Altimeter assimilation in the OCCAM global model: Part I: A twin experiment

An altimeter data assimilation scheme has been tested in the OCCAM (Ocean Circulation and Climate Advanced Modelling) global 1/4°, 36-level model using a twin experiment format. The Cooper and Haines displacement scheme is used. The method works well in most regions and depths. Currents and densities in the top 1000 m generally improve by over 50–70% after 5 months of sea level assimilation every 15 days. Below 1000 m, an error reduction of up to 50% is achieved. The errors remain low during a further 60-day run without assimilation. Diagnostics for the North Atlantic, the Tropical Pacific and the Antarctic Circumpolar Current are shown alongside the global averages.The main problems encountered were in weakly stratified regions of the Antarctic and Arctic seas. A scale selective filter is developed to avoid assimilating scales much larger than the local deformation radius, and this avoids the adverse assimilation effects in the southern oceans. A companion paper uses this scheme to assimilate TOPEX and ERS-1 altimeter maps.     

The performance of route modification and demand stabilization strategies in stochastic vehicle routing

A key concern in managing vehicle routing operations under stochastic demands is whether, on the basis of travel distance, route modification yields materially greater logistical efficiency than fixed routes. This research uses statistical calibration as the primary technique to develop a robust and tractable model for estimating this difference in logistical efficiency. Based on features such as the models predictive accuracy and generalizability, it constitutes a substantive improvement over existing models. The present study also expands the range of predictive models relevant to vehicle routing under stochastic demands with models to estimate the transportation and inventory effects of persuading customers to stabilize their ordering patterns.     

Investigations of vehicle securing without lashings for Ro-Ro ships

To reduce the area on deck occupied by each car and the labour and time required for lashing and unlashing cars, it has been proposed by the author that in some conditions, cars on decks could be transported without lashing. To evaluate cargo securing based on this “lashing-free” concept, computational code was developed to calculate the vehicle–deck interactions for various ship motions. The code was structured by incorporating a vehicle model into a piece of ship motion calculation code. A series of time-domain simulations were conducted to evaluate vehicle securing. It was found that for a target ship consisting of a 6000-unit Ro-Ro vessel, vehicle securing is mainly influenced by the ship's rolling motions and is highly dependent on the wave height and loading conditions. It was suggested from the analysis that vehicles could be secured without being lashed in a large area of the ship in specific weather conditions and on some routes with less adverse sea states. However, it is still suggested that conventional lashing holes should be constructed on the deck because in severe sea states the cars will still need to be lashed. The limitations of the current investigations are also presented. The relevant research work was carried out at the Division of Ship Design and Engineering, Department of Shipping and Marine Technology, Chalmers University of Technology.     

A practical assessment of stated preferences methods

Stated preferences data in the form of rankings, ratings and choices were collected in Santiago and discrete choice models estimated with them. The models were compared in terms of accuracy v/s the cost of obtaining the information and models. All methods produced reasonable but different models and fairly close subjective values of time. In terms of production costs the ranking method was a clear looser although the experimental design was slightly biased against it. Finally, the use of computerised interviews is highly recommended particularly for dealing with low income people.     

A stated preference examination of time of travel choice for a recreational trip

A stated preference experiment was performed in Calgary in Canada to examine how people are influenced in the selection of a departure time for a hypothetical trip to see a movie. A total of 635 complete observations were obtained. In each observation the respondent was presented with a set of possible departure time scenarios and asked to indicate the order of preference for these scenarios. Each scenario was described by specifying the automobile travel time, the expected arrival time relative to the movie start time, the parking cost, the probability of being at least ten minutes late for the movie and the length of time the movie had been running. This forced the respondent to trade off between conditions regarding these attributes. Age, gender and frequency of movie attendance were also recorded. The observations thus obtained were used to estimate the parameter values for a range of alternative utility functions in logit models representing this choice behaviour. The results indicate that all of the attributes included have significant effects on departure time choice in the situation being considered. They also indicate that travellers are prepared to arrive roughly two minutes early for each minute of travel time saved; that the money value of driving time for trips to recreational activities is about half that for trips to work; that one additional percent in the probability of arriving late is equivalent to roughly 0.20 Canadian dollars or 1.93 minutes drive time; and that there is a preference for a non-zero expected early arrival time regardless of the associated probability of arriving late. Some of these results are novel and others are consistent with findings for work trips in work done by others, which is seen to add credence to the approach being used here.     

Models and methodology for optimal trajectory generation in safety-critical road–vehicle manoeuvres

There is currently a strongly growing interest in obtaining optimal control solutions for vehicle manoeuvres, both in order to understand optimal vehicle behaviour and, perhaps more importantly, to devise improved safety systems, either by direct deployment of the solutions or by including mimicked driving techniques of professional drivers. However, it is non-trivial to find the right combination of models, optimisation criteria, and optimisation tools to get useful results for the above purposes. Here, a platform for investigation of these aspects is developed based on a state-of-the-art optimisation tool together with adoption of existing vehicle chassis and tyre models. A minimum-time optimisation criterion is chosen for the purpose of gaining an insight into at-the-limit manoeuvres, with the overall aim of finding improved fundamental principles for future active safety systems. The proposed method to trajectory generation is evaluated in time-manoeuvres using vehicle models established in the literature. We determine the optimal control solutions for three manoeuvres using tyre and chassis models of different complexities. The results are extensively analysed and discussed. Our main conclusion is that the tyre model has a fundamental influence on the resulting control inputs. Also, for some combinations of chassis and tyre models, inherently different behaviour is obtained. However, certain variables important in vehicle safety-systems, such as the yaw moment and the body-slip angle, are similar for several of the considered model configurations in aggressive manoeuvring situations.     

Cyclic storm loading soil-structure interaction for a three independent leg jack-up

A 2-D analysis of the soil-structure interaction for a jack-up platform is presented. The special features of the analysis are:

• -soil behaviour modelling under cyclic loading uses elasto-plastic equations with a multiple yield surface and kinematical hardening;

• -the study is not executed on a single isolated spud-can, but on a more comprehensive structural model including the soil and a 2-D reduction of a complete jack-up structure;

• -the loading history consists of some one-hundred cycles representing two storm sea states separated by small set-up cycles.

The main result is that the bottom fixity displayed during the first storm is not significantly degraded during the second storm, even though irrecoverable displacements and rotations occur.     

重型半挂牵引车燃油经济性提升研究

本文旨在对某重型半挂牵引车燃油经济性的改善进行研究.首先,对后视镜进行了优化,风洞试验结果风阻系数降低了0.012.接着,利用遗传算法对传动系统参数进行优化.并通过改进电控硅油风扇的控制策略,降低了发动机附件的功率消耗,Simulink/Crusie联合仿真和转鼓试验台测试的结果:C-WTVC循环工况油耗分别降低了1....     

某重型商用车的车架结构优化设计

以某重型牵引车车架为研究对象,建立了该型车架的有限元模型,进行了车架模态的仿真与试验,并将结果进行了对比分析,验证了有限元模型的准确性;根据重型牵引车的承载特点和行驶工况,对该车架在满载弯曲工况和满载扭转工况进行静态应力分析,考察车架在典型工况下的应力分布,以此评价车架设计的合理性。在此基础上,对车架的连接横梁进行了结构优化,对改进方案进行了有限元分析,并通过DOE分析确定了最优方案。通过车架结构优化设计及工程实践,反映了利用有限元法进行车架的设计和分析,具有精确可靠、周期短、费用低的优势,显示出了广泛的应用前景。