Scipedia: Documents published in 2015

The provision of public recharging infrastructure for Electric Vehicles in the UK – is there a business case?

Scipedia content — Mon, 15 Feb 2021 11:00:36 +0100

The UK has been one of the most advanced countries in Europe for the demonstration of electric vehicles (EV) and the introduction of the supporting recharging infrastructure. Much of the UK’s EV recharging estate was created and is operated under public subsidy, in order to seed the marketplace for further EV and recharging equipment adoption. This paper addresses the fact that subsidies for the operation of this infrastructure are coming to an end, which is likely to affect EV drivers’ recharging behaviour. As the public funding ceases the infrastructure owners must find other ways to cover the on-going costs of operation and recover capital investments made, in order to provide a continuing and viable service to EV drivers. However, actual uptake of EVs and therefore demand for recharging has been lower than the arguably over optimistic predictions made in 2010 when the subsidies began. The difficulty of covering operating costs with inaccurate EV forecast figures is compounded by factors including asset life and ownership costs, recharging locations, vehicle and charging specifications, vehicle usage patterns and regional demographics. The introduction of fees for recharging at a level which EV drivers are willing to pay is unlikely to enable infrastructure owners to recoup their full costs using conventional business models. A Social and Environmental accounting model could be developed to help inform decision making for the public recharging business case. This paper gives an overview of the findings from the UK supplemented by experience from Republic of Ireland, and comments on the impact of inaccurate EV sales predictions and early changes in recharging behaviour resulting from reduction in subsidies.

Document type: Article

Elaboration of the Method for Safety Assessment of Subsea Pipeline with Longitudinal Buckling

Scipedia content — Mon, 15 Feb 2021 10:57:26 +0100

The issue of ensuring longitudinal stability of marine gas pipelines has been raised in view of construction of pipelines operating at significant temperature drops. Most commonly the pipelines deviation from the design conditions as well as equilibrium disturbance occurs due to longitudinal buckling. The task of designing the marine gas pipeline involves making the reliability analysis of the pipeline, taking into account the required conditions of structural reliability in all construction phases. As per the Russian standards, the vertical buckling is not considered in the stability analysis, whereas the standards of the USA, Norway (DNV-RP-F110), and the Great Britain emphasize the need for considering the lateral buckling caused by axial forces. This paper focuses on the operational reliability calculation for an underwater main gas pipeline, in which longitudinal buckling failure occurred. The calculation is based on the probabilistic and statistical method of assessing the pipeline state and operational reliability.

Document type: Article

A Comparison of Variant Calling Pipelines Using Genome in a Bottle as a Reference

Scipedia content — Mon, 15 Feb 2021 10:51:39 +0100

High-throughput sequencing, especially of exomes, is a popular diagnostic tool, but it is difficult to determine which tools are the best at analyzing this data. In this study, we use the NIST Genome in a Bottle results as a novel resource for validation of our exome analysis pipeline. We use six different aligners and five different variant callers to determine which pipeline, of the 30 total, performs the best on a human exome that was used to help generate the list of variants detected by the Genome in a Bottle Consortium. Of these 30 pipelines, we found that Novoalign in conjunction with GATK UnifiedGenotyper exhibited the highest sensitivity while maintaining a low number of false positives for SNVs. However, it is apparent that indels are still difficult for any pipeline to handle with none of the tools achieving an average sensitivity higher than 33% or a Positive Predictive Value (PPV) higher than 53%. Lastly, as expected, it was found that aligners can play as vital a role in variant detection as variant callers themselves.

Document type: Article

The increase of electric vehicle usage in Norway—incentives and adverse effects

Scipedia content — Mon, 15 Feb 2021 10:42:57 +0100

Purpose Norway has been named the Bcapital of Electric Vehicles (EVs) because the purchase and use of EVs in Norway has increased tremendously over the last few years.Currently, the fleet of EVs in Norway is the largest per capitain the world. From a transportation research perspective, the questions immediately asked are (i) what economic incentivesmake the purchase and use of EVs in Norway so attractive to road users; (ii) do these incentives have any adverse effects and, if so, how large are they; and (iii) how does the marginal external cost of EVs compare to that of conventional vehicles.Method We explore the above questions using available data,the literature and personal observations while relating to the city of Oslo as a case study. Results We find that the tremendous increase in the use of EVs is the result of multiple economic incentives, such asexemption from toll charges, exemption from purchase duties and permission to use transit lanes that induce road users to purchase and use EVs. The increase in EVs has led to a re-duction in CO2 emissions. However, some of the EV incentives have adverse effects, the most serious of which is the exemption from toll charges, which has led to a sizable loss of toll revenue. We find that the marginal external cost of EVs’road use is approximately the same as that for a conventional vehicle.Conclusions The incentives for EVs should consider the adverse effects and how electricity is produced; the Norwegian approach should not be followed by other countries without due consideration of these factors. C The Author(s) 2015. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use,distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appro-priate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made.

Document type: Article

Visual Overlay on OpenStreetMap Data to Support Spatial Exploration of Urban Environments

Scipedia content — Mon, 15 Feb 2021 10:37:31 +0100

Increasing volumes of spatial data about urban areas are captured and made available via volunteered geographic information (VGI) sources, such as OpenStreetMap (OSM). Hence, new opportunities arise for regional exploration that can lead to improvements in the lives of citizens through spatial decision support. We believe that the VGI data of the urban environment could be used to present a constructive overview of the regional infrastructure with the advent of web technologies. Current location-based services provide general map-based information for the end users with conventional local search functionality, and hence, the presentation of the rich urban information is limited. In this work, we analyze the OSM data to classify the geo entities into consequential categories with facilities, landscape and land use distribution. We employ a visual overlay of heat map and interactive visualizations to present the regional characterization on OSM data classification. In the proposed interface, users are allowed to express a variety of spatial queries to exemplify their geographic interests. They can compare the characterization of urban areas with respect to multiple spatial dimensions of interest and can search for the most suitable region. The search experience is further enhanced via efficient optimization and interaction methods to support the decision making of end users. We report the end user acceptability and efficiency of the proposed system via usability studies and performance analysis comparison.

Document type: Article

Comparative design of the superstructure of timber bridges, using norm np 005 - 2003 and provisions of european standards

Scipedia content — Mon, 15 Feb 2021 10:33:21 +0100

"jats:p" The norms and standards for design of timber bridges, as well as other structures built from this material, were obsolete, design standards that were used dated from 1978 to 1980. The introduction of European Standards has created a new legislative framework in the field of designing and building timber bridges. Currently the design of such constructions use Norm NP 005-2003 and SR EN 1995-1-1: 2004 Eurocode 5: Design of timber structures. Part 1-1: General. Common rules and rules for buildings, SR EN 1995-2: 2005 Eurocode 5: Design of timber structures. Part 2: Bridges, along with their national annexes. The aim of this paper is to analyze the design of the beams for timber bridges in parallel, using on one hand Norm NP 005 - 2003, and on the other hand provisions of European standards. The design requirements for both norms as well as the results of a case study for a structural element of a timber bridge will be presented.

Document type: Article

Proposal Of Landfill Site Model In The Particular Territory

Scipedia content — Mon, 15 Feb 2021 10:28:16 +0100

"jats:p"Nowadays, waste logistics is a relevant element within the worldwide logistics system. This paper is focused on the proposal of the appropriate model of landfill site for disposal of municipal waste. This issue refers to waste logistics in urban areas. In this regard, three different alternative models of landfill sites are considered. Landfill site model can significantly influence the waste management productivity and effectiveness of the enterprise. In the paper, one of the decision-making problem methods is utilized. This particular method enables to assess each model of landfill site in relation to each of the specified criterion and order the models according to the achieved results.

Document type: Article

The barriers to low-carbon land-transport and policies to overcome them

Scipedia content — Mon, 15 Feb 2021 10:28:03 +0100

Considerable efficiency gains can be made cost-effectively to set the transport sector on a sustainable development pathway. They can be achieved through already available technologies and practices, which will not only reduce greenhouse gas emissions significantly, but also generate social, environmental and economic co-benefits. However, progress in the take-up of low-carbon mobility measures substantially lags behind the potential. A number of barriers contribute to this lack of uptake. This paper explores those barriers by focusing on vehicle fuel efficiency in particular, but will also touch on the wider policy framework to improve the efficiency of the transport sector and reduce emissions. The paper suggests that a combination of fuel pricing, differentiated vehicle taxation, vehicle standards and the provision of modal choice are necessary to minimise rebound effects and significantly curb transport sector greenhouse gas emissions at low- or even negative cost.

Document type: Article

Eco-positioning of airlines: Perception versus actual performance

Scipedia content — Mon, 15 Feb 2021 10:23:27 +0100

To date there has been little research in air transport into the eco-positioning of airlines, that is, their environmental image relative to other airlines and how actual environmental performance relates to this eco-positioning. This paper identifies the environmental perceptions that passengers hold of twelve airlines and relates these perceptions to airlines' actual environmental performance, using load factors, aircraft age and the atmosfair Airline index as proxies for environmental performance. Based on a survey of over 600 passengers at Liverpool John Lennon Airport, the research analyses air travellers' perception of airlines from an environmental perspective. The results show that while there are significant differences in people's environmental perception of airlines, the eco-positioning of the airlines is not correlated to their actual environmental performance. The results support previous research findings in other industries that in many cases actual performance is less important than communicating environmental messages to the public in creating a superior eco-positioning.

Document type: Article

Tourism sector, Travel agencies, and Transport Suppliers: Comparison of Different Estimators in the Structural Equation Modeling

Scipedia content — Mon, 15 Feb 2021 10:20:57 +0100

"jats:p" The paper addresses the effect of external integration (EI) with transport suppliers on the efficiency of travel agencies in the tourism sector supply chains. The main aim is the comparison of different estimation methods used in the structural equation modeling (SEM), applied to discover possible relationships between EIs and efficiencies. The latter are calculated by the means of data envelopment analysis (DEA). While designing the structural equation model, the exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses are also used as preliminary statistical procedures. For the estimation of parameters of SEM model, three different methods are explained, analyzed and compared: maximum likelihood (ML) method, Bayesian Markov Chain Monte Carlo (BMCMC) method, and unweighted least squares (ULS) method. The study reveals that all estimation methods calculate comparable estimated parameters. The results also give an evidence of good model fit performance. Besides, the research confirms that the amplified external integration with transport providers leads to increased efficiency of travel agencies, which might be a very interesting finding for the operational management.

Document type: Article

A Robust Bayesian Approach to an Optimal Replacement Policy for Gas Pipelines

Scipedia content — Mon, 15 Feb 2021 10:19:19 +0100

In the paper, we address Bayesian sensitivity issues when integrating experts’ judgments with available historical data in a case study about strategies for the preventive maintenance of low-pressure cast iron pipelines in an urban gas distribution network. We are interested in replacement priorities, as determined by the failure rates of pipelines deployed under different conditions. We relax the assumptions, made in previous papers, about the prior distributions on the failure rates and study changes in replacement priorities under different choices of generalized moment-constrained classes of priors. We focus on the set of non-dominated actions, and among them, we propose the least sensitive action as the optimal choice to rank different classes of pipelines, providing a sound approach to the sensitivity problem. Moreover, we are also interested in determining which classes have a failure rate exceeding a given acceptable value, considered as the threshold determining no need for replacement. Graphical tools are introduced to help decisionmakers to determine if pipelines are to be replaced and the corresponding priorities.

Document type: Article

Monolithic Concrete vs Precast Concrete for the Construction of Bridge by Th Cantilever Method

Scipedia content — Mon, 15 Feb 2021 10:12:11 +0100

Rezumat"/jats:title" "jats:p" În cadrul articolului cu titlul „Beton monolit versus beton prefabricat la execuția în consolă a podurilor” vor fi abordate o serie de probleme care apar atât la proiectarea cât şi la execuţia structurilor de poduri din beton precomprimat utilizând metoda execuţiei în consolă."/jats:p" "jats:p"Această metodă a revoluţionat podurile din beton, din punct de vedere al deschiderilor şi al uşurinţei traversării unor obstacole dificile. În afara avantajelor realizării unor structuri din beton monolit prin execuţie în consolă, utilizarea elementelor prefabricate conduce la micşorarea semnificativă a timpului de execuţie şi la diminuarea problemelor care pot apărea din cauza curgerii lente şi a contracţiei betonului."/jats:p" "jats:p"Materialul prezentat în cadrul articolului cu titlul „Beton monolit versus beton prefabricat la execuția în consolă a podurilor” va prezenta principiul metodei de execuţie în consolă, avantajele utilizării acestei metode, cazurile particulare pentru care se pretează o astfel de structură, scheme statice şi secţiunile transversale adoptate pentru acest tip de structuri, cât şi modul de îmbinare al tronsoanelor prefabricate în funcţie de generaţia din care fac parte."/jats:p" "jats:p"De asemenea, se va prezenta un studiu de caz în care vor fi analizate cele doua variante de execuție în consolă (turnare monolită a tronsoanelor respectiv montare de tronsoane prefabricate) și vor fi prezentate concluzii privind oportunitatea utilizării uneia dintre cele două variante.

