A novel approach for the modelling of air quality dynamics in underground railway stations

Indoor air quality in subterranean train stations is a concern in many places around the globe. However, due to the specificity of each case, numerous parameters of the problem remain unknown, such as the braking discs particle emission rate, the ventilation rate of the station or the complete particle size distribution of the emitted particles. In this study the problem of modelling PM₁₀ concentration evolution in relation with train traffic is hence addressed with a particle-mass conservation model which parameters are fitted using a genetic algorithm. The parameters of the model allow to reproduce the dynamics and amplitude of four field data sets from the French and Swedish underground contexts and comply with realistic bounds in terms of emissions, deposition and ventilation rate.     

The Reimplementation of the Ra'ui: Coral Reef Management in Rarotonga,Cook Islands

This research focuses on coral reef health in the South Pacific region, an area of high global coral diversity. Coral reef health surrounding two study sites in Rarotonga, Cook Islands, has been assessed in areas that have not been previously surveyed. Each study site has distinct differences based upon marine management practices. Marine management practices are identified and described and some historical reasons as why they exist are discussed. Data are also presented on the ecological condition (coral coverage, number of coral species, clonal condition, disease, and presence and absence of bioindicators). This interdisciplinary research methodology includes both ecological and social data collection to further understand human- environment interactions. In comparing the reefs with different management practices, I argue that the implementation of traditional marine social institutions as exemplified in this case study of the Ra'ui in Rarotonga, Cook Islands, is an effective conservation management tool and is improving coral reef health. The Ra'ui site has significantly higher species diversity/Mortality Index ( F = 2.63).     

Probe vehicle-based traffic state estimation method with spacing information and conservation law

This paper proposes a method of estimating a traffic state based on probe vehicle data that contain spacing and position of probe vehicles. The probe vehicles were assumed to observe spacing by utilizing an advanced driver assistance system, that has been implemented in practice and is expected to spread in the near future. The proposed method relies on the conservation law of the traffic flow but is independent of a fundamental diagram. The conservation law is utilized for reasonable aggregation of the spacing data to acquire the traffic state, i.e., a flow, density and speed. Its independence from a fundamental diagram means that the proposed method does not require predetermined nor exogenous assumptions with regard to the traffic flow model parameters. The proposed method was validated through a simulation experiment under ideal conditions and a field experiment conducted under actual traffic conditions; and empirical characteristics of the proposed method were investigated.     

Mitigating environmental impacts in advance: Evidence of cost and time savings for transportation projects

The traditional model for mitigating a transportation project’s environmental impacts typically operates project-by-project and delivers the mitigation just-in-time. In contrast, the newer practice of advance mitigation comprehensively assesses and mitigates impacts from one or multiple transportation projects before or during project planning, sometimes long before project construction begins. The practice has gained adherents for its potential to improve ecological outcomes, by better aligning mitigation and conservation goals. Advance mitigation also stands to reduce mitigation costs, an important secondary benefit for transportation agencies with constrained resources. Evidence of cost savings, however, has been piecemeal and anecdotal. This paper advances knowledge of advance mitigation’s financial impacts in two ways. First, it critically assesses the evidence about cost savings realized through advance mitigation, both through avoided up-front costs and reduced project delay. Second, it directly estimates the project time savings that might accrue with advance mitigation of state highway projects in California. Overall, the balance of evidence is encouraging for transportation agencies that would introduce the practice, and general agreement exists on its financial benefits. Considering project delays related only to the environmental process, we estimate advance mitigation could reduce delivery times by 1.3–5.0 months per project. Still, we also identify factors limiting comprehensive analysis. Transportation agencies adopting advance mitigation practices into their operations could use a pilot approach that includes rigorous environmental and mitigation cost accounting; such pilots would build needed empirical evidence of advance mitigation’s financial and ecological outcomes.     

