Experimental approach to developing human driver models considering driver’s human factors

A new approach to develop human driver models (HDMs) is proposed in accordance with the drivers’ generic human factors, i.e., gender, age, and experience, to develop more realistic vehicle simulations. The HDMs consist of three independent and stepwise models with functioning driver’s information processing stages based on the human factors: constructing drivers’ preview distance (PVD) models as a ‘cognition process’, implementing a finite preview optimal control algorithm as a ‘decision process’, and differentiating an ‘operation process’ according to neuromuscular efficiency. Eight different groups of 65 drivers with a 2 × 2 × 2 within-subject design participated in both the PVD estimates and neuromuscular efficiency tests to develop a set of statistically different HDMs. Regarding the preview distance models, an analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) procedure was adopted with two covariates (i.e., vehicle velocity and road curvature), while analyses of variance (ANOVAs) were performed on the neuromuscular efficiency parameters. The ANCOVA procedure produced eight significantly different cognition processes, whereas the ANOVAs revealed gender differences for the drivers’ neuromuscular systems. Moreover, an integrated vehicle simulation was configured with the HDMs using Carsim and Simulink software to observe the differential effects of both the cognition and operation processes on a double-lane-change (DLC) maneuver. During the simulations, gender differences in real-world DLC tests were also identified, especially between the male-oldexpert and the female-young-novice HDMs. The results presented in this study suggest that differentiating HDMs according to human factors is an essential process when utilizing vehicle simulations in the early stage of developing an intelligent vehicle system.     

Analysis of the performance of the evaporator of automotive air conditioning system

The purpose of this research was to establish a theoretical model for the evaporator of automotive air conditioning system and conducting simulations to evaluate the effect of operation parameters, environmental conditions, and design parameters on the performance of evaporator. An automotive air conditioning system primarily consists of four components: the compressor, the condenser, the refrigerant controller, and the evaporator. The refrigerant flow in the evaporator can be divided into two regions: the evaporating region and the superheat region. The refrigerant in the first region is a two-phase flow, while the refrigerant in the latter region is in the state of superheated vapor. The air flowing through the interior of the evaporator can also be divided into two zones: the unsaturated zone and the saturated zone. Water vapor is condensed in the saturated zone while in the unsaturated zone, no water condenses. Because the refrigerant flow and the airflow are perpendicular to each other, the distribution of refrigerant in the evaporating region and the superheat region does not coincide with the distribution of air in the unsaturated zone and the saturated zone. This study examines the effects of different design parameters, environmental conditions and operating parameters on the cooling capacity and superheat of an air conditioning system. Design parameters include the length of the refrigerant channel, the length of the air channel, and the thickness of the fins. Environmental conditions include the air inlet temperature and absolute humidity. Operation conditions include the refrigerant inlet enthalpy, inlet air flow rate, and refrigerant mass flow rate. Results of simulation demonstrated that fins with 50 micron meters width has the greatest cooling capacity for identical outer dimensions; thicker or thinner fins only decreased cooling capacity. Under different outer dimensions, longer refrigerant tubes and air channels created a greater cooling capacity. However, the increase in cooling capacity becomes less and less if the refrigerant flow was fixed because the heat transfer capability of the gaseous refrigerant was limited. In this study, an increase of 19% in cooling capacity can be reached as the length of refrigerant channels was increased, and the increased length of the air channels can promote the cooling capacity by 22%. Besides, it was found in this study that a decrease in the refrigerant inlet enthalpy, the inlet air flow rate, the air inlet temperature, and the inlet absolute humidity, or an increase in the refrigerant mass flow rate, would extend the superheat region and decrease the refrigerant’s superheat. It was also found that the cooling capacity of air conditioners is extremely sensitive to changes in the refrigerant mass flow rate and the inlet enthalpy, and variations more than 50% were found in the operating ranges examined in this study. However, changes in the inlet temperature, absolute humidity, and inlet air flow rate only resulted in variations between 10% and 20% in the examined ranges of conditions. Finally, a correlation among these variables and the simulated cooling capacity was obtained in this study, enabling the relevant researchers to evaluate automotive air conditioning performance under different environmental conditions and operation parameters more easily.     