Document type: Article

Spectral density estimation of European airlines load factors for Europe-Middle East and Europe-Far East flights

Scipedia content — Mon, 15 Feb 2021 10:08:37 +0100

Purpose In the airline industry the term load factor is defined as the percentage of seats filled by revenue passengers. The load factor is a metric that measures the airline’s capacity and demand management. This paper aimed to identify serial and periodic autocorrelation on the load factors of the Europe-Mid East and Europe-Far East airline flights. Identifying the autocorrelation structure is helpful to develop the best fitted forecasting model of the load factors.

Document type: Article

Towards effective control of P2P traffic aggregates in network infrastructures

Scipedia content — Mon, 15 Feb 2021 10:02:58 +0100

Nowadays, many P2P applications proliferate in the Internet. The attractiveness of many of these systems relies on the collaborative approach used to exchange large resources without the dependence and associated constraints of centralized approaches where a single server is responsible to handle all the requests from the clients. As consequence, some P2P systems are also interesting and cost-effective approaches to be adopted by content-providers and other Internet players. However, there are several coexistence problems between P2P applications and In- ternet Service Providers (ISPs) due to the unforeseeable behavior of P2P traffic aggregates in ISP infrastructures. In this context, this work proposes a collaborative P2P/ISP system able to underpin the development of novel Traffic Engi- neering (TE) mechanisms contributing for a better coexistence between P2P applications and ISPs. Using the devised system, two TE methods are described being able to estimate and control the impact of P2P traffic aggregates on the ISP network links. One of the TE methods allows that ISP administrators are able to foresee the expected impact that a given P2P swarm will have in the underlying network infrastructure. The other TE method enables the definition of ISP friendly P2P topologies, where specific network links are protected from P2P traffic. As result, the proposed system and associated mechanisms will contribute for improved ISP resource management tasks and to foster the deployment of innovative ISP-friendly systems. This work has been partially supported by FCT - Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia Portugal in the scope of the project: UID/CEC/00319/2013.

Document type: Article

An Electric Bus with a Battery Exchange System

Scipedia content — Mon, 15 Feb 2021 09:57:04 +0100

part of the ongoing effort to be independent of petroleum resources and to be free from pollutant emission issues, various electric vehicles have been developed and tested through their integration with real world systems. In the current paper, yet another application specific EV for public transportation, an electric bus, is introduced and explained with results from the pilot test program which was carried out under real traffic conditions. The main feature of the current system is a battery exchanging mechanism mounted on the roof of the bus. The current configuration certainly requires an externally fabricated battery exchanging robot system that would complement the electric bus for a fully automated battery exchanging process. The major advantage of the current system is the quick re-charging of the electric energy through the physical battery exchange and the possible utilization of the battery exchange station as a mini scale energy storage system for grid system peak power shaving. With the total system solution approach for the public transportation system, it is fully expected to create outstanding business opportunities in number of areas such as battery suppliers, battery exchanging station management, battery leasing and many more.

Document type: Article

Preference of e-Bike by Women in India–a Niche Market for Auto Manufacturers

Scipedia content — Mon, 15 Feb 2021 09:52:48 +0100

The increasing urbanization with climate change, global warming issues and the related need to decarbonize the economy, is forcing urgency for identifying the alternate source for the global adoption and sustainable scalable solutions. The country’s demographic and road patterns and its natural resources availability provide enormous scope for the electric bike industry. As per the “Navigant Research Report”, it is predicted that by 2018, the sales of electric vehicles in India will shoot up by 17 percent. 1.1 million electric vehicles will be targeted within next five years. A recent study on the environment impact of e-bikes with other forms of transportation found that e-bikes are about 18 times more energy consumption than SUV, 13 times than a sedan, 6 times more than rail transit, and it is having considered as an innovated conventional bicycle. It is a frugal innovation strategy which provide safe carbon free environment, and moreover a part of health rehabilitation programmes. It is required that societal, economic and political and infrastructure systems integrate together to balance the energy environment. With this potential, the era of electric bike started its new avenues on the roads of India specifically focusing on Indian women. To develop this viewpoint, the present study focuses on the preference of e-bike among the women in Madurai city.

Document type: Article

A Framework For The Exergy Analysis Of Future Transport Pathways: Application For The United Kingdom Transport System 2010-2050

Scipedia content — Mon, 15 Feb 2021 09:52:15 +0100

Exergy analysis has been used to quantify the historical resource use efficiency and environmental impact of transport systems. However, few exergy studies have explored future transport pathways. This study aims to, (a) develop a conceptual framework for the exergy analysis of multiple future transport and electricity pathways, (b) apply this framework to quantify future resource consumption and service delivery patterns, (c) discuss the policy-relevant results that exergy studies of future transport systems can offer. Multiple transport and electricity pathways developed by the UK Government are used to explore changes in energy use, useful work delivery and greenhouse gas emissions. In passenger transport, ambitious electrification results in a 20% increase of useful work delivery, whilst reducing GHG emissions and energy consumption by 65%. For freight, international shipping and aviation, smaller exergy efficiency improvements make useful work delivery and greenhouse gas emissions highly dependent on transport demand. Passenger transport electrification brings a step-change in useful work delivery, which if accompanied by low-carbon electricity, significantly reduces greenhouse gas emissions. The efficiency of low-carbon electricity systems is significant for useful work delivery, but not dominant across the scenarios explored. High penetration of renewables and electrified transport is the most resource-efficient combination in this context. EB was supported by Newcastle University with funding from the UK Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC). AG acknowledges funding through a Marie Curie International Incoming Fellowship (Project ABioPES, 302880) offered by the European Commission. AS commenced the research in this paper whilst at IN+ Center for Innovation, Technology and Policy Research, Instituto Superior Técnico - University of Lisbon with funding from FCT (PhD grant SFRH/BD/46794/2008), and finalized it while at the University of Cambridge (EPSRC grant EP/K011774/1). This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Elsevier via http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.energy.2015.07.021

Document type: Article

Assessment of the Sustainability of Water Resources Management: A Critical Review of the City Blueprint Approach

Scipedia content — Mon, 15 Feb 2021 09:48:46 +0100

Climate change, urbanization and water pollution cause adverse effects and rehabilitation costs that may exceed the carrying capacity of cities. Currently, there is no internationally standardized indicator framework for urban Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM). The City Blueprint® is a first attempt and aims to enhance the transition towards water-wise cities by city-to-city learning. This paper provides a three step revision of the City Blueprint Framework (CBF) based on data of 45 municipalities and regions in 27 countries: (1) A distinction has been made between trends and pressures (on which urban IWRM has a negligible influence) and IWRM performances. Therefore, a separate trends and pressures framework has been developed; (2) Only the purely performance-oriented indicators have been selected from the CBF. Furthermore, the indicator accuracy and boundaries have been re-assessed, and new indicators have been added; (3) By analyzing correlations and variances, the performance-oriented indicators have been rearranged in order to establish a proportional contribution of all indicators and categories to the overall score, i.e., the Blue City Index®. In conclusion, six indicators have been removed because of insufficient accuracy, overlap or lack of focus on IWRM. Seven indicators have been added, i.e., secondary and tertiary wastewater treatment, operation cost recovery, green space and three indicators concerning solid waste treatment. The geometric aggregation method has been selected because it emphasizes the need to improve the lowest scoring indicators. In conclusion, the improved CBF is more performance-oriented and therefore more suitable to assist cities in their transition towards water-wise cities.

Document type: Article

ADAPTIVE TECHNOLOGIES FOR THE BLIND AND VISUAL IMPAIRED PERSONS IN THE TRAFFIC NETWORK

Scipedia content — Mon, 15 Feb 2021 09:48:31 +0100

The information about the environment and the precise guidance of visually impaired people is the basis for their safe movement of the traffic network. Therefore, the information and communication services should be adapted to this group of users. The services based on the advanced information and communication technologies provide the visually impaired persons with information about the environment while moving along the traffic network. This paper analyses the currently available information systems of users when moving traffic network, and the currently most services based on new ICT (Information and Communications Technology). The analysis was carried on a representative sample of the City of Zagreb (Croatia) in involving all interest groups of visually impaired people. Based on defined user requirements is proposed a new services based on NFC (Near Field Communication) and RTLS (Real-Time Locating Systems). Testing and analysing the efficiency of single information and communication technologies have been performed on the actual traffic network system of the City of Zagreb. The users of the Croatian Society for Promotion and Development of Tiphlotechnology (Hrvatska Udruga za Promicanje i Razvoj Tiflotehnike – HUPRT, http://www.huprt.hr) participated in checking the efficiency of single technologies and services. First published online: 28 Jan 2015

Document type: Article

Increasing the competitiveness of e-vehicles in Europe

Scipedia content — Fri, 12 Feb 2021 16:23:45 +0100

Introduction This paper is concerned with incentives for the take-up and use of e-vehicles that are in place in different European countries. Especially, it analyses Norway and Austria, in order to establish and understand factors influencing the competitiveness of e-vehicles and potential market penetration. Norway currently enjoys the world’s largest take-up of electric cars per capita, achieved through an extensive package of incentives. Austria has used the concept of Model Regions with government support to stimulate market introduction. So far, this has been a less effective approach. Methods The paper brings in and combine analyses of national travel survey data and web surveys to e-vehicle owners and non-e-vehicle owners. It considers socio-economic factors including convenience and time savings due to e-vehicle policies. Results Analysing national travel surveys, we find a considerable potential for e-vehicles based on people’s everyday travel. Social networks play a crucial role in spreading knowledge about this relatively new technology. The take-up of battery electric vehicles correlates relatively closely with the user value of e-vehicle incentives. The fiscal effects of e-vehicle incentives are non-trivial – especially in the longer run. The cost of lifting a new technology into the market by means of government incentives is significant. We point to the importance of a strategy for the gradual phasing out of e-vehicle policies in countries with large incentives when the cost of vehicles goes down and the technology improves. Conclusions Successful market uptake and expansion of electric vehicles requires massive, expensive and combined policies. Central government backing, long term commitment and market-oriented incentives help reduce the perceived risk for market players like car importers and allow the e-vehicle market to thrive. For countries with low e-vehicle market shares the potential is promising. Battery electric vehicles are already a real option for the majority of peoples’ everyday trips and trip chains. However, their relative disadvantages must be compensated by means of incentives – at least in the initial market launch phase. Diffusion mechanisms play a sizeable role. The lack of knowledge in the population at large must be addressed. Increasing the competitiveness of e-vehicles in Europe

Document type: Article

Battery Design for Successful Electrification in Public Transport

Scipedia content — Fri, 12 Feb 2021 16:22:40 +0100

Public transport is an especially promising sector for full electric vehicles due to the high amount of cycles and predictable workload. This leads to a high amount of different vehicle concepts ranging from large batteries, designed for a full day of operation without charging, to fast-charging systems with charging power up to a few hundred kilowatts. Hence, many different issues have to be addressed in the whole design and production process regarding high-voltage (HV) batteries for buses. In this work, the design process for electric public buses is analyzed in detail, based on two systems developed by the research projects Smart Wheels/econnect and SEB eOPNV. The complete development process starting, with the demand analysis and the operating scenario, including the charging routine, is discussed. This paper also features details on cell selection and cost estimations as well as technical details on the system layout, such as the management system and passive components as well as thermal management.

