How the cap limit for food-crop-based biofuels may affect France’s stakeholders by 2030? A range-based multi-actor multi-criteria analysis

From 2012 to 2016, the long-term signal in the biofuel market changed almost once per year, leading to a drastic decrease in investments and contributing to multiple production unit closures in France and around Europe. The European Commission proposed a new renewable energy directive that includes a 3.8% cap limit on the contribution of food-crop biofuels by 2030. Given the role of biofuels in green growth, the bioeconomy, and renewable energy incorporation targets, how will this measure affect the stakeholders by 2030? Will it lead to, contribute to, or hamper their sustainability criteria? This paper aims to contribute to this debate by studying the case of France. To this end, our methodology—the range-based multi-actor multi-criteria analysis—aims to (1) explicitly consider the stakeholder groups and their sustainability criteria; (2) evaluate and compare how the cap limit will affect these sustainability criteria whether or not advanced biofuels are deployed by 2030; (3) capture the uncertainty of the context evolution and biofuel capacity to fulfil the stakeholders’ sustainability criteria by means of a Monte Carlo. The results suggest that the cap limit is a double-edged sword for the stakeholders and their sustainability criteria. Shifting towards advanced biofuels while limiting the food-crop biofuels is the better alternative for most of the stakeholders. Nevertheless, given biofuel policy instability and the lost confidence of investors, such a shift may not occur by 2030. In such a case, this paper demonstrates that the cap limit may highly and negatively affect the stakeholders and their sustainability targets, whereas fostering French food-crop biofuel production at its full capacity level constitutes a better alternative. As no alternative is suited to all actors simultaneously, this paper also studies the strengths and weaknesses of these alternatives from each stakeholder groups’ perspective.     

Fitness-for-purpose assessment of cracked offshore wind turbine monopile

In this paper, the procedure for flaw acceptability assessment is examined through a case study of a semi-elliptical surface crack in an offshore monopile as it grows till it forms a through thickness crack. Using the procedure prescribed in an industrial standard (BS 7910), the fracture ratio, K_r is shown to increase monotonically with increasing crack depth. The load ratio, L_r, is initially insensitive to the crack depth. However, there is a rapid increase in L_r when the crack depth to thickness ratio exceeds 80%. L_r values obtained from detailed 3D FE limit analysis using elastic-perfectly-plastic material behaviour do not exhibit the asymptotic behaviour predicted by BS 7910 as the flaw transitions from deep crack to through-thickness crack. Furthermore, K_r predicted by BS 7910 is shown to be an over-estimation for the typical dimensions of offshore monopiles. The findings suggest that a structure with a deep flaw may be identified as unacceptable based on BS 7910 when it may still possess a non-trivial amount of structural residual life. This is a concern for monopiles where crack growth as a large flaw forms a significant part of the total life.     

The potential mitigation of CO2 emissions via modal substitution of high-speed rail for short-haul air travel from a life cycle perspective – An Australian case study

The objective of this study is to provide a strategic evaluation of the mitigation of CO₂ emissions via modal substitution of high-speed rail for short-haul air travel on the Sydney–Melbourne, Australia city-pair from a life cycle perspective. It has been demonstrated that when considering CO₂ emissions from vehicle operations, the modal shift from air to high-speed rail on this city-pair has the potential to provide a means of CO₂ mitigation. However, uncertainty exists with regard to the level of mitigation potential when considering the whole-of-life performance of the systems. Given the significant difference in the infrastructure requirements between the air mode and the high-speed rail mode, this study quantifies the life cycle CO₂ load attributable to each system and examines the effect on CO₂ mitigation potential. The study concluded that while the inclusion of the linehaul infrastructure did increase the CO₂ load associated with high-speed rail mode, it did not equate to or exceed the CO₂ load per trip as experienced by the air mode. The avoided annual life cycle CO₂ emission in the target year 2056 was 0.37 Mt representing an 18% reduction when compared to the air mode only on the city pair. In fact, the scenario comparison indicated that the substitution of high-speed rail for short-haul air travel on the city pair resulted in CO₂ emissions avoidance throughout the longitudinal period.     

