Statistical assessment of EV usage potential from user’s perspective considering rapid-charging technology

The aim of the German Government is the licensing of one million electric vehicles (EV) in Germany until 2020. However, the number of battery electric vehicles (EVs) today still is just above 25,000. There are several reasons for deciding against an EV, but especially low battery ranges as well as too long perceived charging duration inhibit the usage of an EV. To eliminate the negative influence of these two reasons on the decision to purchase an EV, a novel charging technology is established. The rapid-charging technology enables the user to recharge the battery to 80% of its state of charge (SOC) within 20–30 min. For the examination of the technology’s impact from (potential) user’s perspective, users and nonusers of battery electric vehicles were questioned about the perceived additional value of public rapid-charging infrastructure by taking into account different trip purposes and running comparisons to regular charging options. The results show an increased perceived value especially for trips with leisure purpose, considering their share of all trip purposes in Germany, according to the MiD 2008. In order to increase the number of licensed EVs in Germany, the study’s results also suggest further dissemination of information on rapid charging which might influence the perceived usefulness of the technology and consequentially the perceived usefulness of an EV.     

Vehicle platoon formation using interpolating control: A laboratory experimental analysis

This work addresses the formation phase of automatic platooning. The objective is to optimally control the throttle of vehicles, with a given arbitrary initial condition, such that desired ground speed and inter-vehicular spacings are reached. The steering of the vehicles is also controlled, because the vehicles should track a desired path while forming the platoon. In order to address the platoon formation problem, a cooperative strategy is formed by constructing a discrete state space model which represents the dynamics of a set of n vehicles. Once this model is set, a control method known as Interpolating Control, which aims at regulating to the origin an uncertain and/or time-varying linear discrete-time system with state and control constraints, is utilized. The performance of this control method is evaluated and compared with other approaches such as Model Predictive Control (MPC).Simulations are conducted which suggest that the Interpolating Control approach can be seen as an alternative to optimization-based control schemes such as Model Predictive Control, especially for problems for which finding the optimal solution requires calculations, where the Interpolating Control approach can provide a straightforward sub-optimal solution.In the experimental part of this work, the control algorithms for the platoon formation and path tracking problems are combined, and tested in a laboratory environment, using three mobile robots equipped with wireless routers. Validation of the proposed models and control algorithms is achieved by successful experiments.     

Greenhouse gas emissions from ships in ports – Case studies in four continents

Emissions of GHG from the transport sector and how to reduce them are major challenges for policy makers. The purpose of this paper is to analyse the level of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from ships while in port based on annual data from Port of Gothenburg, Port of Long Beach, Port of Osaka and Sydney Ports. Port call statistics including IMO number, ship name, berth number and time spent at berth for each ship call, were provided by each participating port. The IMO numbers were used to match each port call to ship specifications from the IHS database Sea-web. All data were analysed with a model developed by the IVL Swedish Environmental Research Institute for the purpose of quantifying GHG emissions (as CO₂-equivalent) from ships in the port area. Emissions from five operational modes are summed in order to account for ship operations in the different traffic areas. The model estimates total GHG emissions of 150,000, 240,000, 97,000, and 95,000 tonnes CO₂ equivalents per year for Gothenburg, Long Beach, Osaka, and Sydney, respectively. Four important emission-reduction measures are discussed: reduced speed in fairway channels, on-shore power supply, reduced turnaround time at berth and alternative fuels. It is argued that the potential to reduce emissions in a port area depends on how often a ship revisits a port: there it in general is easier to implement measures for high-frequent liners. Ships that call 10 times or less contribute significantly to emissions in all ports.     

Fully autonomous vehicles: analyzing transportation network performance and operating scenarios in the Greater Toronto Area,Canada

Fully autonomous vehicles (AVs) have the potential to considerably change urban mobility in the future. This study simulates potential AV operating scenarios in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), Canada, and assesses transportation system performance on a regional level. For each scenario, the base capacities of certain types of road links are modified to simulate the theoretical increase in throughput enabled by AV driving behavior. Another scenario examines driverless parking operations in downtown Toronto. Simulation results indicate that the increased attractiveness of freeways relative to other routes leads to slightly increased average travel distance as vehicles divert to access higher capacity road links. Average travel time is found to decrease by up to one-fifth at the 90% AV market penetration level. Concurrently, localized increases in congestion suggest that proactive transportation planning will be needed to mitigate negative consequences of AV adoption, especially in relation to induced demand for personal automobile travel.     