Document type: Article

The adaptation of sustainable biojet fuels and its effect on aircraft engine maintenance

Scipedia content — Fri, 12 Feb 2021 16:06:00 +0100

viation industries are looking into several resources for renewable and sustainable energy. Among those attention is focused in biojet fuel. This paper engages the issue of biojet fuel emissions that increase the environmental concern in the air transport sector. The paper presents the use of biojet fuel and its effect on aircraft engine maintenance through preliminary data collections, and a review of its development process in operations for time and goal. As conclusion, airlines management needs to adapt and adopt the transition to alternative fuels, especially given the global biofuel trend emerging due to the authority approval.

Document type: Article

Air Cargo Development in the Regional Airports of the Baltic Sea Region Through Road Feeder Services

Scipedia content — Fri, 12 Feb 2021 16:05:45 +0100

"jats:p"As issued in the Competition Policy Brief on the new state aid rules for a competitive aviation industry by the Competition Directorate-General of the European Commission in February 2014"jats:sup"1"/jats:sup", it will be more difficult for unprofitable airports, to obtain financial public subsidies on EU, national or regional level. Although the positive impact of small airports on the regional development and general accessibility was mentioned, still the operating aid to the airports shall be cut out over a maximum of 10 years. It has been further stated that the vast majority of small and regional airports experience problems to cover their running operative costs, as a result from an intensive market competition and overlapping of airports’ catchment areas preventing even some promising airports from growth. Public subsidies are mostly used by the airport management for infrastructural investments, to cover operating losses or to attract price-sensitive airlines. Herewith, among other things, the EU Commission is pointing out at the lack of cooperation structures and network strategies among the regional airports and at rather isolated and individual approach during elaboration of the airport development scenarios. However, the Competition Policy Brief permits public aid to regional airports, among other things if there is sufficient transports need to establish transition periods for small airports; the need for more flexibility of the regional airports in the remote areas has been underlined. The EU Commission is expecting herewith not to close the regional airports, but to stimulate them to operate on cost efficient and profitable basis, and that only the most inefficient airports will be closed. "/jats:p" "jats:p"To cope with the upcoming challenges the regional airports are demanded now to revaluate and reconsider their future development plans. While focusing on the passenger traffic many regional airports ignore or underestimate the benefits of the airfreight market. Although the air cargo has rather a low volume, but very high revenue yield part. Business internationalization is one of the important driving forces for the airfreight nowadays as well as decreasing air transport costs due to improving efficiency and growing competition among the air carriers. Most regional airports in the Baltic Sea region that act totally isolated, do not have a clear picture of the current situation on the international air cargo market, its future perspectives and sustainable development plans. Trying to meet the market demand, the regional airports are making huge and unjustified investments, e.g. improving airport infrastructure. It is not clear till now which elements of the Pan-Baltic cargo market could be managed as an alternative revenue yielding services for consolidated operation by air or what infrastructure is needed to provide the opportunity for an optimal economic mix of road-rail-air-sea transport? Nowadays, to a large degree air cargo traffic relies on scheduled, frequent passenger services in hub-and-spoke as well as in point-to-point traffic. Regional airports are presently suffering from a lack of scheduled uplift capacity. The volume currently transported by air in the regional airports is almost entirely based on the occasional charter flights. However, the growth of the air cargo business is likely to be based not only on cargo charters, but to a larger extend on truck-based services for transit shipments. Onward transportation by truck may occur on road feeder service, so called “flying trucks”, where a real truck substitutes a flight. “Flying trucks” are having flight numbers etc., therefore they must be prioritized in many ways in the BSR transport policy. "/jats:p" "jats:p"This paper investigates the role of Road Feeder Services concept (thereafter named here as “Flying Truck”) as an optional freight value proposition for the development of the regional airports and their possible participation in the air cargo market as a supplement instrument to generate additional revenue, thus making the airports more profitable and attractive.

Document type: Article

A decision support tool for evaluating decision options for out-bound flight delays considering high-valuable passengers

Scipedia content — Fri, 12 Feb 2021 16:02:50 +0100

Though studies show that arriving on-time is the service characteristic most valued by the air passengers and passenger service coordinators are consulted in the operation disruptions, passengers rarely drive operational decision-making in the disruption management of an airline. Taking into consideration airlines’ seeking the prevention of losing passengers’ goodwill in situations where the level of service quality (SQ) performed is not as high as the promoted one, this research is focused particularly on an influence of delayed connecting (or in-bound) high-fare passengers on making decisions on onward delays. Operationally seen, connecting passengers are of a particular importance for airlines, since they are already involved in their operations-flow, while becoming in this way the third most important airlines’ aspect of operations, succeeding aircraft and crew. On the other hand, exclusive travellers such as first class and elite-status, contracted corporate members, and business passengers are considered as the high-valuable passengers, who are enough (financially) worth to the airline, particularly for to be waited for if they are delayed in arriving with an in-bound flight. Based upon an examination made from the airlines’ operational point of view and for determined prioritization strategy, a Decision Support System (DSS) tool, named DEVOTED DSS Tool, for use in the disruption management of the Airline Operation Control Centre (AOCC) is presented. For assisting the airline operation controllers in decisions on whether to delay the departure of out-bound flights in order to wait for arriving-delayed high-fare passengers from an in-bound flight, an influence of these passengers’ satisfaction on making decisions on onward delays, the passenger segmentation per flight, associated consequences in terms of the Level of Service (LOS) performed by the carrier and the one perceived by the passengers, as well as the accompanying costs are taken into account. The designed tool incorporates the key elements of Human-Centred Design (HCD) relying on a multi-criteria algorithm making-up its decision making process for evaluation of decision options and making suggestion. Being scenario-driven and knowledge-based the tool implements the airline prioritisation policies. Hereby, the level of service quality delivered by the air carrier and the level of service quality expected and perceived by the high-fare passengers are determined quantitatively by employing a created LOS-model which relies on the basic categorization rules of the Kano’s quality model. For testing of the tool, two scheduled airlines with two different prioritization strategies and operating on the same flight route between the same origin-destination airports (i.e. city-pairs) are taken. Though the testing is real-world data based, in order to expose a tangible aim and capabilities of the designed tool, the testing scenarios are constructed in such a way to reflect specific borderline operational situations, while emphasizing occurring conflicting decision key criteria. The tool output consists of two components – the LOS quality delivered by the carrier including the delay-costs (LOS Airline) and the level of service perceived by the high-fare passengers on both flights (LOS Passenger) – which are reflected on the user interface in form of two bars, each consisting of three colours indicating an option as good (green), neutral (yellow) or bad (red). Although the operation controller may take the opposite decision as recommended, the tool is enabled to display the evaluation of consequences of any decision made, while being visualized as a scale-value positioned somewhere on the three- colour-bar. Investigating the impact of a passenger-structure on decisions on onward-delays in the every-day flight operations execution, a decision support real-time tool, De laying V IPs O rien ted D ecision S upport S ystem (DEVOTED DSS) was created, implementing (pre-specified) airline prioritisation policy in accordance with the rating of the high-fare passengers-classes importance. The decision solutions’ consequences displayed in the designed form are practical in terms of user-friendly utilization of DEVOTED and are simple and easy to deal with, since being relieved of any digits, data and/or calculations. Aiming at accurately evaluating the impact of operational disruption-decisions on the high-fare passengers, DEVOTED processes the LOS quality which is to be delivered to these passengers, SQ-attributes required/expected by these passengers, number of passengers in each defined passenger-group and the ticket prices purchased, as well as expected costs. For the first time, an introduced juxtaposition of the in-bound and out-bound high-fare passengers of the same cabin-class within connecting flights has been employed as an influencing factor in the decision making process of the airline disruption management. When it is about to make the choice between a monetary benefit and the retention of the reputation of a reliable service provider, the use of the designed tool affords rather objective instead the still occurring intuitive decision making in such disruptions.

Document type: Article

Development of an intelligent model for wax deposition in oil pipeline

Scipedia content — Fri, 12 Feb 2021 15:09:21 +0100

Crude oil transport is one important part of the oil industry. Wax deposition is a very complex phenomenon that in recent years is one of the major challenges in oil industry. Wax deposited on the inner surface of crude oil pipelines are capable to reduce or completely stop the oil flow and the oil industry imposing large costs. The main objective of this study was to present a novel approach for predication of wax deposition thickness in single-phase turbulent flow rate. Using experimental data set and Adaptive neural-fuzzy inference system (ANFIS) model was developed. From the results predicted by this model, it can be pointed out that the ANFIS model can be used as powerful tools for prediction of wax deposition thickness in single-phase turbulent flow rate with mean square error, absolute relative deviation error and average absolute deviation error which are 0.00077034, 0.015720 and 0.097961, respectively.

Document type: Article

Safe, Resilient, and Sustainable Transportation Systems

Scipedia content — Fri, 12 Feb 2021 15:08:51 +0100

Document type: Article

Early adopters of carsharing with and without BEVs with respect to gender preferences

Scipedia content — Fri, 12 Feb 2021 15:07:05 +0100

The majority of current e-carsharing users are middle-aged men with a high education and high income; they are most likely to have a full-time employment. Women are consistently underrepresented in previous studies and therefore this paper focusses on characterization of female early adopters. It builds a basis to identify current female early adopters and understand their preferences in e-carsharing in order to address women as target groups for e-carsharing. A sample of 492 carsharing subscribers from Berlin is analysed according to socio-demographic backgrounds, mode choice, use and evaluation of (e-) carsharing services. Additionally, attitudinal indices and clusters based on mobility related attitudes are analysed to reveal significant differences between male and female users. Generally, the results confirm socio-demographic findings from previous literature about early adopters. Comparing females and males revealed differences in income, employment status and age. Female early adopters used battery electric vehicles (BEVs) more often than vehicles with an internal combustion engine and evaluate handling BEVs more positive. They show a higher bike affinity and lower affinities towards technology and innovation than male respondents. They combine public transportation and bicycling with the use of (e-) carsharing services as an additional part of urban mobility. Children do not seem to have an impact of the respective topics, although the findings suggest that services are not used with children. The analysis of carsharing schemes needs to focus on specific requirements of each trip (e.g. transporting or accompanying children) in order to make sustainable mobility an option for others than one ‘typical early adopter’.

Document type: Article

Metamodel for Efficient Estimation of Capacity-Fade Uncertainty in Li-Ion Batteries for Electric Vehicles

Scipedia content — Fri, 12 Feb 2021 15:04:00 +0100

This paper presents an efficient method for estimating capacity-fade uncertainty in lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) in order to integrate them into the battery-management system (BMS) of electric vehicles, which requires simple and inexpensive computation for successful application. The study uses the pseudo-two-dimensional (P2D) electrochemical model, which simulates the battery state by solving a system of coupled nonlinear partial differential equations (PDEs). The model parameters that are responsible for electrode degradation are identified and estimated, based on battery data obtained from the charge cycles. The Bayesian approach, with parameters estimated by probability distributions, is employed to account for uncertainties arising in the model and battery data. The Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) technique is used to draw samples from the distributions. The complex computations that solve a PDE system for each sample are avoided by employing a polynomial-based metamodel. As a result, the computational cost is reduced from 5.5 h to a few seconds, enabling the integration of the method into the vehicle BMS. Using this approach, the conservative bound of capacity fade can be determined for the vehicle in service, which represents the safety margin reflecting the uncertainty.

Document type: Article

An operational indicator for network mobility using fuzzy logic.

Scipedia content — Fri, 12 Feb 2021 14:58:50 +0100

ment of road transport network mobility from network perspective is presented.Physical connectivity and network traffic condition are considered.Fuzzy logic is employed to combine the two attributes into a mobility indicator.Two case studies were tested to show the applicability of the technique.The technique can be used as an evaluation tool for decision makers. This paper proposes a fuzzy logic model for assessing the mobility of road transport networks from a network perspective. Two mobility attributes are introduced to account for the physical connectivity and road transport network level of service. The relative importance of the two mobility attributes has been established through the fuzzy inference reasoning procedure that was implemented to estimate a single mobility indicator. The advantage of quantifying two mobility attributes is that it improves the ability of the mobility indicator developed to assess the level of mobility under different types of disruptive events.A case study of real traffic data from seven British cities shows a strong correlation between the proposed mobility indicator and the Geo distance per minute, demonstrating the applicability of the proposed fuzzy logic model. The second case study of a synthetic road transport network for Delft city illustrates the ability of the proposed network mobility indicator to reflect variation in the demand side (i.e. departure rate) and supply side (i.e. network capacity and link closure). Overall, the proposed mobility indicator offers a new tool for decision makers in understanding the dynamic nature of mobility under various disruptive events.

