Possible remedies for intact stability hazards involving contemporary small inland passenger ferries in Bangladesh

On the basis of previous studies, a series of hazards involving the typical small inland passenger ferries operating in inland Bangladeshi waters have been identified. In particular, stormy weather conditions, overloading, and the risk of crowding to one side have been determined as the typical events that are likely to lead to capsizing in the intact condition. In this article, possible hazard mitigation measures are discussed, both from the regulatory and from the design point of view, for a small inland ferry that is very similar to one that actually capsized in the past. The addressed design options involve ballasting and hull modification by means of additional buoyancy above the waterline. From a regulatory point of view, it is proposed that the present weather criterion in force in Bangladesh be modified by increasing the wind speed to be accounted for and by considering the concurrent effects of wind, rolling, and the crowding of people to one side.     

Interference resistance of pentamaran ship model with asymmetric outrigger configurations

An experimental investigation is performed to assess the relation of interference performance on the total resistance of a pentamaran model advancing in calm water. For this motivation, the total drag of the ship is performed for several values of asymmetric outrigger configuration and hull separation, altering the Froude number in the range 0.3–0.9. Our results indicate that remarkable changes in resistance require notable changes in transverse distance values (hull separation) when wave interference may occur. In addition, there is no single configuration that consistently outperforms the other configurations across the entire speed range and the optimum interference factor ?0.2 appears at a Froude number of 0.45 in S/L=0.33 with the outrigger outer position: asymmetric outboard for A3 configuration.     

A rational analysis of intact stability hazards involving small inland passenger ferries in Bangladesh

The safety of inland passenger vessels operating in Bangladesh has been investigated. By thorough analysis of past accident data, the main causes of intact stability failures have been determined: adverse weather conditions and overloading, likely resulting in crowding to one side. Historical series of wind data were gathered and their analysis suggests that an increase in the wind speed presently used in the Weather Criterion in force in Bangladesh could be advisable. A model of a small passenger ship typically operated in Bangladesh has been analyzed in order to identify the most relevant hazards under intact ship conditions. A strongly jeopardizing effect of overloading under intact ship conditions has been detected when analyzing the hazard from the crowding of people to one side.     

PM10 concentrations and the size distribution of Cu and Fe-containing particles in Istanbul’s subway system

In this study, PM₁₀ concentrations, as well as the size distributions of Fe-containing and Cu-containing particles are measured in six subway stations in Istanbul. The average daily PM₁₀ concentrations are found to vary considerably. They were also found to be significantly higher than the levels found at urban air quality stations. Further, the relative abundance of Fe-containing particles among the particles of size >2.1 μm collected in the metro stations is 3.5-8 times higher than in the in the Istanbul atmosphere.     

Effectiveness of vehicle weight enforcement in a developing country using weigh-in-motion sorting system considering vehicle by-pass and enforcement capability

Vehicle overloading has been identified as one of the major contributors to road pavement damage in Malaysia. In this study, the weigh-in-motion (WIM) system has been used to function as a vehicle weight sorting tool to complement the exsiting static weigh bridge enforcement station. Data collected from the developed system is used to explore the effectiveness of using WIM system in terms of generating more accurate data for enforcement purposes and at the same time improving safety and reducing the number of vehicle weight violations on the roads. This study specifically focus on the effect of vehicle by-pass and static weigh station enforcement capability on the overall effectiveness of vehicle weight enforcement system in a developing country. Results from this study suggest that the WIM system will significantly enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of the current vehicle weight enforcement, thus generating substantial revenue that would greatly off-set the current road maintenance budget that comes from tax payers money. If there is substantial reduction in overloaded vehicles, the public will still gain through reduction in road maintenance budget, less accident risks involving heavy trucks, and lesser greenhouse gases (GHGs) emissions.     

A computational investigation of the effects of both-sides general corrosion on the buckling/plastic collapse behaviour and strength of stiffened plates

This paper presents the results of an investigation into the post-buckling behaviour and ultimate strength of imperfect corroded stiffened steel plates used in ships and other marine-related structures. A series of elastic–plastic large deflection finite element analyses is performed on stiffened steel plates suffering general corrosion wastage with random distribution. General corrosion is introduced into the finite element models using a random thickness surface model. The effects of corroded stiffened plate parameters on the post-buckling and ultimate strengths are evaluated in detail. The stiffeners of different symmetrical or unsymmetrical cross-sections are introduced into the models for analysis. Some distinctions are explored and highlighted between the behaviours of steel plates suffering general corrosion in unstiffened and stiffened cases. Finally, a proposal is given in order to simulate the average stress–average strain relationship of stiffened steel plates having both-surface general corrosion wastage.     

系三点式安全带驾驶员手伸及界面分析

考虑驾驶员系三点式安全带,根据运动学、驾驶舒适性和车辆安全性建立了基于铰链转动极限的4自由度手臂运动学模型,提出了雅克比奇异性的奇异表面的识别方法,并得出了系三点式安伞带驾驶员手伸及界面的解析解,利用可视化技术对驾驶员手伸及界面进行了可视化处理。