Controller design for gating traffic control in presence of time-delay in urban road networks

Recent studies demonstrated the efficiency of feedback-based gating control in mitigating congestion in urban networks by exploiting the notion of macroscopic or network fundamental diagram (MFD or NFD). The employed feedback regulator of proportional-integral (PI)-type targets an operating NFD point of maximum throughput to enhance the mobility in the urban road network during the peak period, under saturated traffic conditions. In previous studies, gating was applied directly at the border of the protected network (PN), i.e. the network part to be protected from over-saturation. In this work, the recently developed feedback-based gating concept is applied at junctions located further upstream of the PN. This induces a time-delay, which corresponds to the travel time needed for gated vehicles to approach the PN. The resulting extended feedback control problem can be also tackled by use of a PI-type regulator, albeit with different gain values compared to the case without time-delay. Detailed procedures regarding the appropriate design of related feedback regulators are provided. In addition, the developed feedback concept is shown to work properly with very long time-steps as well. A large part of the Chania, Greece, urban network, modelled in a microscopic simulation environment under realistic traffic conditions, is used as test-bed in this study. The reported results demonstrate a stable and efficient behaviour and improved mobility of the overall network in terms of mean speed and travel time.     

Evaluating determinants of attractiveness and their cause-effect relationships for container ports in Taiwan: users’ perspectives

The attractiveness of ports is usually a pre-requisite and necessary condition for ports to achieve competitiveness, as well as the springboard to explore the competitive advantages of ports. To determine whether a port is competitive, it is necessary to explore whether it boasts certain factors that make the port attractive to users. The main purpose of this article is to apply the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) method and the Decision Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL) technique to evaluate key determinants of attractiveness and their cause/effect relationships for container ports in Taiwan. The empirical results showed that: (1) Top six determinates of attractiveness for container ports are ‘ample cargo sources,’ ‘favorable port charges,’ ‘dense ship network and routes,’ ‘low transshipment costs,’ ‘efficient wharf operations,’ and ‘adequate wharfs and back-line land,’ respectively. (2) Among the above six determinants of attractiveness, ‘ample cargo sources’ is the cause determinant. Three determinants of port attractiveness, ‘favorable port charges,’ ‘dense ship network and routes,’ ‘low transshipment costs,’ which are the effect determinants. They are affected by the determinants of attractiveness of ‘ample cargo sources’. In addition, this study discusses the above findings and expects to provide the study results to Taiwan’s port authorities for reference.     

基于光纤传感系统的德国列车实时精确定位技术

实时、精确地获取列车位置信息是保证列车安全有效运行、发挥效率、提供最佳服务的前提。而轨旁传感器将在进行高效、可靠的列车跟踪和定位方面发挥重要作用。文章介绍德国基于光纤传感系统的列车实时精确定位技术,这是一种全新的解决方案,具有独特的优势和可能性。     

Structural safety assessment procedure for membrane-type LNG CCS considering hydroelasticity effect

As environmental regulations have become more onerous, the demand for LNG and LNG carriers has increased. The LNG cargo containment system (LNG CCS) is one of the most important facilities in LNG carriers, and many membrane types of LNG CCS have been developed so far. Traditionally, sloshing model tests are performed and a series of statistical approaches are used to obtain design sloshing pressures. Then, these design loads are utilized to analyze the structural safety of LNG CCS. In the sloshing model test, the flat and almost rigid plate is used as the LNG CCS instead of a real model, and thus, the hydroelasticity effect cannot be considered. In the present research, the effect of hydroelasticity on sloshing pressure was investigated in a fluid-structure interaction simulation. A wet drop simulation was conducted, and its results subsequently were compared with wet drop experimental test results to ensure their validity. Then, two types of structure model, namely a flat-rigid plate model and a flat-flexible CCS model, were generated to investigate the effect of hydroelasticity. Also, a fluid hitting analysis model was devised to realize the sloshing phenomenon, and the two generated structure models were applied as the structure domain in the analysis. In the fluid hitting simulations, it was found that the hydroelasticity effect on sloshing pressure is significant. Thus, correction factors, which are quantitative values of the effect of hydroelasticity, were derived (and are proposed herein). Finally, a structural safety assessment procedure for consideration of the hydroelasticity effect was derived (and is suggested herein).     

