Fueling for contingencies: The hidden cost of unpredictability in the air transportation system

The aviation community is increasing its attention on the concept of predictability when conducting aviation service quality assessments. Reduced fuel consumption and the related cost is one of the various benefits that could be achieved through improved flight predictability. A lack of predictability may cause airline dispatchers to load more fuel onto aircraft before they depart; the flights would then in turn consume extra fuel just to carry excess fuel loaded. In this study, we employ a large dataset with flight-level fuel loading and consumption information from a major US airline. With these data, we estimate the relationship between the amount of loaded fuel and flight predictability performance using a statistical model. The impact of loaded fuel is translated into fuel consumption and, ultimately, fuel cost and environmental impact for US domestic operations. We find that a one-minute increase in the standard deviation of airborne time leads to a 0.88 min increase in loaded contingency fuel and 1.66 min in loaded contingency and alternate fuel. If there were no unpredictability in the aviation system, captured in our model by eliminating standard deviation in flight time, the reduction in the loaded fuel would between 6.12 and 11.28 min per flight. Given a range of fuel prices, this ultimately would translate into cost savings for US domestic airlines on the order of $120–$452 million per year.     

模拟海洋环境条件下碳纤维复合材料力学性能试验研究

本文主要进行了CFRP材料浸渍于碱溶液、浸渍于盐溶液及经人工老化后的力学性能试验。试验证实,上述几种长期环境条件作用对CFRP的极限强度影响不大,但能显著降低CFRP的极限延伸率,碱溶液浸渍、盐溶液浸渍显著降低了CFRP的弹性模量,而人工老化则几乎没什么影响。试验结果分析证明,应用于加固结构分析的CFRP的应力-应变关系,可应用线弹性关系。     

Accelerated vehicle retirement program: Estimating the optimal incentive payment in Israel

The paper analyzes two main aspects of the accelerated vehicle retirement program in Israel: the optimal incentive payment of private cars, and the feasibility of expanding the program to include light commercial vehicles. The benefits are the reduction of pollutant emissions and safety benefits, which were compared to the costs of the incentive payment. A differential payment scheme for private vehicles according to the vehicle’s age, is shown to have a higher net benefit than a uniform payment scheme. It is also found that the optimal payment is higher than the existing incentive payment. Additionally, it is found economically feasible to include light commercial vehicles in the program.     

船舶机舱含油污水用膨胀石墨/活性炭复合吸附剂试制

以蔗糖为碳源,以磷酸为活化剂,在浸渍比(磷酸质量/蔗糖质量)2.5、活化温度550℃下制备活性炭,在膨化温度900℃和膨化时间25s下制备膨胀石墨,复合膨胀石墨/活性炭吸附剂,并测试膨胀石墨密度0.02g/cm3～0.05g/cm3、乳化油流率0.07mL/s～0.6mL/s、吸附柱高度10mm～30mm时的吸油效果。结果表明:在吸附柱高度20mm、乳化油流率小于0.4mL/s时,0.1‰的乳化油经膨胀石墨成型密度为0.03g/cm3的复合吸附剂过滤后的含油量可低于0.005‰;膨胀石墨成型密度0.03g/cm3、乳化油流率0.4mL/s时,吸附柱高度20mm的处理污水含油量小于0.015‰的总处理量为10.35L,即单位体积吸附剂的乳化油处理量为0.3255L/cm3。因此,应根据船舶机舱油水分离器的技术要求,优化复合吸附剂含油污水处理流程。     

How do economies of density in container handling operations affect ships’ time and emissions in port? Evidence from Norwegian container terminals