The load-dependent vehicle routing problem and its pick-up and delivery extension

The present paper examines a Vehicle Routing Problem (VRP) of major practical importance which is referred to as the Load-Dependent VRP (LDVRP). LDVRP is applicable for transportation activities where the weight of the transported cargo accounts for a significant part of the vehicle gross weight. Contrary to the basic VRP which calls for the minimization of the distance travelled, the LDVRP objective is aimed at minimizing the total product of the distance travelled and the gross weight carried along this distance. Thus, it is capable of producing sensible routing plans which take into account the variation of the cargo weight along the vehicle trips. The LDVRP objective is closely related to the total energy requirements of the vehicle fleet, making it a credible alternative when the environmental aspects of transportation activities are examined and optimized. A novel LDVRP extension which considers simultaneous pick-up and delivery service is introduced, formulated and solved for the first time. To deal with large-scale instances of the examined problems, we propose a local-search algorithm. Towards an efficient implementation, the local-search algorithm employs a computational scheme which calculates the complex weighted-distance objective changes in constant time. Solution results are presented for both problems on a variety of well-known test cases demonstrating the effectiveness of the proposed solution approach. The structure of the obtained LDVRP and VRP solutions is compared in pursuit of interesting conclusions on the relative suitability of the two routing models, when the decision maker must deal with the weighted distance objective. In addition, results of a branch-and-cut procedure for small-scale instances of the LDVRP with simultaneous pick-ups and deliveries are reported. Finally, extensive computational experiments have been performed to explore the managerial implications of three key problem characteristics, namely the deviation of customer demands, the cargo to tare weight ratio, as well as the size of the available vehicle fleet.     

船用伙食冷库自控系统的改造设计

文章针对早期船用伙食冷库以继电器为主导的控制系统所存在的问题,以某一滚装客船冷库为例,根据该冷库的运行技术特点,开发出以西门子s7系列可编程控制器为核心的自动控制系统,满足了冷库运行过程的精确掌控、节约耗能和可靠性等要求。     

电动汽车充电桩安全管理研究

随着国家对环境保护和能源节约的重视以及新能源政策的实施,电动汽车行业迎来了快速发展。充电基础设施的建设,是加快电动汽车推广的重要需要。电动汽车充电基础设施建设和运营业务发展的机会也极大,随之而来的安全管理工作要求也越来越高。本文依据充电桩建设和运营的特点,剖析其中面临的安全风险,并提出加强安全管理工作的措施,为充电桩企业安全管理运营提供参考和借鉴。     

轨道车辆车下线缆波纹管自动穿线方案研究

通过九屏幕分析法、因果分析法和功能分析法梳理了轨道车辆车下线缆波纹管穿线的技术难点,提出新的波纹管自动穿线方案。通过方案成本核算、效率分析和工人体力负荷改善性分析对新的波纹管自动穿线方案进行评价。改进后的波纹管穿线方案能有效地提高工作效率,降低操作员的工作强度。     

信号交叉口行人二次过街下右转车通行能力与延误估计模型

在充分分析典型四相位交叉口行人二次过街设置前、后的行人流与右转车流冲突的前提下，以行人过街时间占有率和行人群到达分布作为分析指标，利用可插车间隙理论得出行人单向通行和双向通行条件下的右转车通行能力计算公式；根据行人流随机消散和集中消散的不同特征，应用随机分布理论推导出右转车穿越行人流的延误模型；并通过算例对比分析行人二次过街设置前、后右转车通行能力和延误的变化值。结果表明，除了在少数行人流量比较大的情况下， 行人二次过街的设置会小幅度减少右转车的延误；在其他大多数情况下，行人二次过街设置后， 右转车的通行能力将受到限制，延误增大，其中，平均通行能力降低了16.68%，平均延误时间增大 了21%，所以，当右转车交通需求较大时，需同时考虑行人和右转车的交通运行状态，优化设计是否采用行人二次过街，避免右转车超出极限忍耐时间而增大与行人冲突的概率。     

Layout optimization of an inertial energy harvester for miniature underwater mooring platforms

Comprehensive analyses of the layout influence on power performance of a low-frequency miniature horizontal-pendulum-type inertial energy harvester for underwater mooring platforms are presented in this article. The mathematical models are obtained utilizing the Newton-Euler method. The power performance is evaluated by simulations over different parameters, such as damping, excitation frequency, and layout position. Simulation results indicate that the harvester can extract energy from low-frequency excitations over the range of 0.1 Hz–0.4 Hz, and maximum output power can reach to 0.7 W under excitation frequency f = 0.4 Hz. Different layout positions influence the energy harvesting performance of the harvester dramatically. Changing the layout position to positive value can enhance and broaden the power performance. The amplitude responses with different layout positions do not show resonant characteristics, even near the natural frequency of the harvester, due to large amplitude vibrations and strong nonlinear characteristic. As excitation frequency f = 0.4 Hz, there is a zero output power point appears at layout position d = −1.3 m. Moreover, the harnessed power has a quadratic relationship with the layout position value.