A comparative life-cycle energy and emissions analysis for intercity passenger transportation in the U.S. by aviation,intercity bus,and automobile

Intercity passenger trips constitute a significant source of energy consumption, greenhouse gas emissions, and criteria pollutant emissions. The most commonly used city-to-city modes in the United States include aircraft, intercity bus, and automobile. This study applies state-of-the-practice models to assess life-cycle fuel consumption and pollutant emissions for intercity trips via aircraft, intercity bus, and automobile. The analyses compare the fuel and emissions impacts of different travel mode scenarios for intercity trips ranging from 200 to 1600 km. Because these modes operate differently with respect to engine technology, fuel type, and vehicle capacity, the modeling techniques and modeling boundaries vary significantly across modes. For aviation systems, much of the energy and emissions are associated with auxiliary equipment activities, infrastructure power supply, and terminal activities, in addition to the vehicle operations between origin/destination. Furthermore, one should not ignore the embodied energy and initial emissions from the manufacturing of the vehicles, and the construction of airports, bus stations, highways and parking lots. Passenger loading factors and travel distances also significantly influence fuel and emissions results on a per-traveler basis. The results show intercity bus is generally the most fuel-efficient mode and produced the lowest per-passenger-trip emissions for the entire range of trip distances examined. Aviation is not a fuel-efficient mode for short trips (<500 km), primarily due to the large energy impacts associated with takeoff and landing, and to some extent from the emissions of ground support equipment associated with any trip distance. However, aviation is more energy efficient and produces less emissions per-passenger-trip than low-occupancy automobiles for trip distances longer than 700–800 km. This study will help inform policy makers and transportation system operators about how differently each intercity system perform across all activities, and provides a basis for future policies designed to encourage mode shifts by range of service. The estimation procedures used in this study can serve as a reference for future analyses of transportation scenarios.     

铁路预应力路堤加固技术数值研究

研究目的:铁路预应力路堤在国内外尚属一种新型路基加固法,其受力变形特性暂未得到系统化研究,相关加固设计理论仍处于探索性阶段。因此,有必要通过数值手段了解预应力路堤的工作状态,以掌握其加固性能。鉴于此,借助ABAQUS软件平台构建预应力路堤仿真系统,分析差异化预应力加固参数对路堤变形和承载能力的影响以及预应力加固构件的受力特征。研究结论:(1)路堤本体段坡面较优加固位置为距本体顶面以下0.3倍本体高度处;(2)坡率1∶1的预应力路堤在第1、2排侧压板分别施加50 k Pa、100 k Pa预压荷载时,其变形与承载力均可达传统路堤(坡率1∶1.5)水平,并可通过提升加固标准进一步强化路堤承载性能;(3)当对第1、2、3排侧压板分别施加50 k Pa、100 k Pa、100 k Pa预压荷载时,路堤内部附加围压S11>13.5 k Pa区域大致呈"x"形分布并形成横贯路堤的"预压加固区";(4)侧压板锚固区受力集中且复杂,应注意保障锚固区板体强度;(5)力筋在路堤加载前后的应力变化量与坡面侧向变形特征相关;(6)本研究成果可为铁路预应力路堤的加固设计提供技术指导。     

考虑游览船运营特征的航道通过能力评价方法

为构建客货船舶协同动态运行控制技术体系，以经典航道通过能力模型为基础，构建基于游览船运营特征(发船高峰性和航线集中度)的航道通过能力模型.根据黄浦江游览核心区船舶自动识别系统(AIS)数据，对所提出的航道通过能力模型进行实证分析.研究结果表明，本文航道通过能力模型能够较为准确地评价研究区域的实际航道通过能力.游览船发船高峰时期与现有航线规划条件下，黄浦江游览核心区航道通过能力(76艘/h)趋近饱和状态；当过境船到达超过69艘/h时，建议海事相关部门采取“错峰”航行等相关政策.     

提高八钢专用铁路货运量的对策

优化调整货物运输结构、提高铁路发运占比是落实"蓝天保卫战"的一项具体举措。为了满足宝钢集团新疆八一钢铁有限公司生产规模的不断扩大、外运需求旺盛的实际,在对其铁路运输现状和需求,以及存在的线路质量较差、装卸效率较低、运输组织衔接弱等问题进行剖析的基础上,提出提高铁路货运量对策,即:推进路企直通战略合作、升级改造设备设施、构建调度全程统一指挥模式、优化货流源头组织,以加快调整运输结构,增加铁路货运量,推动铁路高质量发展。     

Airport capacity increase via the use of braking profiles

Many airports are encountering the problem of insufficient capacity, which is particularly severe in periods of increased traffic. A large number of elements influence airport capacity, but one of the most important is runway occupancy time. This time depends on many factors, including how the landing roll procedure is performed. The procedure usually does not include the objective to minimize the runway occupancy time. This paper presents an analysis which shows that the way of braking during landing roll has an essential impact on runway throughput and thus on airport capacity. For this purpose, the landing roll simulator (named ACPENSIM) was created. It uses Petri nets and is a convenient tool for dynamic analysis of aircraft movement on the runway with given input parameters and a predetermined runway exit. Simulation experiments allowed to create a set of nominal braking profiles that have different objective functions: minimizing the runway occupancy time, minimizing noise, minimizing tire wear, maximizing passenger comfort and maximizing airport capacity as a whole. The experiments show that there is great potential to increase airport capacity by optimizing the braking procedure. It has been shown that by using the proposed braking profiles it is possible to reduce the runway occupancy time even by 50%.     

