Including heavy vehicles in a car‐following model: modelling,calibrating and validating

Heavy vehicles influence general traffic in many different ways compared with passenger vehicles, and this may result in different levels of traffic instability. Increases in the number and proportion of heavy vehicles in the traffic stream will therefore result in different traffic flow conditions. This research initially outlines the different car‐following behaviour of drivers in congested heterogeneous traffic conditions indicating the necessity for developing a car‐following model, which includes these differences. A psychophysical car‐following model, similar in form to Weideman's car‐following model, was developed. Due to the complexity of the developed model, the calibration of the model was undertaken using a particle swarm optimisation algorithm with the data recorded under congested traffic conditions. This was then incorporated into a traffic microsimulation model. The results showed that the car‐following perceptual thresholds and thus action points of drivers differ based on their vehicle and the lead vehicle types. The inclusion of the heavy vehicles in the model showed significant impacts on the traffic dynamic and interactions amongst different vehicles. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Design,modelling, and analysis of a large floating dock for spar floating wind turbine installation

Installation of floating wind turbines at the offshore site is a challenging task. A significant part of the time efficiency and costs are related to the installation methods which are sensitive to weather conditions. This study investigates a large floating dock concept, which can be used to shield a floating wind turbine during installation of tower, nacelle, and rotor onto a spar foundation. In this paper, the concept is described in detail, and a design optimisation is carried out using simple design constraints. Hydrodynamic analysis and dynamic response analysis of the coupled system of the optimum dock and spar are conducted. Two spars of different sizes are considered, and the motion responses of the spars with and without the dock in irregular waves are compared. Through analysis of the motion spectra and response statistics, dynamic characteristics of the coupled system is revealed. The present design of the dock reduces the platform-pitch responses of the spars and potentially facilitates blade mating, but may deteriorate the heave velocity of the spars in swell conditions. Finally, future design aspects of the floating dock are discussed.     

An online speed profile generation approach for efficient airport ground movement

The precise guidance and control of taxiing aircraft based on four-dimensional trajectories (4DTs) has been recognised as a promising means to ensure safe and efficient airport ground movement in the context of ever growing air traffic demand. In this paper, a systematic approach for online speed profile generation is proposed. The aim is to generate fuel-efficient speed profiles respecting the timing constraints imposed by routing and scheduling, which ensures conflict-free movement of aircraft in the planning stage. The problem is first formulated as a nonlinear optimisation model, which uses a more flexible edge-based speed profile definition. A decomposed solution approach (following the framework of matheuristic) is then proposed to generate feasible speed profiles in real time. The decomposed solution approach reduces the nonlinear optimisation model into three tractable constituent problems. The control point arrival time allocation problem is solved using linear programming. The control point speed allocation problem is solved using particle swarm optimisation. And the complete speed profile between control points is determined using enumeration. Finally, improved speed profiles are generated through further optimisation upon the feasible speed profiles. The effectiveness and advantages of the proposed approach are validated using datasets of real-world airports.     

Optimally combined headway and timetable reliable public transport system

This paper presents a model-based multiobjective control strategy to reduce bus bunching and hence improve public transport reliability. Our goal is twofold. First, we define a proper model, consisting of multiple static and dynamic components. Bus-following model captures the longitudinal dynamics taking into account the interaction with the surrounding traffic. Furthermore, bus stop operations are modeled to estimate dwell time. Second, a shrinking horizon model predictive controller (MPC) is proposed for solving bus bunching problems. The model is able to predict short time-space behavior of public transport buses enabling constrained, finite horizon, optimal control solution to ensure homogeneity of service both in time and space. In this line, the goal with the selected rolling horizon control scheme is to choose a proper velocity profile for the public transport bus such that it keeps both timetable schedule and a desired headway from the bus in front of it (leading bus). The control strategy predicts the arrival time at a bus stop using a passenger arrival and dwell time model. In this vein, the receding horizon model predictive controller calculates an optimal velocity profile based on its current position and desired arrival time. Four different weighting strategies are proposed to test (i) timetable only, (ii) headway only, (iii) balanced timetable - headway tracking and (iv) adaptive control with varying weights. The controller is tested in a high fidelity traffic simulator with realistic scenarios. The behavior of the system is analyzed by considering extreme disturbances. Finally, the existence of a Pareto front between these two objectives is also demonstrated.     

多目标多重运输调度问题的混合算法

本文研究了多目标多重运输调度问题．建立了该问题的目标规划模型，提出了该问题基于分校定界和割平面技术的混合算法。     

Robust design of a passive linear quarter car suspension system using a multi-objective evolutionary algorithm and analytical robustness indexes

This paper deals with the robust design of a passive vehicle suspension system. A robust design methodology based on a multi-objective evolutionary algorithm (MOEA) is used to handle the trade-off between the considered conflicting performance requirements under uncertainty and feasibility constraints. A constrained multi-objective optimisation problem is formulated and the notion of Pareto-optimality is used to increase the quality of the candidate design solutions obtained at each generation by the MOEA. To save computation time, a simplified physical model (quarter car) is considered and the optimisation is performed in the frequency domain, using relevant transmissibilities of the system. The robustness is directly investigated by means of analytical robustness indexes. Time-consuming a posteriori methods, like designs of experiments or Monte Carlo analysis, are therefore avoided. A set of non-dominated solutions is obtained. Thus the designer not only selects a special design, in accordance with the wanted vehicle configuration, but also includes the robustness of each performance requirement in his final decision.     

