A comparison of various algorithms to extract Magic Formula tyre model coefficients for vehicle dynamics simulations

Tyre models are a prerequisite for any vehicle dynamics simulation. Tyre models range from the simplest mathematical models that consider only the cornering stiffness to a complex set of formulae. Among all the steady-state tyre models that are in use today, the Magic Formula tyre model is unique and most popular. Though the Magic Formula tyre model is widely used, obtaining the model coefficients from either the experimental or the simulation data is not straightforward due to its nonlinear nature and the presence of a large number of coefficients. A common procedure used for this extraction is the least-squares minimisation that requires considerable experience for initial guesses. Various researchers have tried different algorithms, namely, gradient and Newton-based methods, differential evolution, artificial neural networks, etc. The issues involved in all these algorithms are setting bounds or constraints, sensitivity of the parameters, the features of the input data such as the number of points, noisy data, experimental procedure used such as slip angle sweep or tyre measurement (TIME) procedure, etc. The extracted Magic Formula coefficients are affected by these variants. This paper highlights the issues that are commonly encountered in obtaining these coefficients with different algorithms, namely, least-squares minimisation using trust region algorithms, Nelder–Mead simplex, pattern search, differential evolution, particle swarm optimisation, cuckoo search, etc. A key observation is that not all the algorithms give the same Magic Formula coefficients for a given data. The nature of the input data and the type of the algorithm decide the set of the Magic Formula tyre model coefficients.     

考虑换乘异质性的城市轨道交通时刻表协同优化模型

在城市轨道交通网络化运营条件下，极易导致换乘站的换乘需求差异过大。为提高列车时刻表与换乘需求的匹配度，本文基于网络中换乘站的空间拓扑结构和换乘需求在时间和方向上的特点，通过构建量化换乘差异的协同度指标，建立以列车同步次数最大化为目标的列车时刻表优化模型，优化轨道交通网络线路间成功衔接次数，提升乘客换乘出行效率。针对提出的混合 整数非线性规划模型，本文设计了一种基于天牛须搜索的粒子群优化算法进行求解，并将模型及算法应用于北京市轨道交通网络进行算例分析。结果表明，所构建的模型能依据换乘需求在空间、时间及方向上的差异，利用协同度分级优化轨道交通路网中列车协同状态；优化后全网列车同步到达次数增加33.86%，乘客平均换乘等待时间减少22.75%；相较于PSO和BAS算法，本文所提的算法具有更好的全局搜索能力和求解效率。本文可有效提高轨道交通换乘效率，为提升城 市轨道交通服务质量提供理论参考。     

Real-time bus route state forecasting using particle filter and mesoscopic modeling

In the absence of system control strategies, it is common to observe bus bunching in transit operations. A transit operator would benefit from an accurate forecast of bus operations in order to control the system before it becomes too disrupted to be restored to a stable condition. To accomplish this, we present a general bus prediction framework. This framework relies on a stochastic and event-based bus operation model that provides sets of possible bus trajectories based on the observation of current bus positions, available via global positioning system (GPS) data. The median of the set of possible trajectories, called a particle, is used as the prediction. In particular, this enables the anticipation of irregularities between buses. Several bus models are proposed depending on the dwell and inter-stop running time representations. These models are calibrated and applied to a real case study thanks to the high quality data provided by TriMet (the Portland, Oregon, USA transit district). Predictions are finally evaluated by an a posteriori comparison with the real trajectories. The results highlight that only bus models accounting for the bus load can provide valid forecasts of a bus route over a large prediction horizon, especially for headway variations. Accounting for traffic signal timings and actual traffic flows does not significantly improves the prediction. Such a framework paves the way for further development of refined dynamic control strategies for bus operations.     

Weather impact on containership routing in closed seas: A chance-constraint optimization approach

Weather conditions have a strong effect on the operation of vessels and unavoidably influence total time at sea and associated transportation costs. The velocity and direction of the wind in particular may considerably affect travel speed of vessels and therefore the reliability of scheduled maritime services. This paper considers weather effects in containership routing; a stochastic model is developed for determining optimal routes for a homogeneous fleet performing pick-ups and deliveries of containers between a hub and several spoke ports, while incorporating travel time uncertainties attributed to the weather. The problem is originally formulated as a chance-constrained variant of the vehicle routing problem with simultaneous pick-ups and deliveries and time constraints and solved using a genetic algorithm. The model is implemented to a network of island ports of the Aegean Sea. Results on the application of algorithm reveal that a small fleet is sufficient enough to serve network’s islands, under the influence of minor delays. A sensitivity analysis based on alternative scenarios in the problem’s parameters, leads to encouraging conclusions with respect to the efficiency and robustness of the algorithm.     

