Vehicle kilometers traveled reduction impacts of Transit-Oriented Development: Evidence from Shanghai City

The role of residential self-selection has become a major subject in the debate over the relationships between the built environment and travel behavior. Numerous previous empirical studies on this subject have provided valuable insights into the associations between the built environment and travel behavior. However, the vast majority of the studies were conducted in North American and European cities; yet this research is still in its infancy in most developing countries, including China, where residential and transport choices are likely to be more constrained and travel-related attitudes quite different from those in the developed world. Using the data collected from 2038 residents currently living in TOD neighborhoods and non-TOD neighborhoods in Shanghai City, this paper aims to partly fill the gaps by investigating the causal relationship between the built environment and travel behavior in the Chinese context. More specifically, this paper employs Heckman’s sample selection model to examine the reduction impacts of TOD on personal vehicle kilometers traveled (VKT), controlling for self-selection. The results show that whilst the effects of residential self-selection are apparent; the built environment exhibits the most significant impacts on travel behavior, playing the dominant role. These findings produce a sound basis for local policymakers to better understand the nature and magnitude toward the impacts of the built environment on travel behavior. Providing the government department with reassurance that effective interventions and policies on land use aimed toward altering the built environment would actually lead to meaningful changes in travel behavior.     

F型与直壁型护栏在客车撞击下的仿真研究

为了对比研究A类防撞等级中F型混凝土护栏和直壁型混凝土护栏的防护性能,建立两种护栏与客车的有限元模型,运用ANSYS Workbench软件中显式动力学模块,控制仿真碰撞的试验参数,将大客车模型以规定的初速度和碰撞角度进行计算机仿真碰撞试验,从车辆的加速度、车辆运行轨迹、护栏的最大动态变形量等方面综合对比两种护栏的防护性能。结果表明:相比直壁式护栏,F型混凝土护栏防撞性能、安全性能、导向性能较好。     

车辆隔热壁K值计算中空气层的处理方法

对轨道交通车辆多层复合结构的隔热壁进行隔热性能理论计算与仿真计算的对比,对隔热壁内部空气层的隔热性能进行分析。结论为:在车辆多层复合结构的隔热壁K值计算中,当空气层厚度大于一定厚度时,流体自然对流对隔热壁的隔热性能影响较大。利用多项式密度(Polynomial Denisity)和Boussinesq模型两种算法,对所得结论进行了验证。     

Investigation of tailpipe and evaporative emissions from China IV and Tier 2 passenger vehicles with different gasolines

The limited understanding of vehicular emissions in China, especially evaporative emissions, is one obstacle to establishing tighter standards. To evaluate tailpipe and evaporative emissions, two typical China IV vehicles and one Tier 2 vehicle with an onboard refuelling vapour recovery (ORVR) system were selected and tested. One of the China IV vehicles was fuelled with gasoline, E10 and M15, respectively, to investigate the effect of fuel properties on vehicular emissions. For each vehicle, cold-start tailpipe emission tests were conducted first, followed by an evaporation test. Based on the emission factors and real-world vehicle activity data, the annual tailpipe and evaporative hydrocarbon (HC) emissions of each vehicle were calculated and compared. The results show that E10 and M15 significantly reduced the tailpipe CO and particle number (PN) emissions but seriously aggravated the NOx emissions, especially for M15. The hot soak losses (HSLs) and diurnal breathing losses (DBLs) were slightly impacted by the fuel properties. The annual evaporative emissions with E10 and M15 were higher than that with gasoline. The ORVR system effectively controlled the evaporative emissions, especially for DBLs. Evaporative emissions from the China IV vehicles were 1.1–1.4 times the tailpipe HC emissions. Additionally, the evaporative emission factors of the China IV vehicles were almost 50% lower than the standard (2.0 g/test), whereas their annual evaporative emissions were almost 1.8–2.8 times higher than those from the Tier 2 vehicle. Therefore, controlling evaporative emissions currently remains a great need in China, and the ORVR might be a recommended evaporative control technology.     

An improved cellular automaton with axis information for microscopic traffic simulation

Cellular Automaton (CA), an efficient dynamic modeling method that is widely used in traffic engineering, is newly introduced for traffic load modeling. This modeling method significantly addresses the modest traffic loads for long-span bridges. It does, however, require improvement to calculate precise load effects. This paper proposed an improved cellular automaton with axis information, defined as the Multi-axle Single-cell Cellular Automaton (MSCA), for the precise micro-simulation of random traffic loads on bridges. Four main ingredients of lattice, cells’ states, neighborhoods and transition rules are redefined in MSCA to generate microscopic vehicle sequences with detailed vehicle axle positions, user-defined cell sizes and time steps. The simulation methodology of MSCA is then proposed. Finally, MSCA is carefully calibrated and validated using site-specific WIM data. The results indicate: (1) the relative errors (REs) for the traffic parameters, such as volumes, speeds, weights, and headways, from MSCA are basically no more than ±10% of those of WIM data; (2) the load effects of three typical influence lines (ILs) with varied lengths of 50, 200 and 1000 m are also confidently comparable, both of which validate the rationality and precision of MSCA. Furthermore, the accurate vehicle parameters and gaps generated from MSCA can be applied not only for precise traffic loading on infrastructures but also for the accurate estimation of vehicle dynamics and safety. Hence, wide application of MSCA can potentially be expected.     