Agent-based simulation framework for mixed traffic of cars,pedestrians and trams

In this paper, we report on the construction of a new framework for simulating mixed traffic consisting of cars, trams, and pedestrians that can be used to support discussions about road management, signal control, and public transit. Specifically, a layered road structure that was designed for car traffic simulations was extended to interact with an existing one-dimensional (1D) car-following model and a two-dimensional (2D) discrete choice model for pedestrians. The car model, pedestrian model, and interaction rules implemented in the proposed framework were verified through simulations involving simple road environments. The resulting simulated values were in near agreement with the empirical data. We then used the proposed framework to assess the impact of a tramway extension plan for a real city. The simulation results showed that the impact of the proposed tramway on existing car traffic would not be serious, and by extension, implied that the proposed framework could help stakeholders decide on expansion scenarios that are satisfactory to both tram users and private car owners.     

A novel approach for the modelling of air quality dynamics in underground railway stations

Indoor air quality in subterranean train stations is a concern in many places around the globe. However, due to the specificity of each case, numerous parameters of the problem remain unknown, such as the braking discs particle emission rate, the ventilation rate of the station or the complete particle size distribution of the emitted particles. In this study the problem of modelling PM₁₀ concentration evolution in relation with train traffic is hence addressed with a particle-mass conservation model which parameters are fitted using a genetic algorithm. The parameters of the model allow to reproduce the dynamics and amplitude of four field data sets from the French and Swedish underground contexts and comply with realistic bounds in terms of emissions, deposition and ventilation rate.     

公路工程施工管理质量研究

公路工程施工管理直接关系到工程项目的质量,在施工中加强管理控制是十分必要的,结合公路工程施工管理的特点,对影响公路工程管理质量的因素进行分析,并提出具体解决对策,对类似工程施工有一定的指导意义.     

BIM技术在清华珠三角公建项目施工中的应用研究

随着科技的进步及项目管理水平的提高,BIM技术应运而生。本文以清华珠三角研究院粤港澳大湾区创新基地项目为依托,从应用目标、应用前准备工作、前期策划管理、技术管理、质量安全管理、物资设备管理、进度管理、经济成本管理等方面开展BIM技术在公建项目施工中的应用研究,结果表明:使用BIM技术,使项目管理走向精细化、全面化、高效化,并提高质量标准,增加安全保障,减少项目成本,提高项目利润率;同时与AI技术相结合,使BIM技术更加具有简便性,产出更大效益。     

双块式轨枕外形质量快速检测系统研制及应用

SK?2型双块式混凝土轨枕是高速铁路无砟轨道结构中的重要预制件,单一生产厂日均产量达到800~1400根,但目前的人工检测方式无法满足双块式轨枕的出厂检验要求。本文提出的双块式轨枕外形质量快速检测系统可满足TB/T 3397—2015《CRTS双块式无砟轨道混凝土轨枕》的出厂检验要求,与双块式轨枕生产线相匹配,大大提高了检测效率,实现了双块式轨枕全参数、自动化、智能化检测。检测数据自动上传至生产管理平台,可对双块式轨枕生产质量进行跟踪管理。     

Traffic modelling in system boundary expansion of road pavement life cycle assessment

This paper uses a case study of a UK inter-urban road, to explore the impact of extending the system boundary of road pavement life cycle assessment (LCA) to include increased traffic emissions due to delays during maintenance. Some previous studies have attempted this but have been limited to hypothetical scenarios or simplified traffic modelling, with no validation or sensitivity analysis. In this study, micro-simulation modelling of traffic was used to estimate emissions caused by delays at road works, for several traffic management options. The emissions were compared to those created by the maintenance operation, estimated using an LCA model. In this case study, the extra traffic emissions caused by delays at road works are relatively small, compared to those from the maintenance process, except for hydrocarbon emissions. However, they are generally close to, or above, the materiality threshold recommended in PAS2050 for estimating carbon footprints, and reach 5–10% when traffic flow levels are increased (hypothetically) or when traffic management is imposed outside times of lowest traffic flow. It is recommended, therefore, that emissions due to traffic disruption at road works should be included within the system boundary of road pavement LCA and carbon footprint studies and should be considered in developing guidelines for environmental product declarations of road pavement maintenance products and services.     

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.