Did Chinese cities that implemented driving restrictions see reductions in PM10?

Imposing driving restrictions is becoming increasingly popular as a policy intended to control urban air pollution. Existing studies on this topic offer highly mixed observations, and each study tends to focus on only one city. In this paper, we used 11 Chinese cities with driving restrictions as the treatment group, and compared them to other cities that did not implement the policy. Based on a propensity score matching and difference-in-difference analysis, we found no evidence of a decrease in PM10 concentrations in cities after they implemented driving restrictions. This finding may be attributed to an increase in the number of cars in these cities after implementing driving restrictions, but we also found no evidence of an improvement in air quality for a given number of cars after implementation of the policies.     

Balancing energy consumption and risk of delay in high speed trains: A three-objective real-time eco-driving algorithm with fuzzy parameters

Eco-driving is an energy efficient traffic operation measure that may lead to important energy savings in high speed railway lines. When a delay arises in real time, it is necessary to recalculate an optimal driving that must be energy efficient and computationally efficient.In addition, it is important that the algorithm includes the existing uncertainty associated with the manual execution of the driving parameters and with the possible future traffic disturbances that could lead to new delays.This paper proposes a new algorithm to be executed in real time, which models the uncertainty in manual driving by means of fuzzy numbers. It is a multi-objective optimization algorithm that includes the classical objectives in literature, running time and energy consumption, and as well a newly defined objective, the risk of delay in arrival. The risk of delay in arrival measure is based on the evolution of the time margin of the train up to destination.The proposed approach is a dynamic algorithm designed to improve the computational time. The optimal Pareto front is continuously tracked during the train travel, and a new set of driving commands is selected and presented to the driver when a delay is detected.The algorithm evaluates the 3 objectives of each solution using a detailed simulator of high speed trains to ensure that solutions are realistic, accurate and applicable by the driver. The use of this algorithm provides energy savings and, in addition, it permits railway operators to balance energy consumption and risk of delays in arrival. This way, the energy performance of the system is improved without degrading the quality of the service.     

Validation of an extended discrete first-order model with variable speed limits

This paper validates the prediction model embedded in a model predictive controller (MPC) of variable speed limits (VSLs). The MPC controller was designed based on an extended discrete first-order model with a triangular fundamental diagram. In our previous work, the extended discrete first-order model was designed to reproduce the capacity drop and the propagation of jam waves, and it was validated with reasonable accuracy without the presence of VSLs. As VSLs influence traffic dynamics, the dynamics including VSLs needs to be validated, before it can be applied as a prediction model in MPC. For conceptual illustrations, we use two synthetic examples to show how the model reproduces the key mechanisms of VSLs that are applied by existing VSL control approaches. Furthermore, the model is calibrated by use of real traffic data from Dutch freeway A12, where the field test of a speed limit control algorithm (SPECIALIST) was conducted. In the calibration, the original model is extended by using a quadrangular fundamental diagram which keeps the linear feature of the model and represents traffic states at the under-critical branch more accurately. The resulting model is validated using various traffic data sets. The accuracy of the model is compared with a second-order traffic flow model. The performance of two models is comparable: both models reproduce accurate results matching with real data. Flow errors of the calibration and validation are around 10%. The extended discrete first-order model-based MPC controller has been demonstrated to resolve freeway jam waves efficiently by synthetic cases. It has a higher computation speed comparing to the second-order model-based MPC.     

LED灯具在高速列车照明系统中的应用

随着我国高速铁路事业的发展,旅客对车内照明环境品质的要求越来越高,在我国高速列车照明设计中广泛采用LED灯具作为光源。通过对高速动车组车载灯具与25T型列车传统车载灯具的测试对比,总结出LED灯具在发光效率等方面相对于传统灯具的优势,为高速动车组室内照明设计提供依据。     

Integrated vehicle and powertrain optimization for passenger vehicles with vehicle-infrastructure communication

This research proposes an optimal controller to improve fuel efficiency for a vehicle equipped with automatic transmission traveling on rolling terrain without the presence of a close preceding vehicle. Vehicle acceleration and transmission gear position are optimized simultaneously to achieve a better fuel efficiency. This research leverages the emerging Connected Vehicle technology and utilizes present and future information—such as real-time dynamic speed limit, vehicle speed, location and road topography—as optimization input. The optimal control is obtained using the Relaxed Pontryagin’s Minimum Principle. The benefit of the proposed optimal controller is significant compared to the regular cruise control and other eco-drive systems. It varies with the hill length, grade, and the number of available gear positions. It ranges from an increased fuel saving of 18–28% for vehicles with four-speed transmission and 25–45% for vehicles with six-speed transmission. The computational time for the optimization is 1.0–2.1 s for the four-speed vehicle and 1.8–3.9 s for the six-speed vehicle, given a 50 s optimization time horizon and 0.1 s time step. The proposed controller can potentially be used in real-time.     