Estimating traffic volumes for signalized intersections using connected vehicle data

Recently connected vehicle (CV) technology has received significant attention thanks to active pilot deployments supported by the US Department of Transportation (USDOT). At signalized intersections, CVs may serve as mobile sensors, providing opportunities of reducing dependencies on conventional vehicle detectors for signal operation. However, most of the existing studies mainly focus on scenarios that penetration rates of CVs reach certain level, e.g., 25%, which may not be feasible in the near future. How to utilize data from a small number of CVs to improve traffic signal operation remains an open question. In this work, we develop an approach to estimate traffic volume, a key input to many signal optimization algorithms, using GPS trajectory data from CV or navigation devices under low market penetration rates. To estimate traffic volumes, we model vehicle arrivals at signalized intersections as a time-dependent Poisson process, which can account for signal coordination. The estimation problem is formulated as a maximum likelihood problem given multiple observed trajectories from CVs approaching to the intersection. An expectation maximization (EM) procedure is derived to solve the estimation problem. Two case studies were conducted to validate our estimation algorithm. One uses the CV data from the Safety Pilot Model Deployment (SPMD) project, in which around 2800 CVs were deployed in the City of Ann Arbor, MI. The other uses vehicle trajectory data from users of a commercial navigation service in China. Mean absolute percentage error (MAPE) of the estimation is found to be 9–12%, based on benchmark data manually collected and data from loop detectors. Considering the existing scale of CV deployments, the proposed approach could be of significant help to traffic management agencies for evaluating and operating traffic signals, paving the way of using CVs for detector-free signal operation in the future.     

桩基建模方法对自升式钻井平台动力响应的影响

随着海洋油气开采作业水深的不断增加,海洋平台固有频率随之降低,易与相同频率成分的波浪产生共振,因此对平台动力响应特性研究是非常有必要的,而桩基模型在平台动力响应分析中发挥着关键作用。以某400英尺自升式钻井平台研究对象,基于等效建模的思想,分别建立了固支桩基、铰接桩基、线性弹簧桩基及非线性弹簧桩基四种有限元模型,并对其进行静力分析、模态分析及瞬态动力学分析,通过对比得到的振动频率、动力放大因子及波流惯性力,得出弹簧桩基模型在平台动力响应分析中的有效性及合理性结论。     

Adoption of alternative fuel vehicles: Influence from neighbors,family and coworkers

During the last years, many governments have set targets for increasing the share of biofuels in the transportation sector. Understanding consumer behavior is essential in designing policies that efficiently increase the uptake of cleaner technologies. In this paper we analyze adopters and non-adopters of alternative fuel vehicles (AFVs). We use diffusion of innovation theory and the established notion that the social system and interpersonal influence play important roles in adoption. Based on a nationwide database of car owners we analyze interpersonal influence on adoption from three social domains: neighbors, family and coworkers. The results point primarily at a neighbor effect in that AFV adoption is more likely if neighbors also have adopted. The results also point at significant effects of interpersonal influence from coworkers and family members but these effects weaken or disappear when income, education level, marriage, age, gender and green party votes are controlled for. The results extend the diffusion of innovation and AFV literature with empirical support for interpersonal influence based on objective data where response bias is not a factor. Implications for further research, environmental and transport policy, and practitioners are discussed.     

Liner shipping network design with emission control areas: A genetic algorithm-based approach

To curb emissions, containerized shipping lines face the traditional trade-off between cost and emissions (CO₂ and SO_x) reduction. This paper considers this element in the context of liner service design and proposes a mixed integer linear programming (MILP) model based on a multi-commodity pickup and delivery arc-flow formulation. The objective is to maximize the profit by selecting the ports to be visited, the sequence of port visit, the cargo flows between ports, as well as the number/operating speeds of vessels on each arc of the selected route. The problem also considers that Emission Control Areas (ECAs) exist in the liner network and accounts for the vessel carrying capacity. In addition to using the MILP solver of CPLEX, we develop in the paper a specific genetic algorithm (GA) based heuristic and show that it gives the possibility to reach an optimal solution when solving large size instances.     

铁路路基动态变形模量的数值模拟分析

介绍铁路路基动态变形模量理论计算公式的推导及动态变形模量的测试原理,采用有限元软件模拟动态变形模量的测试过程,分析承载板与土体接触压力、路基动态变形模量的影响因素,并计算动态变形模量的有效测试深度.结果表明:在承载板中心一定范围内,接触压力模拟结果较理论计算值大;土体的动弹性模量对接触压力影响很小,可以忽略;路基动态变形模量测试冲击荷载作用下,土体只发生弹性变形;动态变形模量与土体动弹性模量呈线性关系,路基动态变形模量的模拟结果大于理论计算值;土体的泊松比对动态变形模量影响较小;动态变形模量有效测试深度建议取0.5~0.6 m.