos. In contrast, the erodibility of the channel bed seemed to be very little influenced by biological activity and the relatively low erodibility found here was caused by physical characteristics of the sediment. The sediment eroded from the mudflat was generally strongly pelletized and showed high settling velocities whereas less aggregation and lower settling velocities were found for the channel bed sediments. Temporal variations of the mudflat stability and hydrodynamics resulted in temporal variations of deposition and erosion and the changing stability at the mudflat is likely to be one of the main reasons for a general transport of fine-grained sediment from the mudflat to the channel in the cold seasons and vice versa during the rest of the year.     

Identification of potential sites for deep-ocean waste isolation with a geographic site-selection model

Identification of optimal sites for the isolation of waste on the abyssal seafloor was performed with two approaches: by the traditional method of map overlays of relevant attributes, and by a specially developed, automated Site-Selection Model (SSM). Five initial, Surrogate Sites, identified with the map-overlay approach, were then compared with the more rigorously produced scores from the SSM. The SSM, a process for optimization of site locations, accepts subjective, expert-based judgments and transforms them into a quantitative, reproducible, and documented product. The SSM is adaptable to any siting scenario. Forty-one factors relevant to the isolation scenario, including 21 weightable factors having a total of 123 scorable categories, have been entered into the SSM. Factors are grouped under project definition, unique environments, anthropogenic, geologic, biologic, weather, oceanographic and distance criteria. The factor scores are linked to a georeferenced database array of all factors, corresponding to 1°×1° latitude–longitude squares. The SSM includes a total of 2241 one-degree squares within 1000 n.m. of the U.S. coasts, including the western North Atlantic, the Gulf of Mexico, and the eastern North Pacific. Under a carefully weighted and scored scenario of isolation, the most favorable sites identified with the SSM are on the Hatteras and Nares Abyssal Plains in the Atlantic. High-scoring sites are also located in the Pacific abyssal hills province between the Murray and Molokai Fracture Zones. Acceptable 1° squares in the Gulf of Mexico are few and of lower quality, with the optimum location on the northern Sigsbee Abyssal Plain. Two of the five Surrogate Site locations, on the Hatteras and Sigsbee Abyssal Plains, correspond to the best SSM sites in each ocean area. Two Pacific and a second Atlantic Surrogate Site are located in low-scoring regions or excluded by the SSM. Site-selection results from the SSM, although robust, are an initial attempt to quantify the site-selection process. The SSM database exposes a significant lack of high-quality information for many areally mappable attributes on the abyssal seafloor, particularly bottom-current speed and measures of biologic productivity and flux. Terminologies and classifications of some measures, such as sediment types, suffer from parochialism and vary by ocean. Considerable research is needed even for a broad understanding of the environmental measures required to make sound societal decisions about use of the abyssal seafloor for disposal or other purposes.     

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Some unsettling maritime terms: the interpretation of found, cargo, ballast and voyage

This paper examines the meaning of four common maritime and admiralty terms: found, cargo, ballast and voyage . These terms are problematic because their definitions are elastic which makes application of the terms difficult. The four terms are important because significant legal consequences are attached to each of them, particularly for seamen on flags of convenience (FOC) and crews of convenience (COC) vessels in US ports. The findings of the author are based on personal experience as well as research conducted in preparation as an expert witness in several maritime cases in both the US District Courts and in Louisiana State Courts, personal interviews with seamen on FOC/COC vessels, interviews with legal and economic experts on the international maritime industry and officials of national and international labour organizations.     

Railway Wheel and Automotive Tyre

In the present paper the theories of the railway wheel and the automotive tyre are discussed. After an introduction the paper opens with a discussion of the common ground, viz. the rolling motion of deformable bodies. Then the railway wheel is discussed, and it is shown that all aspects may be calculated numerically from the material constants Poisson's ratio, Young's modulus, and the coefficient of friction, and from the geometry of wheel and rail. Next the automotive wheel is considered. Such a wheel is very anisotropic, to the extent that the theory of the lateral motion (out-of-plane dynamics) is radically different from the longitudinal, or in-plane motion. Moreover, the analysis of the automotive wheel heavily relies on experiments. In the conclusion, the theories are compared.