Widening the Panama Canal and U.S. ports: historical and economic impact analyses

ABSTRACT

The economic history of the U.S. illustrates how the role of many cities has been changed by being seaports or located on navigable rivers or lakes. Based on the widening of the Panama Canal in 2016, the West Coast ports that include the west coast seaports of California, Oregon, and Washington were expected to become less important, while the freight shares of the East Coast and Gulf ports would increase. By how much it has been not easy to measure or predict so far, but this study attempted to define some of the key parameters in the measurement. As well as several relevant background topics, both the demand- and supply-side versions of the National Interstate Economic Model, have been applied for the measurement of economic impacts. U.S. port authorities and policy makers at the local and national levels who respond and develop plans for coping with the new realities of the Panama Canal are able to understand the extent to which changes in shippers’ and land-mode transporters’ behaviors would undermine the logistics and the costs of their activities. Therefore, this study is important for a diverse spectrum of port development strategies in the U.S. to respond to the Canal expansion.     

Costs of air pollutants from shipping: a meta-regression analysis

ABSTRACT

This study estimated the external cost of air pollution from shipping by means of a meta-regression analysis, which has not been made before. Three pollutants, which were included in most of the primary studies, were considered: nitrogen oxides (NO_x), sulphur dioxides (SO₂) and particulate matters with a diameter of max 2.5 micrometres (PM_2.5). All primary studies included damages of health and a majority added impacts on agriculture and estimated the cost of air pollutants by transferring cost estimates from studies on costs of air emissions from transports in Europe. Different regression models and estimators were used and robust results were found of statistically significant emission elasticities of below one, i.e. total external costs increase by less than 1% when emissions increase by 1%. There was a small variation between the pollutants, with the highest elasticity for PM_2.5 and lowest for NO_x. Calculations of the marginal external cost of the pollutants showed the same pattern, with this cost being approximately six times higher for PM_2.5 than for the other pollutants. Common to all pollutants was that the marginal external cost decreases when emission increases. Another robust result was a significant increase in the cost of studies published in journals compared with other publication outlets. These findings point out some caution when transferring constant external unit cost of air pollutant from shipping, which is much applied in the literature, and the cost functions estimated in this study could thus provide a complementary transfer mechanism.     

粘弹性人工边界在地下结构抗震分析中的应用

地下结构地震反应分析需考虑结构-地基的动力相互作用,其中场地土层的自由场反应分析是确定地震输入的关键问题。以往地下工程实例表明,在结构动力时程计算中,能否有效模拟无限地基边界对结构抗震分析有很大的影响。基于某地下综合体项目进行抗震评估,采用黏弹性人工边界模拟自由场震动响应,克服工程中传统分析里不能模拟场地无限域的缺点。为地下结构的动力时程分析提供可靠数值依据。     

中巴标准在某港口铁路工程中的融合应用

港口铁路作为港口集疏运的重要组成部分，其设计较为独立，且一般会遵从一套完整的规范体系。开展境外港口工程铁路设计，若全部采用中国标准，可能会与当地要求、运营习惯等产生冲突；而且由于港口铁路的特殊性，设计须考虑港口运营需要、平面布置及集疏运要求，而不能直接套用正线铁路或一般站线铁路的设计思路。国内设计企业走出去承接海外港口铁路工程设计任务，在了解当地铁路运营习惯、信号制式等要求，做到因地制宜的同时，也要整体考虑铁路设计以满足港口特殊需要。通过巴基斯坦某集装箱港口工程融合中巴标准开展港口铁路设计的案例，阐述港口铁路在设计原则和标准确定、平面布置、断面设计、信号和道口设计上融合中巴标准和要求的思路，供类似工程借鉴。     

基于分段单孔反演的隧址区多断层地应力分布特征

目前，针对具有多个原位地应力测试钻孔的隧址区初始地应力场反演，往往一次性将全部实测值用以计算值的回归反分析，没有考虑到隧道纵向长度远超其他方向且钻孔分布较远的特点，单个钻孔表征的临近区域地应力分布特征或反演精度被其余钻孔实测值“拉低”，导致整体反演结果容易陷入局部优解。依托拉林铁路桑珠岭隧道、叙毕铁路斑竹林隧道、沿江高速火山隧道、木寨岭公路隧道等工程，采用多元线性回归法结合最小二乘法寻优准则，分析了隧址区仅有单个钻孔反演精度较高的原因，提出了对具有多个钻孔的隧址区分段并分别进行单钻孔回归反演的新方法。在此基础上，重点讨论了木寨岭公路隧道断层破碎带区域地应力分布特征。结果表明：分段单孔反演较多孔反演进一步提高了反演精度；地应力的分布在断层前后呈现出先急剧增大后急剧减小的特征；除自重应力与埋深存在一定关联外，两项水平主应力随断层间距或厚度的增大突变性加剧；断层之间间距、断层倾角、断层厚度均是影响地应力方向偏转大小的重要因素，断层之间间距或断层倾角越小、断层越厚，地应力方向偏转越显著。     

锂氟化碳电池电极参数设计与电性能研究

高比能兼具功率密度的电池在特殊国防军用领域有着极高的应用价值.锂氟化碳电池作为目前比能量最高的一种锂/固体正极电池,具有在水中兵器电源中进一步发展的潜力.本文采用不同电极参数组装的锂/氟化碳软包电池,对其倍率放电性能进行试验并分析,最后得出不同电极参数对电池性能的影响.     

基于改进TOPSIS的城市客运综合交通枢纽评价

城市客运综合交通枢纽规划方案的优劣对城市综合交通系统的建设发展具有重大影响。为了提高城市客运综合交通枢纽规划方案评价的客观性和准确性,结合城市客运综合交通枢纽客流衔接换乘的系统分析,从多维角度出发构建了城市客运综合交通枢纽规划方案评价的多层次指标体系,在遵循方案评价基本原理及城市客运综合交通枢纽特点的基础上,提出了基于改进逼近理想点排序法的评价方法,用于城市客运综合交通枢纽方案的评价,建立城市客运综合交通枢纽综合评价模型。     

Effects of perceived safety,involvement and perceived service quality on loyalty intention among ride-sourcing passengers

Transportation - Ride-sourcing services are increasingly popular since they were first introduced in the last decade. Particularly in developing countries where public transport systems have...