Document type: Article

Autonomous pipeline monitoring and maintenance system: a RFID-based approach

Scipedia content — Fri, 12 Feb 2021 14:57:19 +0100

Pipeline networks are one of the key infrastructures of our modern life. Proactive monitoring and frequent inspection of pipeline networks are very important for sustaining their safe and efficient functionalities. Existing monitoring and maintenance approaches are costly and inefficient because pipelines can be installed in large scale and in an inaccessible and hazardous environment. To overcome these challenges, we propose a novel Radio Frequency IDentification (RFID)-based Autonomous Maintenance system for Pipelines, called RAMP, which combines robotic, sensing, and RFID technologies for efficient and accurate inspection, corrective reparation, and precise geo-location information. RAMP can provide not only economical and scalable remedy but also safe and customizable solution. RAMP also allows proactive and corrective monitoring and maintenance of pipelines. One prominent advantage of RAMP is that it can be applied to a large variety of pipeline systems including water, sewer, and gas pipelines. Simulation results demonstrate the feasibility and superior performance of RAMP in comparison to the existing pipeline monitoring systems.

Document type: Article

Development of the Model of Decision Support for Alternative Choice in the Transportation Transit System

Scipedia content — Fri, 12 Feb 2021 14:54:00 +0100

"jats:p"The decision support system is one of the instruments for choosing the most effective decision for cargo owner in constant fluctuated business environment. The objective of this Paper is to suggest the multiple-criteria approach for evaluation and choice the alternatives of cargo transportation in the large scale transportation transit system for the decision makers - cargo owners. The large scale transportation transit system is presented by directed finite graph. Each of 57 alternatives is represented by the set of key performance indicators Kvi and set of parameters Paj. There has been developed a two-level hierarchy system of criteria with ranging expert evaluations based on Analytic Hierarchy Process Method. The best alternatives were suggested according to this method.

Document type: Article

KPI building blocks for successful green transport corridor implementation

Scipedia content — Fri, 12 Feb 2021 14:50:15 +0100

"jats:p"The green transport corridor concept represents a cornerstone in the development of integrated and sustainable transport solutions. Important properties of green corridors are their transnational character and their high involvement of large numbers of public and private stakeholders, including political level, requiring sophisticated approaches for implementation, management and governance. The current scientific discussion focusses on Key Performance Indicators (KPI) for monitoring and management of green transport corridor performance emphasizing the operational aspects."/jats:p" "jats:p"The green corridor balanced scorecard approach tried to mitigate the strategic weakness of KPI concept by integrating cooperative and long-term views in order to come closer to a comprehensive green corridor control system. Until now all discussed KPI sets are too small and narrow for a successful implementation of green corridors so there is a need for the development of an user-oriented model for green corridor control systems based on building blocks integrating existing KPI sets."/jats:p" "jats:p"The building block approach for implementation has been successfully used for implementation and simulation in supply chain management. Based on these results the paper will present a holistic control system for successful implementation of green transport corridors based on building blocks integrating recent results about KPIs and balanced scorecards approaches. The research will empirically be verified by empirical results from European green corridor projects.

Document type: Article

IN SEARCH OF LOST TIME: AN ESTIMATE OF THE PRODUCTION LOSSES IN TRAFFIC CONGESTION IN BRAZIL

Scipedia content — Fri, 12 Feb 2021 14:48:58 +0100

Resumo: Este artigo estima as perdas econômicas associadas a problemas de mobilidade urbana no Brasil por meio do cálculo da produção média desperdiçada em função do tempo de deslocamento ao trabalho, usando dados do Censo Demográfico de 2010. Os resultados são apresentados em valores absolutos e relativos (% do PIB) para estados, regiões metropolitanas (RMs) e municípios do Brasil, com ênfase na diferença de tempo gasto nas RMs e municípios do interior de cada estado. Os valores encontrados foram significativos, e a perda total estimada é de 1,8% do PIB. Caso o tempo de deslocamento nas RMs fosse igual ao dos municípios do interior, haveria uma redução de 27,6% (R$26,7 bilhões) das perdas totais, indicando que melhorias na mobilidade urbana podem trazer grandes retornos sociais. Abstract: This article estimates economic losses associated with urban mobility problems in Brazil by calculating the average production loss due to commuting time to work, using data from the 2010 Demographic Census. The results are presented in absolute and relative values (% of GDP) for States, Metropolitan Regions (RMs) and municipalities in Brazil, with emphasis on the difference in time spent in RMs and municipalities and the interior of each state. The results were significant, and the total estimated loss is 1.8% of GDP. If the commuting time in the RMs were equal to those of municipalities in the interior, there would be a reduction of 27.6% (R$ 26.7 billion) of total losses, suggesting that improvements in urban mobility can bring great social returns.

Document type: Article

Online Adaptive Error Compensation SVM-Based Sliding Mode Control of an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle

Scipedia content — Fri, 12 Feb 2021 14:41:51 +0100

Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) is a nonlinear dynamic system with uncertainties and noises. Therefore, an appropriate control system has an obligation to ensure the stabilization and navigation of UAV. This paper mainly discusses the control problem of quad-rotor UAV system, which is influenced by unknown parameters and noises. Besides, a sliding mode control based on online adaptive error compensation support vector machine (SVM) is proposed for stabilizing quad-rotor UAV system. Sliding mode controller is established through analyzing quad-rotor dynamics model in which the unknown parameters are computed by offline SVM. During this process, the online adaptive error compensation SVM method is applied in this paper. As modeling errors and noises both exist in the process of flight, the offline SVM one-time mode cannot predict the uncertainties and noises accurately. The control law is adjusted in real-time by introducing new training sample data to online adaptive SVM in the control process, so that the stability and robustness of flight are ensured. It can be demonstrated through the simulation experiments that the UAV that joined online adaptive SVM can track the changing path faster according to its dynamic model. Consequently, the proposed method that is proved has the better control effect in the UAV system.

Document type: Article

Characterization of Black Spot Zones for Vulnerable Road Users in São Paulo (Brazil) and Rome (Italy)

Scipedia content — Fri, 12 Feb 2021 14:37:56 +0100

Non-motorized transportation modes, especially cycling and walking, offer numerous benefits, including improvements in the livability of cities, healthy physical activity, efficient urban transportation systems, less traffic congestion, less noise pollution, clean air, less impact on climate change and decreases in the incidence of diseases related to vehicular emissions. Considering the substantial number of short-distance trips, the time consumed in traffic jams, the higher costs for parking vehicles and restrictions in central business districts, many commuters have found that non-motorized modes of transportation serve as viable and economical transport alternatives. Thus, local governments should encourage and stimulate non-motorized modes of transportation. In return, governments must provide safe conditions for these forms of transportation, and motorized vehicle users must respect and coexist with pedestrians and cyclists, which are the most vulnerable users of the transportation system. Although current trends in sustainable transport aim to encourage and stimulate non-motorized modes of transportation that are socially more efficient than motorized transportation, few to no safety policies have been implemented regarding vulnerable road users (VRU), mainly in large urban centers. Due to the spatial nature of the data used in transport-related studies, geospatial technologies provide a powerful analytical method for studying VRU safety frameworks through the use of spatial analysis. In this article, spatial analysis is used to determine the locations of regions that are characterized by a concentration of traffic accidents (black zones) involving VRU (injuries and casualties) in Sao Paulo, Brazil (developing country), and Rome, Italy (developed country). The black zones are investigated to obtain spatial patterns that can cause multiple accidents. A method based on kernel density estimation (KDE) is used to compare the two cities and show economic, social, cultural, demographic and geographic differences and/or similarities and how these factors are linked to the locations of VRU traffic accidents. Multivariate regression analyses (ordinary least squares (OLS) models and spatial regression models) are performed to investigate spatial correlations, to understand the dynamics of VRU road accidents in Sao Paulo and Rome and to detect factors (variables) that contribute to the occurrences of these events, such as the presence of trip generator hubs (TGH), the number of generated urban trips and demographic data. The adopted methodology presents satisfactory results for identifying and delimiting black spots and establishing a link between VRU traffic accident rates and TGH (hospitals, universities and retail shopping centers) and demographic and transport-related data.

Document type: Article

Modeling of Complex Structures for the Ship's Power Complex Using Xilinx System

Scipedia content — Fri, 12 Feb 2021 14:34:47 +0100

One of the most essential tasks for a number of systems of the automatic controls in the autonomous electric power systems of the water transport is accurate calculation of variable harmonic components in the non-sinusoidal signal. In the autonomous electric power systems operating with full semiconductor capacity, the forms of line currents and voltages are greatly distorted, and generator devices generate voltage with inconsistent frequency, phase and amplitude. It makes calculation of harmonic composition of the distorted signals be a non-trivial task. The present paper provides a mathematical set for solution of the outlined problem including the realization in the discrete form. The simplicity and efficiency of the system proposed make possible to perform its practical realization with the help of cheap FPGA. The test of the developed system has been performed in the medium Matlab. The modern ship's electric power systems (SEPS) are characterized by the presence in its composition of a great number of the conversion load, including frequency transformer, un-interruptive power supply, inverters, rectifiers and other consuming devices varying in their non-linear volt-ampere features. Similar load has a negative impact on the supplying network of the alternating current, generating into it highest harmonic components of currents and voltages. At the same time, a great deal of the ship's automation systems apply the line currents and voltages to form the reference signal. Thus, for example, an automatic voltage regulator (AVR) of the ship's synchronous generators (SG) performs regulation by an average value of voltages and currents in the circuit. However, with the distorted form of the variable signals (that is caused by the presence of a wide range of highest harmonics) their average value increases and an automatic voltage regulator (AVR), correcting the error, decreases the exciting current of the synchronous generator that results in loss of voltage in the ship's electric power systems (SEPS). Consequently, decrease in relative value and increase in highest harmonics take place, and, thus, the electromagnetic moment of the non-synchronous motors decreases, the level of interferences influencing the systems of the ship's automatic controls becomes higher, and the losses in the power supply lines enlarge. Practically, such an error is corrected by the adjustment of the voltage corrector (VC). However, as the harmonic composition periodically varies depending on the mode of operation and the composition of the load of the electric power station, the setting of the voltage corrector should be changed constantly. This problem should be solved by measuring the level of the basic harmonics of the current and voltages of the ship's circuit. On the other side, it is known that filter-compensating devices (FCD) are the most efficient means to increase the quality of electric energy in the ship's power supply systems at the moment. Their efficiency in higher harmonic suppression and compensation of their volt-ampere reactive may be provided only by the high accuracy of the calculation of parameters in the target harmonics of the line currents and voltages. 2. Settlement of the problem Thus, the required functional set of the systems taken as an example determining their efficiency, in particular, and their operational performance in general, is a set for identification of external parameters of the control system. The major function of the block is extraction of harmonic components required for their analysis, calculation of their parameters from the distorted signal and application of the results of that analysis in the control of the means of the increasing values for quality of the electric

Document type: Article

The Valve Gear Systems Timing Parameters Identification for Marine Diesel Engines Diagnostics / Identyfikacja Parametrów Układów Rozrządu Silników Okrętowych Dla Potrzeb Diagnostyki

Scipedia content — Fri, 12 Feb 2021 14:34:01 +0100

W referacie przedstawiono wyniki badań, których celem było opracowanie metody diagnozowania okrętowych szybkoobrotowych silników tłokowych. Polska Marynarka Wojenna eksploatuje znaczną liczbę silników tego typu również na okrętach podwodnych. Silniki tego typu nie posiadają zaworów indykatorowych, co komplikuje możliwość oceny procesu spalania i ich stanu technicznego. Akademia Marynarki Wojennej w Gdyni od lat prowadzi badania związane z rozwojem metod diagnozowania okrętowych tłokowych silników spalinowych. W ostatnich latach prowadzone są prace nad metodami diagnozowania szybkoobrotowych silników okrętowych bazującymi na analizie obwiedni przyspieszeń drgań generowanych przez układy rozrządu zaworowego i układ paliwowy. W referacie zaprezentowano wybrane wyniki badań prowadzonych na silnikach Mercedes-Maybach typu MB820 stosowanych na okrętach podwodnych klasy Kobben.