Hunting stability analysis of high-speed train bogie under the frame lateral vibration active control

In this paper, we study a multi-objective optimal design of three different frame vibration control configurations and compare their performances in improving the lateral stability of a high-speed train bogie. The existence of the time-delay in the control system and its impact on the bogie hunting stability are also investigated. The continuous time approximation method is used to approximate the time-delay system dynamics and then the root locus curves of the system before and after applying control are depicted. The analysis results show that the three control cases could improve the bogie hunting stability effectively. But the root locus of low- frequency hunting mode of bogie which determinates the system critical speed is different, thus affecting the system stability with the increasing of speed. Based on the stability analysis at different bogie dynamics parameters, the robustness of the control case (1) is the strongest. However, the case (2) is more suitable for the dynamic performance requirements of bogie. For the case (1), the time-delay over 10?ms may lead to instability of the control system which will affect the bogie hunting stability seriously. For the case (2) and (3), the increasing time-delay reduces the hunting stability gradually over the high-speed range. At a certain speed, such as 200?km/h, an appropriate time-delay is favourable to the bogie hunting stability. The mechanism is proposed according to the root locus analysis of time-delay system. At last, the nonlinear bifurcation characteristics of the bogie control system are studied by the numerical integration methods to verify the effects of these active control configurations and the delay on the bogie hunting stability.     

Optimisation of active suspension control inputs for improved performance of active safety systems

A collocation-type control variable optimisation method is used to investigate the extent to which the fully active suspension (FAS) can be applied to improve the vehicle electronic stability control (ESC) performance and reduce the braking distance. First, the optimisation approach is applied to the scenario of vehicle stabilisation during the sine-with-dwell manoeuvre. The results are used to provide insights into different FAS control mechanisms for vehicle performance improvements related to responsiveness and yaw rate error reduction indices. The FAS control performance is compared to performances of the standard ESC system, optimal active brake system and combined FAS and ESC configuration. Second, the optimisation approach is employed to the task of FAS-based braking distance reduction for straight-line vehicle motion. Here, the scenarios of uniform and longitudinally or laterally non-uniform tyre–road friction coefficient are considered. The influences of limited anti-lock braking system (ABS) actuator bandwidth and limit-cycle ABS behaviour are also analysed. The optimisation results indicate that the FAS can provide competitive stabilisation performance and improved agility when compared to the ESC system, and that it can reduce the braking distance by up to 5% for distinctively non-uniform friction conditions.     

Modelling route choice behaviour in a tolled road network with a time surplus maximisation bi-objective user equilibrium model

In this paper, we propose a novel approach to model route choice behaviour in a tolled road network with a bi-objective approach, assuming that all users have two objectives: (1) minimise travel time; and (2) minimise toll cost. We assume further that users have different preferences in the sense that for any given path with a specific toll, there is a limit on the time that an individual would be willing to spend. Different users can have different preferences represented by this indifference curve between toll and time. Time surplus is defined as the maximum time minus the actual time. Given a set of paths, the one with the highest (or least negative) time surplus will be the preferred path for the individual. This will result in a bi-objective equilibrium solution satisfying the time surplus maximisation bi-objective user equilibrium (TSmaxBUE) condition. That is, for each O–D pair, all individuals are travelling on the path with the highest time surplus value among all the efficient paths between this O–D pair.We show that the TSmaxBUE condition is a proper generalisation of user equilibrium with generalised cost function, and that it is equivalent to bi-objective user equilibrium. We also present a multi-user class version of the TSmaxBUE condition and demonstrate our concepts with illustrative examples.     

A systematic review of route optimisation and pre-emption methods for emergency vehicles

ABSTRACT

Reducing the travel time of emergency vehicles (EVs) is an effective way to improve critical services such as ambulance, fire, and police. Route optimisation and pre-emption are powerful techniques used to reduce EV travel time. This paper presents a systematic literature review of optimisation and pre-emption techniques for routing EVs. A detailed classification of existing techniques is presented along with critical analysis and discussion. The study observes the limitations of existing routing systems and lack of real-world applications of the proposed pre-emption systems, leading to several interesting and important knowledge and implementation gaps that require further investigation. These gaps include optimisations using real-time dynamic traffic data, considering time to travel as a critical parameter within dynamic route planning algorithms, considering advanced algorithms, assessing and minimising the effects of EV routing on other traffic, and addressing safety concerns in traffic networks containing multiple EVs at the same time.