Benefit of speed reduction for ships in different weather conditions

Currently, the shipping industry is facing a great challenge of reducing emissions. Reducing ship speeds will reduce the emissions in the immediate future with no additional infrastructure. However, a detailed investigation is required to verify the claim that a 10% speed reduction would lead to 19% fuel savings (Faber et al., 2012).This paper investigates fuel savings due to speed reduction using detailed modeling of ship performance. Three container ships, two bulk carriers, and one tanker, representative of the shipping fleet, have been designed. Voyages have been simulated by modeling calm water resistance, wave resistance, propulsion efficiency, and engine limits. Six ships have been simulated in various weather conditions at different speeds. Potential fuel savings have been estimated for a range of speed reductions in realistic weather.It is concluded that the common assumption of cubic speed-power relation can cause a significant error in the estimation of bunker consumption. Simulations in different seasons have revealed that fuel savings due to speed reduction are highly weather dependent. Therefore, a simple way to include the effect of weather in shipping transport models has been proposed.Speed reduction can lead to an increase in the number of ships to fulfill the transport demand. Therefore, the emission reduction potential of speed reduction strategy, after accounting for the additional ships, has been studied. Surprisingly, when the speed is reduced by 30%, fuel savings vary from 2% to 45% depending on ship type, size and weather conditions. Fuel savings further reduce when the auxiliary engines are considered.     

Using GPS-data to determine optimum electric vehicle ranges: A Michigan case study

Fuel-switching personal transportation from gasoline to electricity offers many advantages, including lower noise, zero local air pollution, and petroleum-independence. But alleviations of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are more nuanced, due to many factors, including the car’s battery range. We use GPS-based trip data to determine use type-specific, GHG-optimized ranges. The dataset comprises 412 cars and 384,869 individual trips in Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA. We use previously developed algorithms to determine driver types, such as using the car to commute or not. Calibrating an existing life cycle GHG model to a forecast, low-carbon grid for Ann Arbor, we find that the optimum range varies not only with the drive train architecture (plugin-hybrid versus battery-only) and charging technology (fast versus slow) but also with the driver type. Across the 108 scenarios we investigated, the range that yields lowest GHG varies from 65 km (55+ year old drivers, ultrafast charging, plugin-hybrid) to 158 km (16–34 year old drivers, overnight charging, battery-only). The optimum GHG reduction that electric cars offer – here conservatively measured versus gasoline-only hybrid cars – is fairly stable, between 29% (16–34 year old drivers, overnight charging, battery-only) and 46% (commuters, ultrafast charging, plugin-hybrid). The electrification of total distances is between 66% and 86%. However, if cars do not have the optimum range, these metrics drop substantially. We conclude that matching the range to drivers’ typical trip distances, charging technology, and drivetrain is a crucial pre-requisite for electric vehicles to achieve their highest potential to reduce GHG emissions in personal transportation.     

套筒式收发球在天然气管道内检测中的应用

为解决特殊清管器和检测器以及有特殊结构收发球筒的管道难以实施内检测的问题,以某天然气管道为例,详细介绍了在多节检测器安装困难、收发球筒尺寸过短、附件安装位置不合适等限制条件下,采用套筒式收发球方式对管道进行收发球作业,安全顺利完成了管道内检测。结论认为套筒式收发球能够在不进行收发球筒改造的前提下,完成带有特殊结构收发球筒的管道内检测作业。     

The Alternative Motor Fuels Act, alternative-fuel vehicles, and greenhouse gas emissions

The corporate average fuel economy (CAFE) standard is the major policy tool to improve the fleet average miles per gallon of automobile manufacturers in the US. The Alternative Motor Fuels Act (AMFA) provides special treatment in calculating the fuel economy of alternative-fuel vehicles to give manufacturers CAFE incentives to produce more alternative-fuel vehicles. AMFA has as its goals an increase in the production of alternative-fuel vehicles and a decrease in gasoline consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. This paper examines theoretically the effects of the program set up under AMFA. It finds that, under some conditions, this program may actually increase the production of fuel-inefficient gasoline vehicles, gasoline consumption and greenhouse gas emissions.     