A capacity maximization scheme for intersection management with automated vehicles

With the advent of connected and automated vehicle technology, in this paper, we propose an innovative intersection operation scheme named as MCross: Maximum Capacity inteRsection Operation Scheme with Signals. This new scheme maximizes intersection capacity by utilizing all lanes of a road simultaneously. Lane assignment and green durations are dynamically optimized by solving a multi-objective mixed-integer non-linear programming problem. The demand conditions under which full capacity can be achieved in MCross are derived analytically. Numerical examples show that MCross can almost double the intersection capacity (increase by as high as 99.51% in comparison to that in conventional signal operation scheme).     

Integrating mesoscopic dynamic traffic assignment with agent-based travel behavior models for cumulative land development impact analysis

A number of approaches have been developed to evaluate the impact of land development on transportation infrastructure. While traditional approaches are either limited to static modeling of traffic performance or lack a strong travel behavior foundation, today’s advanced computational technology makes it feasible to model an individual traveler’s response to land development. This study integrates dynamic traffic assignment (DTA) with a positive agent-based microsimulation travel behavior model for cumulative land development impact studies. The integrated model not only enhances the behavioral implementation of DTA, but also captures traffic dynamics. It provides an advanced yet practical approach to understanding the impact of a single or series of land development projects on an individual driver’s behavior, as well as the aggregated impacts on the demand pattern and time-dependent traffic conditions. A simulation-based optimization (SBO) approach is proposed for the calibration of the modeling system. The SBO calibration approach enhances the transferability of this integrated model to other study areas. Using a case study that focuses on the cumulative land development impact along a congested corridor in Maryland, various regional and local travel behavior changes are discussed to show the capability of this tool for behavior side estimations and the corresponding traffic impacts.     

The vulnerability of the environment to spills of dangerous substances on highways: A diagnosis based on multi criteria modeling

Highways and freeways are the main infrastructure channel used to transport cargo in Brazil. This cargo often includes dangerous chemical products which can, in the event of an accident, negatively impact the environment. The development and implementation of tools for the rapid diagnosis of environmental vulnerability in the transportation of dangerous goods has been studied. However, for highways and freeways there is a lack of studies based on environmental attributes, and not just based on statistical data which demands a specific period for collection and analysis and only after that the implementation of preventive measures. Thus, evaluation grounded on multiple criteria embedded in Geographic Information System (GIS) has significant potential for the practical implementation of risk management of road transportation of dangerous goods. This study has determined the environmental vulnerability of route BR 050, specifically the segment between the cities of Uberlândia and Uberaba in the state of Minas Gerais, where multi criteria analysis has been efficient in determining the most vulnerable areas. The main attributes analyzed were the drainage density, soil type and geology, determining that in case of an accident with dangerous substances the regional environment would be immediately affected, and so endorsing the use of this tool in many segments involved in environmental management of highway enterprises.     

A planning tool for evaluating vehicles miles travelled and traffic safety forecasts of growth management scenarios: A case study of Baton Rouge and New Orleans

This study describes an adaptable planning tool that examines potential change in vehicle miles travelled (VMT) growth and corresponding traffic safety outcomes in two urbanized areas, Baton Rouge and New Orleans, based on built environment, economic and demographic variables. This model is employed to demonstrate one aspect of the potential benefits of growth management policy implementation aimed at curbing VMT growth, and to establish targets with which to measure the effectiveness of those policies through a forecasting approach. The primary objective of this research is to demonstrate the need to break with current trends in order to achieve future goals, and to identify specific policy targets for fuel prices, population density, and transit service within the two study regions. Models indicate based on medium growth scenarios, Baton Rouge will experience a 9 percent increase in VMTs and New Orleans will experience 10 percent growth. This translates to corresponding increases in crashes, injuries and fatalities. The paper provides forecasts for planners and engineers to consider an alternative future, based on desired goals to reduce VMTs and therefore improve safety outcomes. A constrained-forecast model shows a cap on VMTs and crash rates is achievable through policy that increases fuel prices, population density and annual transit passenger miles per capita at reasonable levels through a growth management approach.     

泥浆悬浮砂粒能力分层测定试验研究

为实现泥浆悬浮砂粒能力的量化分析,提出一种分层测定方法,选取12%、15%和18%3种质量分数的试验泥浆,通过自行设计的分层取样装置进行试验研究,获取不同泥浆质量分数、沉降时间和砂粒粒径条件下的10个深度分段的砂粒质量分布,分析各参数影响下的砂粒沉降变化规律。结果表明:1)该分层测定方法可较好地获取不同深度分段的砂粒质量,弥补现有测定方法只能获取底层砂粒沉降质量的不足;2)试验所采用的3种质量分数的泥浆对0.1 mm以上粒径的砂粒悬浮能力均较差。根据砂粒沉降曲线分布特征,提出一种用于判别泥浆悬浮砂粒能力的方法,即砂粒沉降曲线越平缓,各层质量差异性越小,底层质量无明显拐点,不同沉降时间曲线越紧密,则泥浆悬浮砂粒能力越强。