A hybrid model for better predicting capabilities under parallel wind conditions for NOx concentrations from highways in Ireland

Atmospheric dispersion models based on the Gaussian line source formulation tend to give poor results for low wind speed and parallel wind directions. Certain dispersion models like HIWAY-2 have an inbuilt dispersion algorithm to adjust in such situations but no correction exists for mathematical based Gaussian dispersion models. We evaluate the performance of a hybrid model a mathematical model, to assess its suitability as an alternative to the Gaussian based models.     

Optimal resource allocation among transit agencies for fleet management

Most transit agencies require government support for the replacement of their aging fleet. A procedure for equitable resource allocation among competing transit agencies for the purpose of transit fleet management is presented in this study. The proposed procedure is a 3-dimensional model that includes the choice of a fleet improvement program, agencies that may receive them, and the timing of investments. Earlier efforts to solve this problem involved the application of 1- or 2-dimensional models for each year of the planning period. These may have resulted in suboptimal solution as the models are blind to the impact of the fleet management program of the subsequent years. Therefore, a new model to address a long-term planning horizon is proposed. The model is formulated as a non-linear optimization problem of maximizing the total weighted average remaining life of the fleet subjected to improvement program and budgetary constraints. Two variants of the problem, one with an annual budget constraint and the other with a single budget constraint for the entire planning period, are formulated. Two independent approaches, namely, branch and bound algorithm and genetic algorithm are used to obtain the solution. An example problem is solved and results are discussed in details. Finally, the model is applied to a large scale real-world problem and a detailed analysis of the results is presented.     

Integrated modeling of urban hierarchy and transportation network planning

A major problem addressed during the preparation of spatial development plans relates to the accessibility to facilities where services of general interest such as education, health care, public safety, and justice are offered to the population. In this context, planners typically aim at redefining the level of hierarchy to assign to the urban centers of the region under study (with a class of facilities associated with each level of hierarchy) and redesigning the region’s transportation network. Traditionally, these two subjects – urban hierarchy and transportation network planning – have been addressed separately in the scientific literature. This paper presents an optimization model that simultaneously determines which urban centers and which network links should be promoted to a new level of hierarchy so as to maximize accessibility to all classes of facilities. The possible usefulness of the model for solving real-world problems of integrated urban hierarchy and transportation network planning is illustrated through an application to the Centro Region of Portugal.     

航运业的四大新挑战——访丹麦海事局局长Andreas Nordseth

清瘦的丹麦海事局局长Andreas Nordseth与中国有着深厚的渊源.1979年,年轻的Andreas Nordseth作为一名船员第一次来到中国.2003年、2007年、2009年,Andreas Nordseth三度来访,每一次的中国之行,都给他留下深刻印象,中国魔术般的发展变化和独具特色的美食,让这位异国的海事官员流连忘返.     

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.     

武汉市岳家嘴互通式立交选型与设计

针对岳家嘴互通式立交的选型与设计,阐述了综合交叉口各方面情况,总结了立交的功能定位、选型要素和设计原则,并提出了设计选型的思路和设计方法.     

交通事故急救中心的选址问题研究

较系统地研究了交通事故急救中心选址问题,阐述了急救中心选址的影响因素及选址步骤。运用一般运筹学理论并结合实际情况,建立了急救中心选址模型,并将选址模型分为定量选址模型和定性选址模型。最后通过模拟决策案例,验证所提出的交通事故急救中心选址模型的有效性。     

西安市南北中轴线改造工程设计思考

该文通过西安市南北中轴线改造过程中对横断面型式的确定、旧路材料的再生利用、公交停靠站的设计等技术问题的探索和尝试,提出了解决的方法和见解,同时介绍了旧路改造设计中得到的启示。     

铁路工程项目如何有效开展经济活动分析

经济活动分析是指项目部通过及时采集在建工程各项经济数据，统计、核算、分析相关经济资料，运用各种经济指标，对一定时期工程的经济活动过程及其成果进行分析研究。有效的经济活动分析内容包括准确、及时、完整地记录和反映工程项目经济运行情况，围绕责任成本，分析管理过程，查找管理问题．制定整改措施，落实经济责任，以提高项目的综合效益，为工程经济管理工作提供详实的资料。有效开展经济活动分析是工程经济管理工作的重要环节，是促使项目建设单位改善经营管理，提高经济效益的一种有效途径。     

Condition monitoring of wooden railway sleepers

Wooden railway sleeper inspections in Sweden are currently performed manually by a human operator; such inspections are to large extent based on visual analysis. In this paper a machine vision based approach has been considered to emulate the visual abilities of the human operator to enable automation of the process. Digital images from either ends (left and right) of the sleepers have been acquired. A pattern recognition approach has been adopted to classify the condition of the sleeper into classes (good or bad) and thereby achieve automation. Appropriate image analysis techniques were applied and relevant features such as the number of cracks on a sleeper, average length and width of the crack and the condition of the metal plate were determined. Feature fusion has been proposed in order to integrate the features obtained from each end for the classification task which follows. The effect of using classifiers like multi-layer perceptron and support vector machines has been tested and compared. Results obtained from the experiments show that multi-layer perceptron and support vector machines have achieved encouraging results, with a classification accuracy of 90%; thereby exhibiting a competitive performance when compared to a human operator.