Rigor and Representativeness in Marine Protected Area Design

Virtually all marine conservation planning and management models in place or proposed have in common the need for improved scientific rigor in identifying and characterizing the marine habitats and processes encompassed. An emerging central theme in the last few years has been the concept of representativeness, or representative systems of marine protected areas (MPAs). Representativeness and similar terms are used in two distinct senses in current literature, leading to considerable confusion. Definitions of these terms as they are currently used are provided. The habitat classification and mapping needed to incorporate considerations of representativeness into MPA planning must logically be carried out at the same scale at which management occurs. Management of highly protected areas is found to occur almost exclusively at local scales or finer, independent of the reservation model or philosophy employed. Current techniques for cost-effective surveying of marine areas are discussed. The emerging field of remote videography, in some cases linked with acoustic discrimination sensors, can provide quantitative data on real biological distributions. Such data lend themselves well to robust multivariate analysis in deriving habitat maps at scales relevant to managers, as a basis for assessing and planning for representation in MPA design.     

辽宁省高速公路建设水土流失预测研究

本文介绍了高速公路建设中水土流失的成因及重点区域,并利用《辽宁省土壤侵蚀的定量分析》建立的数学模型,对我省即将建设的＂盘锦辽滨疏港高速公路＂项目可能产生的水土流失量进行预测,在工程实例中探讨了我省高速公路建设水土流失预测的方法,为我省高速公路建设中的水土保持工作提供了借鉴和参考。     

浅谈公路建设中水土保持措施

随着我国公路交通事业的快速发展,公路建设带来的环境问题也日益严重,因公路建设引起的水土流失、生态破坏、噪声等对环境的影响,已引起人们的广泛关注。在公路建设中如何尽量减少水土流失、保护路域环境是我们公路建设者不容推卸的责任。     

Real-time estimation of lane-based queue lengths at isolated signalized junctions

In this study, we develop a real-time estimation approach for lane-based queue lengths. Our aim is to determine the numbers of queued vehicles in each lane, based on detector information at isolated signalized junctions. The challenges involved in this task are to identify whether there is a residual queue at the start time of each cycle and to determine the proportions of lane-to-lane traffic volumes in each lane. Discriminant models are developed based on time occupancy rates and impulse memories, as calculated by the detector and signal information from a set of upstream and downstream detectors. To determine the proportions of total traffic volume in each lane, the downstream arrivals for each cycle are estimated by using the Kalman filter, which is based on upstream arrivals and downstream discharges collected during the previous cycle. Both the computer simulations and the case study of real-world traffic show that the proposed method is robust and accurate for the estimation of lane-based queue lengths in real time under a wide range of traffic conditions. Calibrated discriminant models play a significant role in determining whether there are residual queued vehicles in each lane at the start time of each cycle. In addition, downstream arrivals estimated by the Kalman filter enhance the accuracy of the estimates by minimizing any error terms caused by lane-changing behavior.     

Bus travel time prediction using a time-space discretization approach

The accuracy of travel time information given to passengers plays a key role in the success of any Advanced Public Transportation Systems (APTS) application. In order to improve the accuracy of such applications, one should carefully develop a prediction method. A majority of the available prediction methods considered the variation in travel time either spatially or temporally. The present study developed a prediction method that considers both temporal and spatial variations in travel time. The conservation of vehicles equation in terms of flow and density was first re-written in terms of speed in the form of a partial differential equation using traffic stream models. Then, the developed speed based equation was discretized using the Godunov scheme and used in the prediction scheme that was based on the Kalman filter. From the results, it was found that the proposed method was able to perform better than historical average, regression, and ANN methods and the methods that considered either temporal or spatial variations alone. Finally, a formulation was developed to check the effect of side roads on prediction accuracy and it was found that the additional requirement in terms of location based data did not result in an appreciable change in the prediction accuracy. This clearly demonstrated that the proposed approach based on using vehicle tracking data is good enough for the considered application of bus travel time prediction.     

劈裂注浆能耗分析

假设土体服从摩尔库仑破坏准则,劈裂注浆的劈裂是指土体在注浆压力作用下压缩屈服和浆液的楔入。将压缩过程视为无限土体中的圆孔扩张问题,根据注浆过程中能耗区土体在注浆压力和静止土压力作用下的应力、应变和体变关系,以及注浆扩孔过程中的能量和体变守恒原理及土体的屈服准则,推导出劈裂注浆的初始启劈注浆压力求解公式。利用该求解公式计算的结果与现场试验结果较为吻合。从能量耗散角度,分析土体在劈裂注浆过程中的能量耗散,可以得出:劈裂注浆过程中主要的能量消耗在土体的劈裂、土体的裂缝延伸及土体的塑性变形上,其他方面的能量消耗相对较少。