The role of volume-delay functions in forecasting and evaluating congestion charging schemes: the Stockholm case

This paper uses observations from before and during the Stockkholm congestion charging trial in order to validate and improve a transportation model for Stockholm. The model overestimates the impact of the charges on traffic volumes while at the same time it substantially underestimates the impact on travel times. These forecast errors lead to considerable underestimation of economic benefits which are dominated by travel time savings. The source of error lies in the static assignment that is used in the model. Making the volume-delay functions (VDFs) steeper only marginally improves the quality of forecast but strongly impacts the result of benefit calculations. We therefore conclude that the dynamic assignment is crucial for an informed decision on introducing measures aimed at relieving congestion. However, in the absence of such a calibrated dynamic model for a city, we recommend that at least a sensitivity analysis with respect to the slope of VDFs is performed.     

LNG卸料臂与船对接法兰面泄漏分析

LNG卸料臂是LNG卸载过程中最重要的设备之一,而卸载过程中卸料臂与船对接法兰面最易发生泄漏,因此避免其泄漏很重要。文中以某LNG接收站为例,简要介绍卸料臂预冷流程;对曾经发生过的泄漏展开分析,结果发现预冷速度过快是造成对接法兰面泄漏的主要原因;提出了相应的改进措施。改进之后,此LNG接收站卸船期间再未出现卸料臂与船对接法兰面泄漏的问题。     

探讨危旧桥梁加固的有关技术问题

随着国家经济建设脚步的加快,路桥的建设技术也在不断的进步,危旧桥梁的加固处理也成为桥梁建设的热点话题之一。因为公路车流量的增多,在上世纪末建设的桥梁一直都存在过载使用的问题,过多的重型车辆对危旧桥梁的使用也是一项巨大的考验。在一些使用年限比较久的桥梁中,出现了桥体老化现象。本文就危旧桥梁加固的有关技术问题进行了探讨。     

Bush-based sensitivity analysis for approximating subnetwork diversion

Subnetwork analysis is often used in traffic assignment problems to reduce the size of the network being analyzed, with a corresponding decrease in computation time. This is particularly important in network design, second-best pricing, or other bilevel problems in which many equilibrium runs must be solved as a subproblem to a master optimization program. A fixed trip table based on an equilibrium path flow solution is often used, but this ignores important attraction and diversion effects as drivers (globally) change routes in response to (local) subnetwork changes. This paper presents an approach for replacing a regional network with a smaller one, containing all of the subnetwork, and zones. Artificial arcs are created to represent “all paths” between each origin and subnetwork boundary node, under the assumption that the set of equilibrium routes does not change. The primary contribution of the paper is a procedure for estimating a cost function on these artificial arcs, using derivatives of the equilibrium travel times between the end nodes to create a Taylor series. A bush-based representation allows rapid calculation of these derivatives. Two methods for calculating these derivatives are presented, one based on network transformations and resembling techniques used in the analysis of resistive circuits, and another based on iterated solution of a nested set of linear equations. These methods are applied to two networks, one small and artificial, and the other a regional network representing the Austin, Texas metropolitan area. These demonstrations show substantial improvement in accuracy as compared to using a fixed table, and demonstrate the efficiency of the proposed approach.     

A model for the visualization and analysis of elevator traffic

ABSTRACT

Analysis of elevator traffic in high rise buildings is critical to the performance evaluation of elevator group control systems (EGCS). Elevator dispatching methods or parking algorithms in an EGCS can be designed or modified according to analyses of traffic flow. However, interpretation of traffic flow based solely on numerical data may not be explicit and transparent for EGCS experts as well as for other non-expert building administration. In this study, we present a model for visualization and analysis of elevator traffic. First, we present an alternative approach for traffic analysis which we call route visualization. In the proposed approach, we initially decompose elevator traffic into its component parts and investigate each component independently. Then, using superposition of components we obtain a reconstructed model of overall traffic. This modeling approach provides component-based traffic analysis and representation of routes with intensities through data visualization. In the second part we introduce a multi-dimensional analysis of time parameters in ECGS. This approach provides a comparative analysis of several control algorithms such as dispatch or park algorithms for different combinations of traffic components.     

Vulnerability analysis for large-scale and congested road networks with demand uncertainty

To assess the vulnerability of congested road networks, the commonly used full network scan approach is to evaluate all possible scenarios of link closure using a form of traffic assignment. This approach can be computationally burdensome and may not be viable for identifying the most critical links in large-scale networks. In this study, an “impact area” vulnerability analysis approach is proposed to evaluate the consequences of a link closure within its impact area instead of the whole network. The proposed approach can significantly reduce the search space for determining the most critical links in large-scale networks. In addition, a new vulnerability index is introduced to examine properly the consequences of a link closure. The effects of demand uncertainty and heterogeneous travellers’ risk-taking behaviour are explicitly considered. Numerical results for two different road networks show that in practice the proposed approach is more efficient than traditional full scan approach for identifying the same set of critical links. Numerical results also demonstrate that both stochastic demand and travellers’ risk-taking behaviour have significant impacts on network vulnerability analysis, especially under high network congestion and large demand variations. Ignoring their impacts can underestimate the consequences of link closures and misidentify the most critical links.     

施工最大悬臂状态梁桥P-Δ效应有限元分析

文章以赣江大桥和宁海新桥特大桥为研究对象,利用有限元模型对其主桥施工最大悬臂状态下P-Δ效应进行了计算,分析了考虑P-Δ效应时的桥梁位移与应力变化情况,为今后类似工程的设计计算和施工监控提供参考。     

梧州西江四桥主桥结构设计及受力分析

文章结合梧州西江四桥主桥工程方案,介绍了该主桥桥型的结构受力特性,阐述了主桥各主要构件的设计要点,并通过静力计算及动力分析,验证了该主桥结构设计方案的合理性和可行性。     

地下交通转换平台射流通风特性及风流组织方式研究

为探究地下交通转换平台内通风系统的合理布局,采用比尺模型试验和CFD模拟相结合的方法,研究射流风机和通风组织对地下交通转换平台内气流运动的影响。结果表明： 1）当联络通道内风机射流朝向敞开段时,为使风机升压系数Kj最大,630 mm、900 mm、1 120 mm射流风机的布设位置应距离敞开段分别大于40、50、65 m; 2）大口径射流风机具有更大的Kj,但占用的断面空间更大,且射流诱导段更长,应根据联络通道长度和高度合理选择射流风机口径; 3）地下交通转换平台的通风组织不宜采用同侧开启方式,采用对角抽吸方式时,联络通道内的污染物混入比最低、通风效率最高。     

Railway reforms: do they influence operating efficiency?

This paper considers railway operations in 23 European countries during 1995–2001, where a series of reform initiatives were launched by the European Commission, and analyses whether these reform initiatives improved the efficiency of the railway systems. Efficiency is measured using Multi-directional Efficiency Analysis, which enables investigation of how railway reforms affect the inefficiencies of specific cost drivers. The main findings are that the reform initiatives generally improve technical efficiency but potentially differently for different cost drivers. Specifically, the paper provides empirical evidence that accounting separation is important for improving the efficiency in the use of both material and staff costs, whereas other reforms only influenced one of these factors.