Document type: Article

Far-Infrared Based Pedestrian Detection for Driver-Assistance Systems Based on Candidate Filters, Gradient-Based Feature and Multi-Frame Approval Matching

Scipedia content — Fri, 12 Feb 2021 14:33:48 +0100

Far-infrared pedestrian detection approaches for advanced driver-assistance systems based on high-dimensional features fail to simultaneously achieve robust and real-time detection. We propose a robust and real-time pedestrian detection system characterized by novel candidate filters, novel pedestrian features and multi-frame approval matching in a coarse-to-fine fashion. Firstly, we design two filters based on the pedestrians’ head and the road to select the candidates after applying a pedestrian segmentation algorithm to reduce false alarms. Secondly, we propose a novel feature encapsulating both the relationship of oriented gradient distribution and the code of oriented gradient to deal with the enormous variance in pedestrians’ size and appearance. Thirdly, we introduce a multi-frame approval matching approach utilizing the spatiotemporal continuity of pedestrians to increase the detection rate. Large-scale experiments indicate that the system works in real time and the accuracy has improved about 9% compared with approaches based on high-dimensional features only.

Document type: Article

Competitive tendering in an entry regulated market—an accident waiting to happen?

Scipedia content — Fri, 12 Feb 2021 14:23:32 +0100

Introduction Competitive tendering was introduced in the contract segment of the Norwegian taxi industry in 2005; a market characterised by entry regulation. Using this reform as a natural experiment this research looks into how competitive tendering has resulted in different outcomes in different segments of the taxi market and which explanations are best at describing the results. Methods The main sources of data are the taximeter data and case studies, conducted as part of a study of the rural taxi industry in Norway. This data have been supplemented by interviews with key stakeholders and data on prices and volumes from various purchasers of transport services, such as health corporations and county governments. Results The empirical data shows a lot of variation. There are very different outcomes in the different cases studied. However, the research shows that competitive tendering has mostly worked according to intention in the most central regions. These are characterised by many potential suppliers and that the tendered contracts are relative small compared with the total size of the market. I rural areas the results differ, with poor results from tendering in the intermediate areas and mostly satisfactory results in the most rural areas. Conclusions Experience from the Norwegian taxi industry shows that competitive tendering is possible within entry-regulated markets. Still, there are issues that remain to be solved, in particular in rural areas. This is due to both interdependency between the purchaser and the service provider, and the size of the markets. For other sectors, the main lessons are that competitive tendering can work, even with regulated entry, but that it needs to be adapted to suit the characteristics of each market. This research shows that there is significant variation within a sector. A tool such as competitive tendering can be well suited in one area, but inappropriate in another. This research suggests that the outcome is related to both hard factors such as market size and number of entrants, but also to factors like interdependency and negotiation climate.

Document type: Article

Game-based data offloading scheme for IoT system traffic congestion problems

Scipedia content — Fri, 12 Feb 2021 14:14:46 +0100

Internet of things (IoT) is seen as another information and industrial wave after the invention of personal computers, the Internet, and mobile communication networks. Especially, IoT/cellular network integration becomes a new service platform for the different kinds of traffic manipulation. However, due to the excessive traffic demands, it is currently facing a severe traffic overload problem. In this paper, we propose a new traffic control scheme based on the data offloading technique. By using the Vickrey-Clarke-Groves (VCG) mechanism and Rubinstein bargaining game model, our data offloading approach can effectively alleviate the IoT traffic congestion while enhancing the quality-of-service (QoS) in cellular network systems. Finally, we show the effectiveness of our proposed scheme through extensive simulations.

Document type: Article

Holiday travel behavior analysis and empirical study under integrated multimodal travel information service

Scipedia content — Fri, 12 Feb 2021 14:07:17 +0100

Holidays are special periods and give rise to many kinds of non-mandatory trips, such as shopping trips and tourist trips. This study investigates the relationship between Integrated Multimodal Travel Information (IMTI) service and holiday travel behavior characteristics in a trip chain. The Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) method is first used to extract the common factors based on the RP-SP fusion data under the pre-trip IMTI and en-route IMTI services, respectively. The Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) method is then applied to examine causal effects and quantitative relationships between the influencing factors and trip chain characteristics based on the EFA results. The results show that pre-trip IMTI has a significant negative effect on the holiday travel behavior. The more pre-trip IMTI is obtained by the traveler, the simpler the trip chain spatiotemporal and structural complexity will be. In addition, although the effect of en-route IMTI is less than pre-trip IMTI, it still plays an important role compared to other factors. Therefore, providing IMTI is a new and good alternative to alleviate holiday traffic congestions.

Document type: Article

Reliability Evaluation Of The City Transport Buses Under Actual Conditions

Scipedia content — Fri, 12 Feb 2021 14:07:00 +0100

"jats:p"The purpose of this paper was to present a reliability comparison of two types of city transport buses. Case study on the example of the well-known brands of city buses: Solaris Urbino 12 and Mercedes-Benz 628 Conecto L used at Municipal Transport Company in Lublin was presented in details. A reliability index for the most failure parts and complex systems for the period of time failures was determined. The analysis covered damages of the following systems: engine, electrical system, pneumatic system, brake system, driving system, central heating and air-conditioning and doors. Reliability was analyzed based on Weibull model. It has been demonstrated, that during the operation significant reliability differences occur between the buses produced nowadays.

Document type: Article

Moving towards Sustainability: Road Grades and On-Road Emissions of Heavy-Duty Vehicles—A Case Study

Scipedia content — Fri, 12 Feb 2021 13:52:14 +0100

On-road vehicle emissions are one of the major sources of transport emissions. As a key design factor, road grades (or road slopes) have significant effects on on-road vehicle emissions, particularly on Heavy-Duty Vehicles (HDVs). However, the research into the relationship between road grades and on-road vehicle emissions is very rare in China. Taking a road network in Taiyuan, China, as a study area, this paper explored the influences of road grades on carbon monoxide (CO), hydrocarbon (HC), and nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions of HDVs. Combining emissions data collected by Portable Emission Measurement System (PEMS) with Vehicle Specific Power (VSP), we developed an emission rate model of HDVs. Then, we integrated it with the traffic simulation model VISSIM to attain the emissions of HDVs on nine scenarios differentiated by road grades. The results showed that the three emissions are found to be highly correlated to road grades, among which the CO emissions are most sensitive to the change of road grades and the HC emissions least. Compared to the emissions at 0% grade, the emissions at 4% grade will be boosted from 39.0% to 60.6%. The CO and NOx emissions increase with the road grades in all nine scenarios, while the variations of HC emissions in different scenarios were complicated. The findings of this research will provide insights for policy-makers, scholars, and practitioners into strategies for improving road design to reduce traffic emissions and develop sustainable transportation in China.

Document type: Article

Developing an equitable and sustainable mobility strategy for Havana

Scipedia content — Fri, 12 Feb 2021 13:45:43 +0100

The particular political, economic and social conditions of the state of Cuba, in the Caribbean, have created unique possibilities for the development of a sustainable transport system in its capital city, Havana. This paper reports on the outcomes of a project to identify the possibilities and priorities for a long-term strategy for equitable and sustainable mobility for Havana. This involved almost 100 participants from Cuba and the UK in the 12 months from June 2013.\\ud \\ud Overall, the study found a high degree of agreement amongst the transport policy community as to the three key transport issues facing Havana:\\ud \\ud high level of unmet demand,\\ud lack of available financing,\\ud poor state of the transport system.\\ud \\ud Perhaps more surprisingly, it also produced a near consensus amongst the participants that any future policy should seek to increase the quality of the public transport system by:\\ud \\ud increasing levels of investment,\\ud securing efficiency savings,\\ud working ‘smarter’.\\ud \\ud However, it also found that this unified view is challenged by a desire for the car market to be deregulated, which would engender a very different policy approach. A strategic choice is needed now, to determine whether Havana follows a North American-style trajectory of rapid growth in car use or a less car-dependent pathway.

Document type: Article

Hybrid Electromagnetism-Like Algorithm for Dynamic Supply Chain Network Design under Traffic Congestion and Uncertainty

Scipedia content — Fri, 12 Feb 2021 13:37:10 +0100

With the constantly increasing pressure of the competitive environment, supply chain (SC) decision makers are forced to consider several aspects of business climate. More specifically, they should take into account the endogenous features (e.g., available means of transportation, and the variety of products) and exogenous criteria (e.g., the environmental uncertainty, and transportation system conditions). In this paper, a mixed integer nonlinear programming (MINLP) model for dynamic design of a supply chain network is proposed. In this model, multiple products and multiple transportation modes, the time value of money, traffic congestion, and both supply-side and demand-side uncertainties are considered. Due to the complexity of such models, conventional solution methods are not applicable; therefore, two hybrid Electromagnetism-Like Algorithms (EMA) are designed and discussed for tackling the problem. The numerical results show the applicability of the proposed model and the capabilities of the solution approaches to the MINLP problem.

Document type: Article

Evaluation of Management System Effectiveness in the Preparation of the Aircraft for Flight in Faulty Conditions

Scipedia content — Fri, 12 Feb 2021 13:33:08 +0100

"jats:p" Most flight delays in aviation enterprises are related to air traffic management and technical centers. This can happen for various reasons: untimely removal of defects, lack of spare parts, deficiencies in maintenance scheduling, etc. Another reason may be inefficient management in the system of preparing the aircraft for departure. The article suggests a possible option of such an assessment as well as the results obtained from the use of this methodology applied to a specific airline.

Document type: Article

Service network design in inland waterway liner transportation with empty container repositioning

Scipedia content — Fri, 12 Feb 2021 13:28:12 +0100

inland shipping has been playing a more and more important role in integrated transportation system, the optimization of such a network with empty containers repositioning is of great practical significance to raise inland shipping service level so as to promote freight mode shift from land to water. This paper addresses the construction of system service network for inland water containers transportation (IWCT). We incorporate the specific natures of inland waterway containers transportation and formulate the inland waterway system containers transportation into a mathematic model. It is a complex giant problem to optimize routing and fleet deployment for the whole network at the same time. Thus, a combined algorithm with genetic algorithm (GA) and Integer programming (IP) calculations are designed to solve this program. Further, a network of Yangtze River ports is studied. A set of shipping routes, including the calling ports, service frequency and type of the used ship of each route are figured out by the IWCT network optimization model. This set of shipping routes is a combination of short routes and long routes. The direct links are commonly used for moving large quantities of containers between two ports. While for small containers flow, longer routes are used to bund cargo flows by calling as many ports as possible. Most present network optimization studies are focused on network design and fleet deployment about ocean and coastal container shipping. However the features of inland water shipping network are different and related studies are rare. This paper aims to fill this gap. Taking the specific features of IWCT into consideration, the proposed model is suitable for the service network design in IWCT network. And the experimental results verify the validity of the combined algorithm. Point-to-point direct route is the most economic mode for large cargo flows between ports. When the containers flow is small, routes calling at multiple ports can achieve economies of scale through bundling.

Document type: Article

Coupling local renewable energy production with electric vehicle charging: A survey of the French case

Scipedia content — Fri, 12 Feb 2021 13:26:49 +0100

The share of renewable energy sources (RES)’ production in energy mixes, especially the ones of PV panels and wind farms, has been continuously increasing during the last few years. Similarly, a strong development of battery electric vehicles (EV) is expected within the next years. However, these two new innovations could trigger security issues on electrical grids, in particular local congestions and voltage deviations from the required standards. One way to mitigate these problems could be to combine the charging periods of the EVs with the local RES production. This paper aims at analysing the possibility to implement this kind of smart charging strategy in France by 2020, taking into account the wide diversity of local energy mixes in France and their seasonal dependencies. First, the authors identify four different energy mixes representative of most of the local French mixes, each one related to a region in France. Then, we model the charging load curves of the EVs at the substation level for the same regions. We deduce the “green charging ratio” (GCR) without any charging management strategy. The same ratio is then computed assuming that an Energy Management System (EMS), which goal is to maximize this ratio, controls the EV charging patterns. The results are provided for each region and seasons. They show a wide diversity of green charging ratio achievable: in very windy regions, the GCR without any EMS is already rather high

on the contrary, in sunny regions, the GCR is much improved with the implementation of the EMS. In such regions, the GCR can also be enhanced with the penetration of charging stations at working places.