Efficient port services are prerequisites for competitive and sustainable maritime transports. This paper makes advances in studying the determinants of the time that ships spend in port and the associated emissions to air. We estimate a production model for cargo handling based on a unique dataset containing each port of call at the largest container terminals in Norway in 2014. In turn, we use auxiliary engine emission factors to estimate particulate matter and nitrogen oxide emissions from ships at berth, to determine how the corresponding damage costs of air pollution vary with container throughput, location, and terminal investments. We find that Norwegian container terminals operate under increasing returns to density. Small ships that unload few containers are far from reaping economies of density, leading to high marginal time requirements for container handling and consequently high marginal external costs. From a Pigouvian taxation perspective, port charges should therefore be regressive in the number of containers handled. Moreover, we find that the external costs of maritime transports are severely understated when port operations are ignored. Our model allows determining the marginal productivities of port facilities. Thereby, it is instrumental in designing port charges that are diversified according to the quantity of containers handled and the service quality (i.e., the speed of handling operations). Regarding contextual factors, we find that establishing high-frequent liner services improves the ship working rate, while simultaneous calls at a terminal impede productivity. The type of container (loading/unloading; empty/laden) also appears to influence the duration of ship working.     

船舶岸电系统在集装箱码头的应用

靠港船舶岸电系统具有可以减少污染物排放和提高能源利用率的优点,正在我国港口大力推广。为探讨岸电系统在集装箱码头的应用前景,以大窑湾北岸某集装箱码头为例,利用仿真模型核算多种情景下2020年大窑湾北岸集装箱码头船舶使用岸电前后的碳排放量,并分析不同装卸效率对船舶的碳排放的影响。结果表明,集装箱码头使用岸电系统可实现低碳效益,提高装卸效率有利于船舶碳排放的减少,但应考虑提高装卸效率会引起装卸机械碳排放增加。     

The effectiveness of a European speed limit versus an international bunker-levy to reduce CO2 emissions from container shipping

In the fight to reduce CO₂ emissions from international shipping, a bunker-levy is currently under consideration at the International Maritime Organization (IMO). Faced with the inability of the IMO to reach an agreement in the short term, the European Commission is now contemplating a unilateral measure of a speed limit for all ships entering European Union (EU) ports. This paper argues that this measure is counterproductive for two reasons. Firstly, because it may ultimately generate more emissions and incur a cost per ton of CO₂ which is more than society is willing to pay. Secondly, because it is sub-optimal compared to results obtained if an international bunker-levy was to be implemented. These elements are illustrated using two direct transatlantic services operated in 2010.     

Toxic air pollutants and trucking productivity in the US

This paper introduces toxic air pollutants into the measurement of trucking productivity to obtain true productivity growth. Our results show that omitting or ignoring toxic air pollutants in measuring trucking productivity yields statistically significant biased productivity estimates in for 2002-2005. Trucking productivity growth was understated by the traditional productivity measure, because the latter did not account for reductions in truck air pollution over time. We also find that the difference between traditional and environmental efficiency scores was negligible, suggesting that environmental constraint did not distort efficiency in the trucking sector.     

An operational activity-based method to estimate CO2 emissions from container shipping considering empty container repositioning

This paper develops an operational activity-based method to estimate CO₂ emissions from container shipping in contrasts to the traditional aggregated activity-based method. Two case studies investigate the impacts of empty container repositioning policies and port handling capacity on CO₂ emission index. The results show that the aggregated method could well overestimate CO₂ emissions and the operational activity-based method is more appropriate. The paper also demonstrates that high port-handling capacity and efficient empty container repositioning could reduce CO₂ emissions in seaborne container transportation.     

高桩码头纵梁维修加固方法及对比

20世纪70～80年代修建的高桩码头由于长期处于氯盐侵蚀的环境中,码头浪溅区梁板钢筋容易发生锈蚀膨胀,进而引起混凝土纵向开裂、脱落。为保证码头结构安全需要对此类型的梁进行维修加固,基于实际码头维修加固工程对加大梁截面和粘贴碳纤维布两种维修加固方法进行介绍,从应用范围、施工效率、质量及成本4个方面对两种方法进行对比分析。结果表明,加大截面法比粘贴碳纤维布法的适用范围更广泛,但在施工效率、成本、施工难易及质量可控性等方面,粘贴碳纤维布法具有明显优势。