Experimental study on mobility of a vehicle with CTIS in soft soil

Recently, the domestic military vehicles currently being developed are installed with a central tire inflation system (CTIS) to control the pressure of tires to increase the contact area between the tires and the ground and improve mobility on soft soils. On the other hand, it is difficult to find technical data based on experiments for designing a CTIS. In this study, to obtain the technical data to set proper pressures according to road conditions a range of mobility tests were performed on soft soil roads, such as sand and clay, according to the CTIS operating modes to obtain the technical data to set proper pressures according to the road conditions. The characteristics of the mobility and its correlation with the tire pressures in each operating mode were analyzed. The results confirmed that a wheeled vehicle with a CTIS showed better performance on soft soil than a vehicle without a CTIS.     

The method of imbedded Lagrangian element to estimate wave power absorption by some submerged devices

A simple approach is described to estimate the wave power absorption potential of submerged devices known to cause wave focusing and flow enhancement. In particular, the presence of a flow-through power take-off （PTO） system, such as low-head turbines, can be accounted for. The wave radiation characteristics of an appropriately selected Lagrangian element （LE） in the fluid domain are first determined. In the limit of a vanishing mass, the LE reduces to a patch of distributed normal dipoles. The hydrodynamic coefficients of this virtual object are then input in a standard equation of motion where the effect of the PTO can be represented, for example, as a dashpot damping term. The process is illustrated for a class of devices recently proposed by Carter and Ertekin （2011）, although in a simplified form. Favorable wave power absorption is shown for large ratios of the LE wave radiation coefficient over the LE added mass coefficient. Under optimal conditions, the relative flow reduction from the PTO theoretically lies between 0.50 and 1 2 ≈ 0.71, with lower values corresponding to better configurations. Wave power capture widths, the sensitivity of results to PTO damping and sample spectral calculations at a typical site in Hawaiian waters are proposed to further illustrate the versatility of the method.     

Accounting for travel time variability in the optimal pricing of cars and buses

A number of studies have shown that in addition to travel time and cost as the common influences on mode, route and departure time choices, travel time variability plays an increasingly important role, especially in the presence of traffic congestion on roads and crowding on public transport. The dominant focus of modelling and implementation of optimal pricing that incorporates trip time variability has been in the context of road pricing for cars. The main objective of this paper is to introduce a non-trivial extension to the existing literature on optimal pricing in a multimodal setting, building in the role of travel time variability as a source of disutility for car and bus users. We estimate the effect of variability in travel time and bus headway on optimal prices (i.e., tolls for cars and fares for buses) and optimal bus capacity (i.e., frequencies and size) accounting for crowding on buses, under a social welfare maximisation framework. Travel time variability is included by adopting the well-known mean–variance model, using an empirical relationship between the mean and standard deviation of travel times. We illustrate our model with an application to a highly congested corridor with cars, buses and walking as travel alternatives in Sydney, Australia. There are three main findings that have immediate policy implications: (i) including travel time variability results in higher optimal car tolls and substantial increases in toll revenue, while optimal bus fares remain almost unchanged; (ii) when bus headways are variable, the inclusion of travel time variability as a source of disutility for users yields higher optimal bus frequencies; and (iii) including both travel time variability and crowding discomfort leads to higher optimal bus sizes.     

Discussion on retaining structure limit state classificationEI北大核心

Research purposes: Retaining structure belongs to the geotechnical engineering structure, the limit state classification of geotechnical engineering is more difficult than the structure projects. Based on the limit state concept at home and abroad, this paper makes a comparison and analysis of the common and difference of geotechnical engineering and structural engineering limit state, teases the retaining structure limit state and focuses on limit state of open-cut foundation and pile foundation, proposes the recommendation of limit state classification of retaining structure. Research conclusions: (1) The generalized limit state can be considered as a function which can achieve the expected requirements, the limit state is not limited to the concept of damage and failure, and its extension has been expanded to the requirements of that the goal of expected design cannot be achieved-a prescribed limit. (2) Retaining structure belongs to the category of geotechnical engineering, its limit state includes structure overall stability limit states and the structural stability limit state which includes the bearing capacity limit state and serviceability limit state and limit state between them, the state needs to be studied further. (3) In general area, the compressive stress limit state of open-cut foundation and lateral pressure limit state of rock foundation anchor pile foundation can be considered as the serviceability limit state. (4) The research conclusion is useful for guiding the design research of retaining structure limit state.     