输气管道置换优化研究

置换是输气管道投产试运过程中的重要工艺环节,是复杂的扩散、对流过程。文中介绍了输气管道投产前用氮气置换空气的几种方法,阐述了它们的工作原理与实施步骤,对比分析了它们的优缺点,优选了置换方式,并采用Fluent流体模拟软件建立了输气管道氮气置换数学模型,进行了三维稳态和非稳态数值计算,研究了置换过程中混气段长度随管径、管长、流速变化规律,将理论推导、数值计算和现场数据进行了对比,验证了理论结果的正确性,为现场施工提供了科学依据。     

管道内防腐层补口技术研究进展

管道内衬或内防腐涂层现场施焊时,焊缝两侧的防腐层会由于高温作用而破坏,使环焊缝处不能得到有效的保护,内补口技术也成为影响管道质量的主要瓶颈。文中介绍了国内外主要的内补口技术,如内补口机法、内衬保护套（管）焊接法、不锈钢接头法、机械连接法等,并指出各方法的特点。文中还就内补口技术的质量控制和研究方向等提出了建议。     

垂直水幕作用下扩建地下水封油库布局方式研究

为研究垂直水幕对扩建地下水封油库布局方式的影响,以某大型地下水封洞库分期建设工程为依托,采用有限元数值模拟方法,对有、无垂直水幕条件下扩建洞库的布局方式进行研究。研究结果表明： 1）当两期洞库间距较小时,在两期洞库之间设置垂直水幕可有效削弱拟建洞库对已建洞库水封可靠性的影响,随两期洞库间距的增加,垂直水幕的影响性逐渐减弱; 2）拟建洞库轴线方向对水封可靠性的影响受地形等条件的影响较大,在两期洞库之间设置垂直水幕对水封可靠性的影响较小; 3）随拟建洞库埋深的增加,拟建洞库的水封可靠性逐渐增强,已建洞库的水封可靠性却呈逐步减小趋势,在两期洞库之间设置垂直水幕可有效减小埋深对两期洞库水封可靠性的影响。     

Airline energy efficiency measures using the Virtual Frontier Network RAM with weak disposability

In this paper, airline energy efficiency is divided into three stages: the operations stage, the services stage and the sales stage. Greenhouse gas emissions are treated as an undesirable output of the services stage. This new three-stage strategic operating framework is a modification of existing models. A new model, Virtual Frontier Network Range Adjusted Measure with weak disposability, is proposed to evaluate the efficiencies of 22 international airlines, from 2008 to 2012. The results show that the new model can establish more reasonable rankings and confirm new benchmarking airlines and that inclusion in the European Union’s Emissions Trading Scheme has had little influence on the improvement of airline energy efficiency.     

Empirical analysis of short period traffic counts and their efficiency: the case of Indian traffic

Short period traffic counts (SPTCs) are conducted routinely to estimate the annual average daily traffic (AADT) at a particular site. This paper uses Indian traffic volume data to methodically and extensively study the effect of four aspects related to the design of SPTCs. These four aspects are: (i) for how long, (ii) on which days should SPTCs be carried out, (iii) how many times, and (iv) on which months should SPTCs be carried out? The analyses indicate that the best durations for conducting SPTCs are 3 days (starting with a Thursday) and 7 days, for total traffic and truck traffic, respectively. Further, these counts should be repeated twice a year keeping a separation of two months between the counts to obtain good estimates of AADT at minimal cost. An additional outcome of this study has been the determination of seasonal factor values for roads in developing economies, like India.     

利用SPS模拟川气东送管道压气站失效问题

为研究压气站失效与单台机组失效对输气管道的影响程度,采用SPS软件对压气站失效和单台机组失效进行了详细模拟。模拟结果显示:压气站失效与单台机组失效相比对管输系统影响较大;对于压气站失效,越靠近末站的压气站失效对管输系统影响越大;对于单台机组失效,越靠近首站的压缩机失效对管输系统影响越大。分析结果可为事故状态下的供气和抢修提供参考。