A hybrid heuristic strategy for liquefied natural gas inventory routing

As liquefied natural gas (LNG) steadily grows to be a common mode for commercializing natural gas, LNG supply chain optimization is becoming a key technology for gas companies to maintain competitiveness. This paper develops methods for improving the solutions for a previously stated form of an LNG inventory routing problem (LNG-IRP). Motivated by the poor performance of a Dantzig-Wolfe-based decomposition approach for exact solutions, we develop a suite of advanced heuristic techniques and propose a hybrid heuristic strategy aiming to achieve improved solutions in shorter computational time. The heuristics include two phases: the advanced construction phase is based on a rolling time algorithm and a greedy randomized adaptive search procedure (GRASP); and the solution improvement phase is a series of novel MIP-based neighborhood search techniques. The proposed algorithms are evaluated based on a set of realistic large-scale instances seen in recent literature. Extensive computational results indicate that the hybrid heuristic strategy is able to obtain optimal or near optimal feasible solutions substantially faster than commercial optimization software and also the previously proposed heuristic methods.     

The time slot allocation problem under uncertain capacity

This paper presents two stochastic programming models for the allocation of time slots over a network of airports. The proposed models address three key issues. First, they provide an optimization tool to allocate time slots, which takes several operational aspects and airline preferences into account; second, they execute the process on a network of airports; and third they explicitly include uncertainty. To the best of our knowledge, these are the first models for time slot allocation to consider both the stochastic nature of capacity reductions and the problem’s network structure. From a practical viewpoint, the proposed models provide important insights for the allocation of time slots. Specifically, they highlight the tradeoff between the schedule/request discrepancies, i.e., the time difference between allocated time slots and airline requests, and operational delays. Increasing schedule/request discrepancies enables a reduction in operational delays. Moreover, the models are computationally viable. A set of realistic test instances that consider the scheduling of four calendar days on different European airport networks has been solved within reasonable – for the application’s context – computation times. In one of our test instances, we were able to reduce the sum of schedule/request discrepancies and operational delays by up to 58%. This work provides slot coordinators with a valuable decision making tool, and it indicates that the proposed approach is very promising and may lead to relevant monetary savings for airlines and aircraft operators.     

分块组合搜索的结构稀疏人脸识别模型

介绍一种新的稀疏表示人脸识别模型,在经典的稀疏表示分类模型基础上,利用数据字典的结构信息,考虑算法实现的可行性,提出了一种分块组合搜索的稀疏表示人脸识别模型,主要思想是将数据字典按类别自然分块,然后在数据块内进行组合搜索,再联合不同类别的组块,以寻找表示能力最强的组块。为验证模型的性能,使用结构贪婪算法实现分块组合搜索方法和其他的结构稀疏方法,并进行比较,实验显示分块组合搜索的人脸识别率高于其他结构稀疏方法,且此方法性能稳定,不受数据字典排列的影响。     

数字海图中直接读取数据库信息的方法和应用

介绍了数据库文件的结构,分析了数字海图中直接读取数据库的必要性,论述了数字海图中直接读取数据库信息的应用方法流程,验证了电子海图中直接读取数据库信息的优越性.     

基于遗传禁忌算法的城市公交线网优化研究

针对城市公共交通线网优化问题,利用遗传禁忌算法进行研究.通过对公交线网优化目标函数和关键约束条件的分析,从乘客利益、企业效益及社会环境的角度出发,以公共交通效率最大化为总目标,建立公交线网优化模型.在分析遗传算法和禁忌搜索算法自身的优势与不足的基础上,提出基于遗传禁忌算法的公交线网优化算法,并将其应用于银川市公共交通线网规划中,结果表明该算法科学合理,可操作性强.     

台风状态下码头护舷受力与吸能特点分析

分析了台风状态下的系泊船舶所受的环境力,并进一步建立了系泊状态下的平衡方程,采用模矢搜索法求解了平衡方程组,求解过程中,护舷的反力-变形曲线采用三次样条插值进行模拟,最终解出护舷的受力与吸能.在不同的波流夹角和不同的缆绳预张力的情况下,找出了护舷可能失效的波流夹角的危险区域,对护舷的受力规律进行了分析和总结,并计算了恶劣海况下,两种不同性能护舷的受力和吸能情况.