Document type: Article

Predicción de control sobre el tiempo en conducción altamente automatizada en dos tests psicométricos

Scipedia content — Fri, 12 Feb 2021 13:20:16 +0100

In this study, we investigated if the driver's ability to take over vehicle control when being engaged in a secondary task (Surrogate Reference Task) can be predicted by a subject's multitasking ability and reaction time. 23 participants performed a multitasking test and a simple response task and then drove for about 38 min highly automated on a highway and encountered five take-over situations. Data analysis revealed significant correlations between the multitasking performance and take-over time as well as gaze distributions for Situations 1 and 2, even when reaction time was controlled. This correlation diminished beginning with Situation 3, but a stable difference between the worst multitaskers and the best multitaskers persisted. Reaction time was not a significant predictor in any situation. The results can be seen as evidence for stable individual differences in dual task situations regarding automated driving, but they also highlight effects associated with the experience of a take-over situation. En este estudio se investigó la capacidad del conductor para tomar el control del vehículo, en una tarea secundaria puede predecirse por la habilidad multitarea del sujeto y la reacción inmediata. Participaron 23 personas ejecutando una prueba de tareas múltiples y una de simple respuesta , conduciendo durante 38 min de forma altamente automatizada, encontrándose cinco situaciones de toma de posesión. Los datos revelaron una correlación significativa entre el rendimiento multitarea y la toma del tiempo, así como la distribución de la situación 1 y 2, aunque el tiempo de reacción se controló. Esta relación disminuye comenzando con la situación 3, persistiendo una diferencia estable en la toma en el tiempo entre los peores y los mejores. El tiempo de reacción no fue un predictor significativo. Los resultados pueden ser vistos como evidencia de las diferencias individuales estables en situaciones de doble tarea respecto a la conducción automática.

Document type: Article

Data-Driven Modeling of the Airport Configuration Selection Process

Scipedia content — Fri, 12 Feb 2021 12:43:24 +0100

The runway configuration is the set of the runways at an airport that are used for arrivals and departures at any time. While many factors, including weather, expected demand, environmental considerations, and coordination of flows with neighboring airports, influence the choice of runway configuration, the actual selection decision is made by air traffic controllers in the airport tower. As a result, the capacity of an airport at any time is dependent on the behavior of human decision makers. This paper develops a statistical model to characterize the configuration selection decision process using empirical observations. The proposed approach, based on the discrete-choice modeling framework, identifies the influence of various factors in terms of the utility function of the decision maker. The parameters of the utility functions are estimated through likelihood maximization. Correlations between different alternatives are captured using a multinomial “nested logit” model. A key novelty of this study is the quantitative assessment of the effect of inertia, or the resistance to configuration changes, on the configuration selection process. The developed models are used to predict the runway configuration 3 h ahead of time, given operating conditions such as wind, visibility, and demand. Case studies based on data from Newark (EWR) and LaGuardia (LGA) airports show that the proposed model predicts runway configuration choices significantly better than a baseline model that only considers the historical frequencies of occurrence of different configurations.

National Science Foundation (U.S.) (Grant 1239054)

Document type: Article

Measuring the Accessibility of Public Transport: A Critical Comparison Between Methods in Helsinki

Scipedia content — Fri, 12 Feb 2021 12:42:34 +0100

This research compares two location-based methods of evaluating public transport accessibility and applies them in Helsinki. After discussing a series of methodological aspects, the authors calculate the Structural Accessibility Layer (SAL) public transport indicator and the Public Transport and Walking Accessibility Index (PTWAI) for a grid with 8,325 zones, comparable in size to the smallest census unit. Both methods are operational for urban planners and policy makers interested in a relatively straightforward way of quantifying the accessibility of sustainable transport modes such as public transport. The results display similar accessibility patterns when moving from larger to smaller isochrones (60 to 38 min). However, the findings are inconclusive between SAL and PTWAI: SAL (38 min) displays good accessibility by public transport (more than 94 % of the population living within two-thirds of the metropolitan area has very high and high access to public transport), but PTWAI indicates that 35 % of the population, primarily households with children (43 %), experience low and very low access. The contrasting results are mainly due to the derivation of the two indicators and have considerable implications for policy making. The findings of this research imply that PTWAI is preferable to planning assessments regarding public transport, given its relatively richer content. However, for multi-mode-based accessibility categorization, SAL appears more appropriate. It is the analyst’s role to understand the objective and contents of each index and choose the tool fit for their purpose. Then, a judgement should be made on the trade-off between the detail of the measures and results and the computational burden. Given the sensitivity of the models to various input parameters and assumptions, cross-validation and replication are key for ascertaining the credibility and usefulness of the models.

Document type: Article

Development of a New Concept Electric Vehicle for Last Mile Transportations

Scipedia content — Fri, 12 Feb 2021 12:35:04 +0100

Within European cities, where 68% of the EU population lives using 70% of the energy, an integrated and sustainable urban approach is needed. In order to meet the increasingly complex challenges of urban areas new, efficient, and user-friendly technologies and services, in particular in areas of energy, transport, and ICT are required. In the transport sector electric urban mobility and synergy between different transport systems (ITS) and infrastructures must be supported strongly in order to improve life conditions of citizens in terms of i) emissions, ii) services, iii) traffic congestion (an ambitious challenge is reduction of journey times). With the aim of improving the city logistic more efficient peopletransport and freight-distribution systems have to be used, so electro-mobility for transport in the “last mile” must be supported. In the i-NEXT (Innovation for greeN Energy and eXchange in Transportation) project, in which CNR ITAE is directly involved as coordinator, activities are addressed to implementation of new concept modular electric vehicles having different upper-bodies able to be used both for people (public transport) and freight in urban areas. The project aims to develop a not commercial vehicle characterized by new design in which the challenge is to reach the lowest ratio between total weight and load capacity (europallet for freight and seats for people). Other important aspects are to define specific mission of use, range of autonomy, recharge times and cost in terms of batteries and recharge systems technologies. In conclusion synergy of electro-mobility with renewable energy plants and smart grids is essential for sustainability of smart city concept.

Document type: Article

Sulphur emission control areas and transport strategies -the case of Sweden and the forest industry

Scipedia content — Fri, 12 Feb 2021 12:30:23 +0100

Background and purpose The International Maritime Organisation’s (IMO) decision to lower the allowable amount of sulphur content in marine fuels to 0.1 % in the so-called Emission Control Areas (ECAs) beginning in 2015 has outraged the Swedish forest industry. The seas around Sweden are included in the ECA and achieving the new sulphur directive requires shipowners to take actions that will increase the cost of transporting goods by ship from Sweden. Swedish forest industry exports are transported mostly by ship and there is a possibility that the forest industry will shift freight from sea to land transport because of the sulphur directive. How greatly the transport costs differ between different transportation options is affected by several uncertainties such as price trends for fuel. Other restrictions for shipping, such as nitrogen oxide emissions and ballast water treatment, are also expected to become stricter in the future. The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of the sulphur directive and associated uncertainties on the Swedish forest industry, its transport system structure, and its logistics strategies. Results and conclusions Previous studies in the field have forecast that the freight will be transferred to land because of the sulphur directive. Our results also show that companies will transfer the cargo to land transport. The transfer will be greater thefurther southinthecountryproductionfacilitiesare located.Goods that previously were shipped from ports onthe Swedish east coast will instead be shipped more frequently from ports on the west coast to reduce transport time within the ECA region. Furthermore, the results show that firms do not sign agreements with shipping lines that extend beyond the year2015, but instead write long, flexible agreementswith rail operators, enabling an increase in freight strategy to address the sulphur directive. In this way, they have created the capacity to transform the transport structure.

Document type: Article

Transportation Demand Management Guidance For Corridor Planning Studies

Scipedia content — Thu, 11 Feb 2021 14:44:51 +0100

The Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) regional planning programs address current and forecasted deficiencies of State highways through the conduct of corridor studies. This Guidance for the conduct of corridor planning studies is the product of a comprehensive evaluation of how to incorporate the consideration of Transportation Demand Management (TDM) strategies into several business areas of the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT). Corridor studies are an integral part of the transportation planning process, which support the State Highway System goals and objectives at the state and regional levels, as well as the vision for the corridor by the communities that the corridor serves. The Moving Washington approach recognizes the importance of using all the tools in the toolbox to cost effectively achieve the state transportation policy goals. This includes the mobility goal of maintaining the predictable movement of goods and people throughout the state of Washington. This Guidance describes a recommended approach to TDM strategies as part of least-cost planning for improving mobility. The Guidance asserts that all three methods: (1) managing travel demand, (2) optimizing traffic flow, and (3) accommodating travel demand by increasing capacity, should be used concurrently. This approach will advance the integration of TDM into the selected solutions aimed at reducing traffic congestion, providing mobility choices, enhancing transportation affordability, and meeting the State of Washington’s goals for reducing air pollution and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and improving community livability. This Guidance recommends use of a systematic process for identifying mobility needs, assessing existing TDM programs and resources, and evaluating potential TDM solutions against chosen performance metrics.

Air Transport Sector in the Caribbean Region

Scipedia content — Thu, 11 Feb 2021 14:44:36 +0100

The small and isolated nature and tourism dependency of Caribbean countries strongly shapes and influences the regional air transport market. The following pages give an overview of the air transport market and how these factors make the regional market unique. The objective of this booklet is to summarize the study and create a common understanding of the key issues affecting the Caribbean air transport market for stakeholders and identify the actions that would contribute to the further development of air connectivity in the Caribbean.

PETRA - An individual mobility pattern and diary model for smart cities

Scipedia content — Thu, 11 Feb 2021 14:39:34 +0100

This document presents the key algorithms that form the core of the Mobility Pattern Mining module within the PETRA architecture, as presented in D2.2, devoted to deal with GPS and mobile phone (GSM) individual data. The algorithms learn to identify the role or purpose of each trip or location within the history of a user, in terms of activity to be performed, whether it is a systematic trip or location, etc., and exploit such derived information for prediction purposes. This document provides some preliminaries, the rationale of the methods, highlighting the improvement over the state-of-art, and a brief summary of performances.

Validation of maximum airport throughput levels estimated by the DELCAP simulation model

Scipedia content — Thu, 11 Feb 2021 14:39:07 +0100

Mathematical approaches to evaluating aircraft vertical separation standards

Scipedia content — Thu, 11 Feb 2021 14:38:13 +0100

ove Flight Level 290, current regulations require aircraft to be separated vertically by at least 2000 feet. Because of increased traffic desiring to fly at these altitudes, the possibility of reducing the required separation (while maintaining acceptable safety levels) is under study. This report details many of the components of vertical position error and classifies them into three major categories: static pressure system error, altimeter instrument error, and pilot response error. Two models for use in evaluating separation standards, the root sum of squares (RSS) approach and the Reich collision risk model, are described together with their respective advantages and disadvantages. A final section includes recommendations for a carefully designed data collection effort and discusses potentially important considerations for such a design. (Author)

PETRA - Transit monitor for detecting changes in predictions

Scipedia content — Thu, 11 Feb 2021 14:37:18 +0100

This document presents the algorithms developed within PETRA to monitor the performances of the main predictive models built in the project, in order to provide feedbacks and possibly trigger updates or re-computation of the models. The algorithms are based on the comparison of the models against GPS mobility data. The document briefly summarizes the interfaces and the functionalities provided.

Trucking industry survey methodology

Scipedia content — Thu, 11 Feb 2021 14:34:35 +0100

Evaluation of Glare at the Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System

Scipedia content — Thu, 11 Feb 2021 14:30:32 +0100

The Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System (ISEGS), located on I-15 about 40 miles (60 km) south of Las Vegas, NV, consists of three power towers 459 ft (140 m) tall and over 170,000 reflective heliostats with a rated capacity of 390 MW. Reports of glare from the plant have been submitted by pilots and air traffic controllers and recorded by the Aviation Safety Reporting System and the California Energy Commission since 2013. Aerial and ground-based surveys of the glare were conducted in April, 2014, to identify the cause and to quantify the irradiance and potential ocular impacts of the glare. Results showed that the intense glare viewed from the airspace above ISEGS was caused by heliostats in standby mode that were aimed to the side of the receiver. Evaluation of the glare showed that the retinal irradiance and subtended source angle of the glare from the heliostats in standby were sufficient to cause significant ocular impact (potential for after-image) up to a distance of ∼6 miles (10 km), but the values were below the threshold for permanent eye damage. Glare from the receivers had a low potential for after-image at all ground-based monitoring locations outside of the site boundaries. A Letter to Airmen has been issued by the Federal Aviation Administration to notify pilots of the potential glare hazards. Additional measures to mitigate the potential impacts of glare from ISGES are also presented and discussed.

