Increased energy efficiency in short sea shipping through decreased time in port

According to a range of assessments, there exists a large cost-effective potential to increase energy efficiency in shipping through reduced speed at sea enabled by shorter time in port. This means that the energy needed can be reduced whilst maintaining the same transport service. However, the fact that a large cost-effective potential has been identified that is not being harnessed by decision-makers in practice suggests that there is more to this potential to understand. In this paper, the possibilities for increasing energy efficiency by reducing waiting time in port are explored and problematised through a case study of a short sea bulk shipping company transporting dry bulk goods mainly in the North and Baltic seas. Operational data from two ships in the company’s fleet for one year showed that the ships spent more than 40% of their time in ports and that half of the time in port was not productive. The two most important reasons for the large share of unproductive time were that ports were closed on nights and weekends and that ships arrived too early before the stevedores were ready to load or unload the cargo. Reducing all of the unproductive time may be difficult, but the results also show that even a conservative estimate of one to four hours of reduced time per port call would lead to a reduction in energy use of 2–8%. From in-depth interviews with employees of the shipping company, ports and ship agencies, a complex picture is painted when attempting to understand how this potential arises. Aspects such as a lack of effective ship-shore-port communication, little time for ship operators, an absence of means for accurately predicting energy use of voyages as a function of speed, perceived risk of arriving too late, and relationships with third-party technical management may all play a role.     

Integrated optimization of transit priority operation at isolated intersections: A person-capacity-based approach

In this paper, a person-capacity-based optimization method for the integrated design of lane markings, exclusive bus lanes, and passive bus priority signal settings for isolated intersections is developed. Two traffic modes, passenger cars and buses, have been considered in a unified framework. Person capacity maximization has been used as an objective for the integrated optimization method. This problem has been formulated as a Binary Mixed Integer Linear Program (BMILP) that can be solved by a standard branch-and-bound routine. Variables including, allocation of lanes for different passenger car movements (e.g., left turn lanes or right turn lanes), exclusive bus lanes, and passive bus priority signal timings can be optimized simultaneously by the proposed model. A set of constraints have been set up to ensure feasibility and safety of the resulting optimal lane markings and signal settings. Numerical examples and simulation results have been provided to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed person-capacity-based optimization method. The results of extensive sensitivity analyses of the bus ratio, bus occupancy, and maximum degree of saturation of exclusive bus lanes have been presented to show the performance and applicable domain of the proposed model under different composition of inputs.     

GSM-R专网中基于短消息的功能寻址

功能寻址是无线智能网一项基本业务，详细描述GSM-R专网中功能寻址业务，分析其工作原理及流程，并针对铁路的实际应用需求提出使用短消息进行功能寻址的新业务。     

双洞双向8车道公路隧道的方案比选

结合双洞双向8车道大跨度公路隧道的设计和施工,从技术可行性、经济效益和社会效益方面对3个备选方案进行了比较,并采用综合评分法进行了定量化评价,推荐采用暗挖分离式小净距隧道方案,可以在确保隧道交通功能的前提下,实现经济效益和社会效益的双赢。     

短束预应力钢绞线张拉伸长值控制方法

短束预应力钢绞线在施工中很容易出现超限的问题,即实测伸长值与理论伸长值的比值超出现行公路桥涵规范中6%的规定,分析了超限产生的原因,并提出了在施工中加强控制的合理建议。     

人行道设计建议——以南京市相关调查为例

城市道路设计中,多以满足机动车行驶需求为核心,对人行道的设计不够重视,产生如人行道局部缺失、设置不连续或不合理、过街人行道数量不足或缺失等问题,以致人行设施服务水平不高,制约了城市道路的整体服务水平。分别从宏观规划和微观设计两方面探讨了步行友好型城市的未来。在宏观规划方面,提出优良的步行网络应该具有的6要素;在微观设计方面,以南京市为例,针对人行道设计中的人行道宽度、与非机动车道的分离措施、附属设施设计、与换乘车站连接等方面进行了分析,并对目前城市道路设计规范中的有关内容提出改善建议。     

Development and comparison of choice models and tolling schemes for high-occupancy/toll (HOT) facilities

A high-occupancy/toll (HOT) lane is an increasingly popular form of traffic management strategy which reserves a set of freeway lanes for HOVs and transit users, while allowing low-occupancy vehicles (LOVs) to enter for a fee. In turn, HOT lanes maintain a minimal level of service by regulating the volume of entering LOVs. The focus of this paper is how to model the choice process of individual drivers, which dictates the volume of LOVs that choose to pay and take the HOT lane. Such models and the insights they provide can be very helpful for the toll setting process. Two simple formulations (an all-or-nothing assignment and an additive logit model) are compared with a proposed formulation based on the population value of time (VOT) distribution. Both static and dynamic toll setting algorithms are studied based on the proposed lane choice model, and their performance is compared under deterministic traffic behavior.     

Characterization and comparison of traffic flow on reversible roadways

Reversible traffic operations have become an increasingly popular strategy for mitigating traffic congestion associated with the directionally unbalanced traffic flows that are a routine part of peak commute periods, planned special events, and emergency evacuations. It is interesting that despite its widespread and long‐term use, relatively little is known about the operational characteristics of this form of operation. For example, the capacity of a reversed lane has been estimated by some to be equal to that of a normal lane while others have theorized it to be half of this value. Without accurate estimates of reversible lane performance it is not possible to confidently gauge the benefits of reversible roadways or model them using traffic simulation. This paper presents the results of a study to measure and evaluate the speed and flow characteristics of reverse‐flow traffic streams by comparing them under various operating conditions and locations. It was found that, contrary to some opinions, the flow characteristics of reverse‐flowing lanes were generally similar to normally flowing lanes under a variety of traffic volume, time‐of‐day, location, and type‐of‐use conditions. The study also revealed that drivers will readily use reversible lanes without diminished operating speeds, particularly as volumes increase. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Developing intermodal transport for small flows over short distances

Intermodal road-rail freight transport works best within markets with relatively large flows occurring over long distances, which corresponds poorly to the current demand for transport in the European Union. The purpose of this paper is to compare the capabilities of conventional European intermodal transport, with special reference to the competitiveness in markets with small flows over short distances, and to explore innovative concepts. Using a technological systems approach, key functions are identified as being the inducement and blocking mechanisms that affect the development and diffusion path of this 'small flows over short distances' (SFSD) system, providing a tool for empirical delineation of the system. These concepts are illustrated and analysed through a case study of the Swedish development project Light-combi. The results show that market and financial uncertainties, insufficient network connectivity and policies favouring the existing technology paradigm, severely hamper the development and diffusion of SFSD systems.     

双索面混凝土梁矮塔斜拉宽桥设计概述

从主梁构造、桥塔构造、拉索体系、双索面布置等几个方面探讨了双索面混凝土梁矮塔斜拉宽桥与常规矮塔斜拉桥的不同之处,介绍了该类桥梁的设计要点。