Design research of gravity retaining wall based on limit state design methodEI北大核心

Research purposes: Gravity retaining wall limit state design research is based on the design research of retaining structure limit state of open-cut foundation with the lateral earth pressure supported by wall body weight. This paper sums up the research thought of gravity retaining wall and analyzed their main calculation results, which provides reference for the open-cut foundation retaining structure design research of cantilever retaining wall, counterfort retaining wall, groove type retaining wall and so on. Research conclusions: (1) The steps for design research of the gravity retaining wall limit state are to establish a limit state equation, to calculate reliability index and determine the target reliability index, calculate partial coefficient and set up the design expression. (2) The most critical factor influencing gravity retaining wall limit state is comprehensive internal friction angle. (3) There are different function calculations and different design conditions for the gravity retaining wall in the current specification, their underlying reliability index is different, the corresponding partial coefficient should also be different. (4) The research conclusion can be used to guide the design of gravity retaining wall, which provides the reference to the design research of other open-cut foundation retaining structure.     

A network equilibrium approach for modelling activity-travel pattern scheduling problems in multi-modal transit networks with uncertainty

An understanding of the interaction between individuals’ activities and travel choice behaviour plays an important role in long-term transit service planning. In this paper, an activity-based network equilibrium model for scheduling daily activity-travel patterns (DATPs) in multi-modal transit networks under uncertainty is presented. In the proposed model, the DATP choice problem is transformed into a static traffic assignment problem by constructing a new super-network platform. With the use of the new super-network platform, individuals’ activity and travel choices such as time and space coordination, activity location, activity sequence and duration, and route/mode choices, can be simultaneously considered. In order to capture the stochastic characteristics of different activities, activity utilities are assumed in this study to be time-dependent and stochastic in relation to the activity types. A concept of DATP budget utility is proposed for modelling the uncertainty of activity utility. An efficient solution algorithm without prior enumeration of DATPs is developed for solving the DATP scheduling problem in multi-modal transit networks. Numerical examples are used to illustrate the application of the proposed model and the solution algorithm.     

Dynamic system‐optimal traffic assignment for a city using the continuum modeling approach

This paper presents a continuum dynamic traffic assignment model for a city in which the total cost of the traffic system is minimized: the travelers in the system are organized to choose the route to their destinations that minimizes the total cost of the system. Combined with the objective function, which defines the total cost and constraints such as certain physical and boundary conditions, a continuum model can be formulated as an optimization scheme with a feasible region in the function space. To obtain an admissible locally optimal solution to this problem, we first reformulate the optimization in discrete form and then introduce a heuristic method to solve it. This method converges rapidly with attractive computational cost. Numerical examples are used to demonstrate the effectiveness of the method. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Thermal anaysis of an electric water pump for internal combustion engine vehicles

An electric water pump for engine cooling system has an advantage which particularly in the cold start, the use of the electric water pump saves fuel and leads to a corresponding reduction in emissions. However, the electric water pump for internal combustion engine generates much more heat loss than that for hybrid electric vehicle or electric vehicle since it is operated by electric power of high current and low voltage. In this study, the fluid flow and thermal characteristics of the canned type electric water pump with an inverter integrated has been investigated under the effects of heat generation. The analysis conditions such as outdoor air temperature of 125°C, water pump speed of 6000 rpm, coolant temperature of 106°C and coolant flow rate of 120 L/min were used as a standard condition. Therefore, the thermal performance of the canned type electric water pump’s motor and inverter was evaluated by comparison with that of mechanical seal type. In the motor, the temperature reduced by over 10°C, and in the inverter, the amount of temperature decrease equaled to the maximum temperature difference, about 18.7°C. Also, canned type electric water pumps of variable materials were compared for the evaluation of thermal transfer performance for variable thermal conductivity of a can. The motor and inverter were cooled lower to 42°C at motor and about 40°C at inverter for reasonable selection of can’s thermal conductivity.