A procedure for estimating automobile fuel consumption on congested urban roads

Scipedia content — Thu, 11 Feb 2021 14:29:00 +0100

n estimated procedure is proposed that is designed to be particularly sensitive to automobile fuel consumption in congested, peak hour traffic. This procedure is based upon vehicle attributes and roadway operating conditions. Vehicles are classified by weight and model year. The proposed roadway classifications are expressway, arterial, and local street. For each vehicle type category, base fuel consumption rates are determined. These base consumption rates are then modified by adjustment factors which reflect the roadway operating conditions. The rates are multiplied by the vehicle miles of each vehicle category and summed over all categories to compute the total fuel consumption on the road under analysis. An example application of the procedure including sensitivity analyses is presented.

A study of air traffic data requirements and sources for FAA analyses

Scipedia content — Thu, 11 Feb 2021 14:25:08 +0100

Ditchwall database for the Norman Wells to Zama Oil pipeline, Volume II: Revisions for UTM coordinates

Scipedia content — Thu, 11 Feb 2021 14:22:49 +0100

PETRA - The simulation framework for crowd mobility behaviour

Scipedia content — Thu, 11 Feb 2021 14:19:47 +0100

This document presents the tools and framework developed within the PETRA project for simulating the mobility behaviour of crowds. The tools are mainly based on the modeling of individual users - possibly derived from real data - and allow to realize various kinds of simulations, from simple predictions over current traffic/crowd status to more involved what-if analyses. This document provides some preliminaries and the rationale of the methods, highlighting their usability over the PETRA showcases.

PETRA - Methods for computing collective mobility indicator from individual patterns

Scipedia content — Thu, 11 Feb 2021 14:15:22 +0100

This document presents a set of methods for exploiting individual patterns and measures developed within WP3, and described in D3.3, to produce collective indicators. Such indicators will be used for various applications purposes, some of which are described as representative examples. This document provides preliminaries and the rationale of the methods, highlighting how they are used (or can be used) for the showcases of PETRA.

PETRA - The framework for individual mobility pattern discovery and mobility diaries/activity model

Scipedia content — Thu, 11 Feb 2021 14:13:58 +0100

This document accompanies deliverable D3.4, which contains the software modules implementing the methods that form the core of the Mobility Pattern Mining module within the PETRA architecture, as presented in D2.2, devoted to deal with GPS and mobile phone (GSM) individual data. The rationale, motivations and some possible applications of such methods have been described in D3.3. The algorithms learn to identify the role or purpose of each trip or location within the history of a user, in terms of activity to be performed, whether it is a systematic trip or location, etc., and exploit such derived information for prediction purposes. The document briefly summarizes the interfaces and the functionalities provided.

Problems in world-wide standardization of the units of altitude measurement

Scipedia content — Thu, 11 Feb 2021 14:13:33 +0100

Ditchwall database for the Norman Wells to Zama Oil pipeline, Volume I: Ditchwall database documentation

Scipedia content — Thu, 11 Feb 2021 14:11:00 +0100

Individual mobility for socially sustainable transport

Scipedia content — Tue, 09 Feb 2021 09:03:08 +0100

The role of railways in sustainable transport : a case study of China

Scipedia content — Tue, 09 Feb 2021 09:01:39 +0100

The feasibility study of implementation of ERP system in tackling traffic congestion in Hong Kong

Scipedia content — Tue, 09 Feb 2021 08:57:38 +0100

Cycling as a sustainable transport : is Hong Kong ready?

Scipedia content — Tue, 09 Feb 2021 08:56:26 +0100

Reducing the Attitude-Behavior Gap in Sustainable Consumption A Theoretical Proposition and the American Electric Vehicle Market

Scipedia content — Mon, 08 Feb 2021 12:36:29 +0100

Experience Travel Project : Creating a Better Service Experience for Public Transportation

Scipedia content — Mon, 08 Feb 2021 12:30:48 +0100

Ageing populations and travel

Scipedia content — Mon, 08 Feb 2021 12:28:24 +0100

The effectiveness of sustainable transport policies ultimately depends on the response of different lifecycle groups to these policies. This chapter is concerned with one such lifecycle group: the elderly. They are also known in the literature as ‘solitary survivors’ or ‘mature’ groups (Wells and Gubar, 1966; Lawson, 1991; Fodness, 1992). It is an interesting group for a variety of reasons. First, the elderly need to adjust to changing needs and a shifting institutional context. After retirement they may have more discretionary time, they may be empty-nesters, although their household caring tasks may perhaps be substituted by grandparenting tasks. The new generation of elderly is said to have accumulated more wealth and resources (e.g., Spinney et al., 2009). Moreover, in general, their health is better than that of previous generations of elderly, giving them more opportunities to stay active and travel (Ziegler and Schwanen, 2011). On the other hand, they are less flexible in adjusting to changes, i.e., diminishing public urban facilities and transportation resources (e.g., Rosenbloom, 2001; Collia et al., 2003; Hildebrand, 2003). These considerations suggest they are more likely to continue travelling, with detrimental effects on sustainable transport policy ambitions. Little empirical evidence is, however, known about the travel behaviour of the elderly. This chapter summarises results of our previous analyses and activity-travel behaviour of this lifecycle group and adds the results of some new analyses that were specifically conducted for this chapter.

Social signal processing for dummies

Scipedia content — Mon, 08 Feb 2021 12:25:00 +0100

We introduce SSJ Creator, a modern Android GUI enabling users to design and execute social signal processing pipelines using nothing but their smartphones and without writing a single line of code. It is based on a modular Java-based social signal processing framework (SSJ), which is able to perform realtime multimodal behaviour analysis on Android devices using both device internal and external sensors.

Encouraging the use of ADAS through personalized persuasion

Scipedia content — Mon, 08 Feb 2021 10:19:03 +0100

Broad adoption of intelligent systems is a condition for achieving the aims of these systems such as increasing safety and efficiency. This requires taking into consideration that each driver has his or her own needs, interests and motivations while driving. Persuasive strategies that are intended to increase the adoption of intelligent systems may influence one type of driver, but may not work at all for another type of driver. This paper presents an exploration of the design potential for applications that aims to increase the acceptance of Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) for both careful and risky drivers.

The design of a Decision Support Tool for transport planning and management: the Torino Metropolitan Area case study

Scipedia content — Mon, 08 Feb 2021 10:18:25 +0100

Energy Saving Potential in Existing Volumetric Rotary Compressors

Scipedia content — Mon, 08 Feb 2021 10:10:17 +0100

The issues of energy and Carbon saving in energy intensive sectors, along with that of energy generation from renewable sources, have been recently receiving a growing awareness, as they are perceived as the most effective ways to deal with global sustainability commitments. The Compressed Air Sector (CAS) accounts for a 10% worldwide electricity consumption, and thus is being re-thought as an area offering great opportunities for improvement. Considering that the compression is responsible for a 10-15% consumption, it is vital to pay attention to machines performances. An overview of present compressor technology is given and saving directions for Screw and Sliding Vanes machines are analysed: interesting source of information was the Compressed Air and Gas Institute (CAGI), whose data have been processed, in order to obtain consistency with fixed reference pressures, and organized as a function of main operating parameters. The overall efficiency has been split and all different sub-terms (adiabatic, volumetric, mechanical, electrical, organic) considered separately. This has allowed a term-by-term evaluation of the margin for improvement. The heat recovery from the oil into mechanical energy via an Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC), together with the thermodynamic improvement during compression phase opens the way to a step change concerning the specific energy consumption. The Authors acknowledge Ing. Enea Mattei S.p.A. and particularly its CEO, Dr. Giulio Contaldi, for continuous research funding and support. The work has been done also under the FP7 Project ”Complete Vehicle Energy-Saving CONVENIENT” funded by the European Commission.

Clean energy systems as mainstream energy options

Scipedia content — Mon, 08 Feb 2021 10:09:56 +0100

Summary Solving the energy and climate challenges ahead will require introducing massive amounts of clean energy such as renewable energy (RE) sources, in particular, in urban areas as these dominate the energy use and emissions. Variable RE sources such as solar and wind are interesting mainstream energy options in this context. However, their use may cause major problems with the power system calling for more advanced strategies to enable optimal integration and bridging of the new and old energy system. Here, we demonstrate the usefulness of electricity-to-thermal conversion and RE linked to e-mobility strategies to increase the RE share much beyond the traditional self-use limit of power. For example, the Metropolitan Helsinki (Finland) region could in this way derive up to 60% of its electricity and 30% of its heat from wind power, without any major energy storage arrangements. In sunny climates, the use of photovoltaics could be increased by a factor of 2–3 over the self-use limit of power through such strategies. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Modeling current and emerging threats in the airport domain through adversarial risk analysis

Scipedia content — Mon, 08 Feb 2021 10:08:48 +0100

23rd SRA-Europe Annual Meeting on Analysis and Governance of Risks Beyond Boundaries -- 2014 -- Istanbul, TURKEY WOS: 000383448000005 Airports are critical infrastructures entailing intense human, commercial and economic activity. As such, they are preferred targets for criminal and terrorist groups, who are attracted by the promisingly high revenues they might get from an attack. Every year, airport authorities worldwide have to face, with limited resources, attacks arising from different adversaries. There are several sensible areas within an airport organization that are especially vulnerable to the terrorist threat, including, among others: (1) those related to human lives (of passengers or staff); (2) airport infrastructure (airport perimeter, main terminal, Air Traffic Control Tower, runways, hangars, etc.); (3) aircrafts and other ground vehicles; and (4) IT systems and services. Besides the more traditional ones, we are particularly concerned with attacks launched against the last type of targets, an emerging and increasingly worrisome threat. Specifically, we analyze the impact of cyber-attacks launched by organized groups whose main goal is to take hold of airport operations. In some cases, in order to have more chances to achieve their purpose (and take advantage of its eventual success), cyber attackers may be backed up by a terrorist group who will try to interfere with the Air Traffic Management network. In this paper, we aim at supporting airport authorities in their fight against both threats, by devising a security allocation plan. We provide an adversarial risk analysis model to address the problem, and apply it to obtain the optimal portfolio of preventive measures in an illustrative case study. The model is open to extensions, as e.g. larger and more complex technical infrastructures, new threats, or additional recovery measures deployed by different defensive agents. SRA Europe European Union [285223]; Spanish Ministry of Economy and Innovation Program [MTM2011-28983-C03-01]; AXA-ICMAT Chair on Adversarial Risk Analysis; ESF Cost Action on Expert Judgment [IS1304] This work has been partly funded by the European Union's 7th Framework Programme under grant agreement no 285223 - SECONOMICS. Work has been also supported by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Innovation Program MTM2011-28983-C03-01, the AXA-ICMAT Chair on Adversarial Risk Analysis and the ESF Cost Action IS1304 on Expert Judgment.

Analytical investigation of DC link overvoltages during freewheeling for inverters in EV

Scipedia content — Mon, 08 Feb 2021 10:07:37 +0100

Multimodal real time information systems: users’ requirements and effects on travel behaviour

Scipedia content — Mon, 08 Feb 2021 10:06:40 +0100

Compressive sensing for in depth focusing in 3D automotive imaging radar

Scipedia content — Mon, 08 Feb 2021 10:02:39 +0100

Today, there is a growing attention to automotive sensors monitoring systems, in order to make them an effective and valuable aid in situations of danger, improving transportation safety. The main limitation of visual aid systems is that they do not produce accurate results in poor weather conditions (such as fog, rain) and in presence of smoke. This limitation can be overcome by using radar sensors. In particular, imaging radar are gaining interest in the framework of Driver Assistance Systems (DAS). In this paper we propose a novel radar signal processing technique, based on Compressive Sensing (CS) theory, to perform the imaging of two or more targets on the same line of sight, greatly improving the performances of a radar DAS. After a brief description of the proposed methodology, case studies are presented in order to evaluate the performances of the technique.