基于深度强化学习的智能船舶航迹跟踪控制

[目的]智能船舶的航迹跟踪控制问题往往面临着控制环境复杂、控制器稳定性不高以及大量的算法计算等问题。为实现对航迹跟踪的精准控制,提出一种引入深度强化学习技术的航向控制器。[方法]首先,结合视线(LOS)算法制导,以船舶的操纵特性和控制要求为基础,将航迹跟踪问题建模成马尔可夫决策过程,设计其状态空间、动作空间、奖励函数;然后,使用深度确定性策略梯度(DDPG)算法作为控制器的实现,采用离线学习方法对控制器进行训练;最后,将训练完成的控制器与BP-PID控制器进行对比研究,分析控制效果。[结果]仿真结果表明,设计的深度强化学习控制器可以从训练学习过程中快速收敛达到控制要求,训练后的网络与BP-PID控制器相比跟踪迅速,具有偏航误差小、舵角变化频率小等优点。[结论]研究成果可为智能船舶航迹跟踪控制提供参考。     

基于改进型消灭曲线法的横摇阻尼估算

自由衰减试验仍是目前最为有效且常用的估算横摇阻尼系数的方法.横摇阻尼系数的估算精度对于船舶横摇运动的预报起着至关重要的作用.通常采用所谓的消灭曲线法来分析自由横摇衰减数据.该方法的一个不足之处在于其推导是基于忽略了非线性恢复力项的自由横摇运动方程.另一方面,考虑更多非线性成分的能量法能够纳入该因素影响但在实施过程中较为复杂.文中提出了一种改进型的消灭曲线法,能够纳入船体非线性恢复力项的影响.所提出的方法形式简单且相比能量法更易于实施.数值试验证明了改进型消灭曲线法的正确性,并展现了其相对传统消灭曲线法所具有的优势.     

Hydroelastic analysis of oblique irregular waves with a pontoon-type VLFS edged with dual inclined perforated plates

The fluid-structure interaction of oblique irregular waves with a pontoon-type very large floating structure (VLFS) edged with dual horizontal/inclined perforated plates has been investigated in the context of the direct time domain modal expansion theory. For the hydroelastic analysis, the boundary element method (BEM) based on time domain Kelvin sources is implemented to establish water wave model including the viscous effect of the perforated plates through the Darcy’s law, and the finite element method (FEM) is adopted for solving the deflections of the VLFS modeled as an equivalent Mindlin thick plate. In order to enhance the computing efficiency, the interpolation-tabulation scheme is applied to assess rapidly and accurately the free-surface Green function and its partial derivatives in finite water depth, and the boundary integral equation of a half or quarter VLFS model is further established taking advantage of symmetry of flow field and structure. Also, the numerical solutions are validated against a series of experimental tests. In the comparison, the empirical relationship between the actual porosity and porous parameter is successfully applied. Numerical solutions and model tests are executed to determine the hydroelastic response characteristics of VLFS with an attached anti-motion device. This study examines the effects of porosity, submerged depth, inclined angle and gap distance of such dual perforated anti-motion plates on the hydroelastic response to provide information regarding the optimal design. The effects of oblique wave angle on the performance of anti-motion and hydroelastic behavior of VLFS are also emphatically examined.     

卡西姆港燃煤应急电站卸煤码头港池水域平面布置优化

针对复杂水域条件下大型散货码头的水域平面布置,基于卡西姆燃煤应急电站码头工程项目,根据对周边已建工程、红树林以及水动力等主要影响因素的深入分析提出初步平面方案,并通过船舶操纵模拟试验对平面布置及相关尺度进行优化,合理确定本工程平面布置方案。结果表明,本工程的建设对周边影响较小,水域尺度能够满足船舶通航及靠离泊要求,水域平面布置合理。     

Socially optimal electric driving range of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles

This study determines the optimal electric driving range of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) that minimizes the daily cost borne by the society when using this technology. An optimization framework is developed and applied to datasets representing the US market. Results indicate that the optimal range is 16 miles with an average social cost of $3.19 per day when exclusively charging at home, compared to $3.27 per day of driving a conventional vehicle. The optimal range is found to be sensitive to the cost of battery packs and the price of gasoline. When workplace charging is available, the optimal electric driving range surprisingly increases from 16 to 22 miles, as larger batteries would allow drivers to better take advantage of the charging opportunities to achieve longer electrified travel distances, yielding social cost savings. If workplace charging is available, the optimal density is to deploy a workplace charger for every 3.66 vehicles. Moreover, the diversification of the battery size, i.e., introducing a pair and triple of electric driving ranges to the market, could further decrease the average societal cost per PHEV by 7.45% and 11.5% respectively.     

基于时延特性建模的多断面短时交通流预测

针对现有交通流预测方法未充分考虑多断面车流演变规律，提出基于时延特性建模的时空相关性计算方法. 该方法采用对不同断面、不同时刻交通流的分布相似性度量，对输入的车辆到达数据序列进行切割构建时空相似度矩阵，得到相邻断面之间的时延参数. 基于时延特性建模，将多断面之间的流量信息进行融合，使用长短时记忆(LSTM)网络进行流量预测. 通过对实际路段数据的预测和结果分析，验证所提方法的有效性和实用性.