A competing Markov model for cracking prediction on civil structures

Cracks on the surface of civil structures (e.g. pavement sections, concrete structures) progress in several formations and under different deterioration mechanisms. In monitoring practice, it is often that cracking type with its worst damage level is selected as a representative condition state, while other cracking types and their damage levels are neglected in records, remaining as hidden information. Therefore, the practice in monitoring has a potential to conceal with a bias selection process, which possibly result in not optimal intervention strategies. In overcoming these problems, our paper presents a non-homogeneous Markov hazard model, with competing hazard rates. Cracking condition states are classified in three types (longitudinal crack, horizontal crack, and alligator crack), with three respective damage levels. The dynamic selection of cracking condition states are undergone a competing process of cracking types and damage levels. We apply a numerical solution using Bayesian estimation and Markov Chain Monte Carlo method to solve the problem of high-order integration of complete likelihood function. An empirical study on a data-set of Japanese pavement system is presented to demonstrate the applicability and contribution of the model.     

Suspension system state estimation using adaptive Kalman filtering based on road classification

This paper provides a new method to solve the problem of suspension system state estimation using a Kalman Filter (KF) under various road conditions. Due to the fact that practical road conditions are complex and uncertain, the influence of the system process noise variance and measurement noise covariance on the estimation accuracy of the KF is first analysed. To accurately estimate the road condition, a new road classification method through the vertical acceleration of sprung mass is proposed, and different road process variances are obtained to tune the system’s variance for the application of the KF. Then, road classification and KF are combined to form an Adaptive Kalman Filter (AKF) that takes into account the relationship of different road process noise variances and measurement noise covariances under various road conditions. Simulation results show that the proposed AKF algorithm can obtain a high accuracy of state estimation for a suspension system under varying International Standards Organisation road excitation levels.     

Adhesion estimation at the wheel–rail interface using advanced model-based filtering

The railway industry in the UK is currently expanding the use of condition monitoring of railway vehicles. These systems can be used to improve maintenance procedures or could potentially be used to monitor current vehicle running conditions without the use of cost prohibitive sensors. This paper looks at a novel method for the online detection of areas of low adhesion in the wheel/rail contact that cause significant disruption to the running of a network, particularly in the autumn season. The proposed method uses a Kalman–Bucy filter to estimate the creep forces in the wheel–rail contact area; post-processing is then applied to provide information indicative of the actual adhesion level. The algorithm uses data that, in practice, would be available from a set of modest cost inertial sensors mounted on the vehicle bogie and wheel-sets. The efficacy of the approach is demonstrated using simulation data from a nonlinear dynamic model of the vehicle and its track interface.     

Contents Index Volume 35 and 36

Active safety systems would benefit from tyre force and friction potential information. Different sensor concepts, including, among others, the EU–funded Apollo–project developed tyre sensor based on optical position detection, are being studied. The sensor can measure tyre carcass deflections with respect to the rim. The carcass deflections can be used to calculate tyre forces and they may be exploited in the estimation of friction potential. The waveforms of the sensor signal are illustrated. The vertical and lateral force estimations are presented with unavoidable compensation parts. The tyre sensor measurements were compared to the measurement–vehicle results and good correlations achieved. Continuing activities are concerned with the estimation of friction potential and the detection of aquaplaning.     

Dynamic demand estimation and microscopic traffic simulation of a university campus transportation network

Abstract

This article documents the authors' experience with the modeling, simulation, and analysis of a university transportation system, using the TRansportation ANalysis and SIMulation System (TRANSIMS). The processes of data preparation and network coding are described, followed by the algorithm developed to estimate the dynamic 24-hour demand, which includes a procedure for estimating the ‘desirability’ of the different parking lots from readily available data. The dynamic demand estimation algorithm is validated by comparing estimated and observed parking lot occupancies, where it is shown that the algorithm is capable of replicating observed results. Finally, an example is included to demonstrate how the developed model can be used in campus transportation planning. Besides serving as a first case study for using TRANSIMS to model a university campus, the study's contributions include the development of a procedure for parking lot desirability ranking and a practical procedure for estimating dynamic demand on university campuses.     

基于应力松弛试验用有限元预估车辙

为了使车辙预估变得更为简便,提出一种基于应力松弛试验的改进的有限元车辙预估方法。研究结果表明：不仅从粘弹性力学的角度分析,应力松弛试验在理论上与Maxwell模型具有一致性,而且实例计算结果也验证了此方法的可行性。该方法便于不熟悉本构理论的工程人员进行车辙预估。     

基于卡尔曼滤波算法的电机转速精确估计

从无刷直流电机入手建立数学模型，利用卡尔曼Kalman（EKF）滤波原理算法，对无刷直流电机的转速进行精确估计，然后在Matlab环境下仿真，验证卡尔曼滤波算法对电机转速估计的精确性。     

An inverse finite element method for the analysis of VIV data

This paper presents an algorithm for the frequency domain solution of dynamic linear “inverse” problems, that is for the processing of measurement data (strain, acceleration etc.) acquired on a mechanical structure, in order to estimate the loads acting on the structure and its corresponding response. The problem is formulated as a constrained (force equilibrium) optimization (small deviations from measurements, small loads) problem, which is transformed into an unconstrained problem, then into differential equations. The algorithm is applied to the estimation of hydrodynamic forces induced by the shedding of vortices from an offshore oil riser.     

Road roughness estimation based on discrete Kalman filter with unknown input

ABSTRACT

The road roughness acts as a disturbance input to the vehicle dynamics, and causes undesirable vibrations associated with the ride and handing characteristics. Furthermore, the accurate measurement of road roughness plays a key role in better understanding a vehicle dynamic behaviour and active suspension control systems. However, the direct measurement by laser profilometer or other distance sensors are not trivial due to technical and economic issues. This study proposes a new road roughness estimation method by using the discrete Kalman filter with unknown input (DKF-UI). This algorithm is built on a quarter-car model and uses the measurements of the wheel stroke (suspension deflection), and the acceleration of the sprung mass and unsprung mass. The estimation results are compared to the measurements by laser profilometer in-vehicle test.     

基于双目视觉计算的车辆跟驰状态实时感知系统

双目视觉技术能够实现目标的识别与距离计算，在自动驾驶领域有很大的应用空间。然而，现阶段双目视觉存在光照干扰、遮挡、弱纹理区域歧义匹配等问题，影响其测量的准确性和可靠性。提出基于双目视觉的跟驰状态实时感知系统，该系统采用基于车辆跟驰模型的扩展卡尔曼滤波方法对车辆跟驰状态进行实时估计，包括跟驰距离、前后车速度差等。通过实际道路试验，证明了该系统能够识别并修正测量数据中的异常值，解决弱纹理区域误匹配问题。试验结果表明：25 mm焦距与12 mm焦距的双目系统跟驰间距测量值的平均误差分别为2.66%与9.14%；在相对速度测量方面，2种焦距系统的测量精度基本相同，平均误差均为1 m·s^-1左右。所提出的方法在自动驾驶车辆环境感知领域有较好的应用前景。