Ho.Re.Ca. Logistics and Medieval Structured Cities: A Market Analysis and Typology

Scipedia content — Mon, 08 Feb 2021 09:59:51 +0100

This chapter examines the logistics behind Hotel-Restaurant-Café/Catering (Ho.Re.Ca.) deliveries in medieval structured cites. These cities are characterised by their sporadic growth pattern around important buildings or squares (Marshall and Garrick 2010). The objective of this chapter is twofold. In the first part, an extensive problem description is given. Originating from limited literature and data, some key words are defined and the playfield in which the main stakeholders operate is described. The main goal of this part is to structure the Ho.Re.Ca. sector in a transparent way and to make the link with the logistics and the specific types of deliveries, required by this economic sector. In the second part of this chapter, the way the main stakeholders perform their activities is examined more in depth. Hereby, the most common delivery patterns are discussed and linked with the physical characteristics of specific goods for which they demand for their daily services. In addition, this chapter investigates both the behaviour and the expectations of the main stakeholders more in depth and in close relation with their operational practices. This research results in four distinctive market typologies and a list of decisive variables which characterise Ho.Re.Ca. specific deliveries, such as high service level, volume and product quality.

An embedded CAN controller for a vehicle networking course project

Scipedia content — Mon, 08 Feb 2021 09:47:00 +0100

The automotive industry advances quickly, with new functionalities continuously being introducted. The Eindhoven University of Technology's Bachelor Automotive Programme prepares students for the subsequent Master education, for industry, and research. In this paper we present the infrastructure and the organisation of the third-year Vehicle Networking course that introduces the current and future automotive networks to students. In the practical part of the course the students use a multiprocessor platform to implement and test an embedded CAN controller. We present requirements and how we address them in the platform architecture, the server-based FPGA infrastructure, and how students design, debug, and analyse their CAN controller. We conclude with lessons learnt and future improvements.

Prediction of necessary public charging infrastructure of electric vehicles

Scipedia content — Mon, 08 Feb 2021 09:46:23 +0100

In this study we developed models in order to predict the need for public charging points. These models give municipalities an insight into various environmental and consumer related factors that determine the need for public charging points for electric vehicles in the neighbourhood. These factors include, amongst others, the average gross monthly income of households in a certain neighbourhood and the overall number of cars in a certain neighbourhood. On the basis of the models it turns out, among other factors, that neighbourhoods with households with a relatively high average gross monthly income, and a relatively high number of cars, need a relatively large number of public charging points for electric vehicles.

Modelling the charging probability of electric vehicles as a gaussian mixture model for a convolution based power flow analysis

Scipedia content — Mon, 08 Feb 2021 09:43:05 +0100

This paper presents an approach for modelling the charging probability of electric vehicles as a Gaussian mixture model. The model is built up by assembling adapted multivari-ate normal probability density functions. This is done because the expectation maximization algorithm fails finding maximum likelihood estimates in respect of the charging power of the generated charging profiles. This Gaussian mixture model enables for capturing the charging profiles comprehensively with a few parameters and therefore it enables for calculating the charging probability dynamically for individual parameter intervals. The underlying assumptions about battery capacity, consumption, charging infrastructure, type of weekday and settlement structure determine the generation of the charging profiles. The proposed approach makes these parameters available for the density. Thereby, the provision of the charging profiles gets obsolete. This density can be used for a convolution based power flow analysis which offers benefits regarding the computational effort and random access memory usage com-pared to Monte Carlo-like simulations.

Social behavioral change for sustainable urban transportation under TDM concept: a case study of Istanbul

Scipedia content — Sun, 07 Feb 2021 13:50:39 +0100

Increasing population in urban areas necessitates increasing levels of mix and modes of transportation, roads, land use, which all lead to pollution and waste of all sorts. Usu- ally longer, wider and larger urban and interurban roads for motorized vehicles lead to further increases in number of cars with fewer, usually single, people in them, forming an unavoidable basis of an unsustainable society and mobility. In order to achieve sus- tainable cities and economies, in addition to smart use of land, intelligent transportation systems, clean and green vehicles, it is vital to achieve social behavioral change for shift- ing our modes of mobility from motorized means to cleaner, greener, healthier and more economic means such as walking, cycling, and public transportation. Economic, environ- mental, and social concerns about growth of traﬃc and congestion have caused several mega cities in the world and academics towards the investigations and introduction of diﬀerent policies and measures in urban areas. Among many policy options, Travel De- mand Management (TDM) policies mainly aim to promote the sustainable modes and to increase an eﬀective use of existing infrastructure by voluntarily controlling the de- mand. With such circumstances, the objectives of this study are as follows: (1) to review existing academic, industrial, governmental and non-governmental literature to examine and understand various sustainable society, sustainable development, sustainable mobil- ity concepts, mechanisms and policies developed and tested in other parts of the world; (2) to establish a framework of social behavioral change policies particularly developed and tested for urban mobility and traﬃc; (3) to compare various mega-cities on diﬀerent indicators to better understand the case of Istanbul; (4) to evaluate potentials of TDM policies in Istanbul as well as to ﬁnd out traﬃc congestion perception of the residents by conducting face-to-face surveys; (5) to determine current conditions of traﬃc congestion in Istanbul for the projections of traﬃc conditions in the coming years of 2018 and 2023, with the help of determined potentials from the survey results under diﬀerent scenarios by using a micro simulation program PTV VISSIM. As a result of this study, it was revealed that the traﬃc conditions in Istanbul tend to become worse year by year, but it was also seen that the TDM policies oﬀers noteworthy potential for increased use of sustainable mobility modes and to help signiﬁcantly reducing congestion levels.

Exploring the transport system under technological change - market, business ecosystem and business model viewpoints

Scipedia content — Sun, 07 Feb 2021 13:48:33 +0100

Flexible Loads in Smart Grids - Charging Solutions for Electric Vehicles and Storage Space Heating

Scipedia content — Sun, 07 Feb 2021 13:48:21 +0100

Towards an open ecosystem model for smart mobility services. The case of Finland

Scipedia content — Sun, 07 Feb 2021 13:38:41 +0100

Scalable Routing in SDN-enabled Networks with Consolidated Middleboxes

Scipedia content — Wed, 03 Feb 2021 21:59:37 +0100

Middleboxes are special network devices that perform various functions such as enabling security and efficiency. SDN-based routing approaches in networks with middleboxes need to address resource constraints, such as memory in the switches and processing power of middleboxes, and traversal constraint where a flow must visit the required middleboxes in a specific order. In this work we propose a solution based on MultiPoint-To-Point Trees (MPTPT) for routing traffic in SDN-enabled networks with consolidated middleboxes. We show both theoretically and via simulations that our solution significantly reduces the number of routing rules in the switches, while guaranteeing optimum throughput and meeting processing requirements. Additionally, the underlying algorithm has low complexity making it suitable in dynamic network environment.

ANALYTICAL EXPRESSIONS FOR LIQUID-COLUMN VELOCITIES IN PIPELINES WITH ENTRAPPED GAS

Scipedia content — Wed, 03 Feb 2021 21:58:53 +0100

High pressures and high temperatures may arise in pipelines when a liquid column is suddenly accelerated into a gas pocket trapped at a closed end. A mass oscillation occurs that is described by nonlinear equations for both liquid and gas. Analytical expressions are derived for the uniform velocity of the liquid column, from which pressures and gas temperatures follow. The obtained results are validated against theoretical and experimental results published by fellow researchers.

Langkawi on ‘Copenhagen Wheels’: exploring eco-conscious urban strategies for island development via cycling technology

Scipedia content — Wed, 03 Feb 2021 21:56:35 +0100

This paper addresses the topic of ‘urban strategies’. The context is the development on Langkawi, an island destination in Malaysia. The Langkawi Development Authority (LADA) has established a framework for how the island will be developed in the LADA Tourism Blueprint 2011-2015. Eco-tourism is a targeted core business. Much of Langkawi will be conserved as the natural rainforest, limiting the built-up areas to approximately 30% of the island. Despite the strong implication upon the island’s urbanisation, there have not been any specific ecologically conscious urban development strategies within the existing Blueprint. This paper proposes that such strategies need to fullfil both the demand of the expanding tourism industry as well as the need to safeguard the natural ecology of the island. Promoting bicycles as a primary transportation option will serve both. Unlike the normal bicycle, this project looks at integrating the ‘Copenhagen Wheel’ version. The ‘Copenhagen Wheel’ turns ordinary bicycles into electric ones via a sensor-type hub that will collect environmental quality data, road conditions and congestion as the bicycle traverses an area. The case study is set for a land parcel in the vicinity of the ferry terminal and the LADA Headquarters. The architectural focus will transform this site into a cyclists’ haven and environmental monitoring centre by integrating the ‘Copenhagen Wheel’ technology into the development model. This is interconnected with the greater framework of enlarging the tourism package for Langkawi whilst sustaining the island’s natural environment. This integrated cycling-based project will offer the insights towards eco-conscious urban strategies in island development.

Enhancing the Traffic Management Advisor's Schedule by Time Advance

Scipedia content — Wed, 03 Feb 2021 21:55:33 +0100

time advance algorithm associated with the scheduling functionalities of the Traffic Management Advisor (TMA) for arrival flights is presented and evaluated. The algorithm enhances TMA’s meter fix schedule by advancing the flights’ Scheduled Time of Arrival (STA) by an amount that minimizes their systemic operating cost. The systemic operating cost leverages the inherent trade-off of time and fuel efficiency resident in the cost index of modern flight management systems. The resulting STAs are achievable by speeding up the leading flights from their desired nominal speed profiles. A key advantage of this approach is that it reduces systemic delay to tight groupings of arriving aircraft as well as increases sustained throughput of the operation. A fast-time, Monte Carlo simulation that emulates TMA’s scheduling functionalities is performed for arrival flights to the Phoenix Airport to quantify the benefit of the time advance algorithm. Results show consistent time saving benefits, ranging from 3 to 50 minutes for 112 flights with varying levels of traffic congestion.

Trajectory Analysis and Prediction for Improved Pedestrian Safety:Integrated Framework and Evaluations

Scipedia content — Wed, 03 Feb 2021 21:53:18 +0100

This paper presents a monocular and purely vision based pedestrian trajectory tracking and prediction framework with integrated map-based hazard inference. In Advanced Driver Assistance systems research, a lot of effort has been put into pedestrian detection over the last decade, and several pedestrian detection systems are indeed showing impressive results. Considerably less effort has been put into processing the detections further. We present a tracking system for pedestrians, which based on detection bounding boxes tracks pedestrians and is able to predict their positions in the near future."br/""br/"The tracking system is combined with a module which, based on the car's GPS position acquires a map and uses the road information in the map to know where the car can drive. Then the system warns the driver about pedestrians at risk, by combining the information about hazardous areas for pedestrians with a probabilistic position prediction for all observed pedestrians.

Collaboration over IEEE 802.11p to enable an intelligent traffic light function for emergency vehicles

Scipedia content — Wed, 03 Feb 2021 21:52:35 +0100

With the advent of cooperative automated functions a host of novel functions becomes feasible - cooperative driver assistance systems (CoDAS). We present an example for a novel collaborative vehicle-2-infrastructure interaction with the "automated emergency vehicle green-light" (AEVGL) function. In our approach we combine traffic light infrastructure with Dedicated Short Range Communication (DSRC) over IEEE 802.11p to address a serious issue: accidents containing emergency vehicles at intersections. In AEVGL we utilize communication to preemptively switch traffic lights to red for crossing traffic to allow safe passage of the approaching emergency vehicle even in low communication penetration scenarios. This function can serve as blueprint for other novel lightweight CoDAS functions with a very specific scope. GLOSA and AEV are currently tested in the TEAM IP project to facilitate AEVGL.

A Method to Integrate Energy Harvesters into Wireless Sensor Nodes for Embedded In-Pipe Monitoring Applications

Scipedia content — Wed, 03 Feb 2021 21:50:29 +0100

Batteries are commonly used to power sensors, a fact that carries severe drawbacks such as limited lifetime and regular replacement. Battery powered sensors are particularly impractical in under-water pipelines due to limited access. Therefore, harvesting of ambient energy to power embedded sensors is an attractive option for such systems. A method is proposed, in this paper, to power in-pipe wireless sensor nodes based on energy harvesting techniques, with minimal impact to the pipe performance. Based on the initial analysis presented in the paper, models will be developed next to facilitate the design of an energy harvester system for Turkey-Cyprus water pipeline project currently under construction.