Point-to-point speed enforcement systems: Speed limits design criteria and analysis of drivers’ compliance

Point-to-point (P2P) speed enforcement is a relatively new approach to traffic law enforcement. Its technology allows vehicles whose average speed exceeds the speed limit over the controlled section to be fined. It therefore encourages compliance over distances longer than those where spot enforcement policies have been in place.In this paper, a procedure for consistently setting speed limits with such enforcement systems is proposed. Such a method has been applied to design the speed limits on two motorways in the district of Naples, Italy, where P2P enforcement systems became operational in 2009 and 2010. The speed limits, which were set using the Italian geometric design standard to assess vehicle stability and stopping sight distance, have been compared with those provided by using well-known international standards.The impact of the newly designed speed limits and of the P2P enforcement system on drivers’ speeding behaviour has been quantified for each highway section and vehicle type. In fact, accurate measurements of the average travel speeds of each vehicle crossing the enforced sections, before and after the activation of the system, were available. The migration from the old speed limits with spot speed enforcement to the new approach resulted in a notable increase in drivers’ compliance to the speed limits with a remarkable decrease in both the average of individual speeds and in their standard deviation.In addition, the analysis of 3 years of data shows that a gradual adaptation of drivers’ behaviour to the system took place. In particular, a decreasing compliance to the speed limits points to a non-optimal system management. Finally, the results of a revealed preference survey allowed us to make a behavioural interpretation regarding the significantly different impacts measured on the two motorways.     

铁路工程建设通用参考图《混凝土拌和站》内容要点及应用解析

混凝土拌和站是铁路建设中数量最多的大临工程之一,规划与设计是其建设的基础工作,为实现混凝土拌和站建设的规范化和标准化设计,中铁第五勘察设计院集团有限公司主持编制铁路工程建设通用参考图《混凝土拌和站》〔通临(2012)8401〕。结合相关科研课成果和工程设计实践,对通用参考图《混凝土拌和站》的编制原则、设计参数、主要内容、适用范围及注意事项进行论述,以求更好地对通用参考图宣贯和释义。     

对地铁信号系统列车运行速度制约因素的探讨

信号系统是保障地铁运行安全及提高运行效率的重要设备,列车超速防护功能是信号系统一个非常关键的功能。信号系统防护下的列车运行速度由车辆、线路、轨道、限界及信号系统等条件共同决定。由于相关专业对信号系统安全制动模型不了解,在实际工程中易造成"速度浪费"现象。从信号系统安全制动模型的原理出发,对车辆、线路、轨道、限界等专业对列车运行速度的制约因素进行分析,提出建议。     

大跨度连续钢桁架拱桥半悬臂拼装临时墩合理标高计算

当大跨度连续钢桁架拱桥采用支架法施工时，其临时支墩标高的合理设定对大桥的拼装线形和安全顺利拼装具有重要影响。结合钢桁梁桥的制造线形和架设过程中的钢梁线形变化，较系统地研究了临时墩的标高计算，推导了实用的计算公式。然后将该方法应用于某大跨度钢桁梁柔性拱组合结构桥梁，现场拼装和拆除结果表明：考虑预留50mm的设置方法，能更方便临时墩拆除，为类似桥梁施工计算提供借鉴。     

多元评价体系组合模型在铁路隧道变形预测中的应用

为克服传统预测模型结构单一、预测精度及稳定性不足等缺陷,提出多元体系组合预测模型的建模思路。首先,基于支持向量机、BP神经网络及ARMA模型3种单一预测模型,构建铁路隧道变形预测体系;再以均方根误差、误差平方和及平均绝对误差等为评价准则或指标,构建各预测结果的误差评价体系,求解各单项预测模型的权值贡献指数,得到最优组合权值;然后利用后验差检验、残差检验和关联度检验构建预测精度校验体系,对组合预测结果进行检验,评价预测模型的有效性;最后,结合工程实例,对多元体系组合预测模型在特大断面隧道中的变形预测效果进行检验。结果表明:多元评价体系组合模型预测相对误差值均小于2%,具有较高的预测精度,且较单一预测模型具有更高的预测精度,也一致通过相关检验,验证了多元体系组合预测模型的有效性。