Incorporating Driver Behaviors in Network Design Problems: Challenges and Opportunities

The goal of a network design problem (NDP) is to make optimal decisions to achieve a certain objective such as minimizing total travel time or maximizing tolls collected in the network. A critical component to NDP is how travelers make their route choices. Researchers in transportation have adopted human decision theories to describe more accurate route choice behaviors. In this paper, we review the NDP with various route choice models: the random utility model (RUM), random regret-minimization (RRM) model, bounded rationality (BR), cumulative prospect theory (CPT), the fuzzy logic model (FLM) and dynamic learning models. Moreover, we identify challenges in applying behavioral route choice models to NDP and opportunities for future research.     

We can all get along: The alignment of driver and bicyclist roadway design preferences in the San Francisco Bay Area

Two trends in the United States—growth in bicycling and enthusiasm for complete streets—suggest a need to understand how various roadway users view roadway designs meant to accommodate multiple modes. While many studies have examined bicyclists’ roadway design preferences, there has been little investigation into the opinions of non-bicyclists who might bicycle in the future. Additionally, little research has explored the preferences of the motorists who share roads with cyclists—despite the fact that motorists compose the vast majority of roadway users in the United States and similarly developed countries.This paper presents results from an internet survey examining perceived comfort while driving and bicycling on various roadways among 265 non-bicycling drivers, bicycling drivers, and non-driving bicyclists in the San Francisco Bay Area. Analysis of variance tests revealed that both drivers and bicyclists are more comfortable on roadways with separated bicycling facilities than those with shared space. In particular, roadways with barrier-separated bicycle lanes were the most popular among all groups, regardless of bicycling frequency. Striped bicycle lanes, a common treatment in the United States, received mixed reviews: a majority of the sample believed that they benefit cyclists and drivers through predictability and legitimacy on the roadway, but the lanes were rated significantly less comfortable than barrier-separated treatments—particularly among potential bicyclists.These findings corroborate research on bicyclists’ preferences for roadway design and contribute a new understanding of motorists’ preferences. They also support the U.S. Federal Highway Administration’s efforts to encourage greater accommodation of bicyclists on urban streets.     

A mixed logit model for predicting exit choice during building evacuations

Knowledge on human behaviour in emergency is crucial to increase the safety of buildings and transportation systems. Decision making during evacuations implies different choices, of which one of the most important concerns is the escape route. The choice of a route may involve local decisions on alternative exits from an enclosed environment. This study investigates the effect of environmental (presence of smoke, emergency lighting and distance of exit) and social factors (interaction with evacuees close to the exits and with those near the decision-maker) on local exit choice. This goal is pursued using an online stated preference survey carried out making use of non-immersive virtual reality. A sample of 1503 participants is obtained and a mixed logit model is calibrated using these data. The model shows that the presence of smoke, emergency lighting, distance of exit, number of evacuees near the exits and the decision-maker and flow of evacuees through the exits significantly affect local exit choice. Moreover, the model indicates that decision making is affected by a high degree of behavioural uncertainty. Our findings support the improvement of evacuation models and the accuracy of their results, which can assist in designing and managing building and transportation systems. The main aim of this study is to enrich the understanding of how local exit choices are made and how behavioural uncertainty affects these choices.     

A bi-objective optimization framework for three-dimensional road alignment design

Optimization of three-dimensional road alignments is a nonlinear non-convex optimization problem. The development of models that fully optimize a three-dimensional road alignment problem is challenging due to numerous factors involved and complexities in the geometric specification of the alignment. In this study, we developed a novel bi-objective optimization approach to solve a three dimensional road alignment problem where the horizontal and vertical alignments are optimized simultaneously. Two conflicting cost objective functions, earthwork cost and the utility cost, are cast in a bi-objective optimization problem. We numerically compare several multi-objective optimization solvers, and find that it is possible to determine the Pareto front in a reasonable time.     

舰船电子元器件自主可控现状与发展需求研究

近年来,我国信息化关键软硬件技术得到了长足发展,特别是基础电子元器件性能有了大幅度提升.然而,在信息化相关的电子元器件技术和产品上与国外还存在较大差距,制约了装备的国产化率和自主可控能力水平的进一步提升.本文分析舰船装备领域基础电子元器件的发展现状,并提出下一步的发展需求建议以及确保基础电子元器件自主可控的具体措施.     

Integrated airline planning: Robust update of scheduling and fleet balancing under demand uncertainty

The airline schedule planning problem is defined as the sequence of decisions that need to be made to obtain a fully operational flight schedule. Historically, the airline scheduling problem has been sequentially solved. However, there have already been many attempts in order to obtain airline schedules in an integrated way. But due to tractability issues it is nowadays impossible to determine a fully operative and optimal schedule with an integrated model which accounts for all the key airline related aspects such as competitive effects, stochastic demand figures and uncertain operating conditions. Airlines usually develop base schedules, which are obtained much time in advance to the day of operations and not accounting for all the related uncertainty. This paper proposes a mathematical model in order to update base schedules in terms of timetable and fleet assignments while considering stochastic demand figures and uncertain operating conditions, and where robust itineraries are introduced in order to ameliorate miss-connected passengers. The proposed model leads to a large-scale problem which is difficult to be solved. Therefore, a novel improved and accelerated Benders decomposition approach is proposed. The analytical work is supported with case studies involving the Spanish legacy airline, IBERIA. The presented approach shows that the number of miss-connected passengers may be reduced when robust planning is applied.     

压载荷下骨材贯穿孔孔边应力集中模型试验

以船舶双层底结构为研究对象开展模型试验,研究板材中的开孔在承受压力载荷作用下的孔边应力分布情况,分析压力载荷下不同开孔孔型以及不同补强结构对孔边应力分布情况的影响。在此基础上,开展相关仿真分析,将试验结果与有限元仿真结果进行对比,验证有限元仿真的准确性。     

小型双甲板远洋拖网渔船结构优化设计

针对34.5 m双甲板远洋拖网渔船,考虑船东使用后提出的建议,依据《钢质海洋渔船建造规范(2015)》要求对船体结构进行最优化设计,着重对加工间和机舱做到空间最大化,尽可能优化上层结构;利用ANSYS对龙门架选用高强度钢来减小板厚进行分析,加强球鼻结构,减少舷墙构件,做到既符合规范要求又满足渔民实际使用要求。结果表明:优化设计使得机舱空间更合理,结构连续性更好,减轻了上层质量,降低了钢料重心。     

港口系统设备钢轨连接技术

港口系统设备一般外型尺寸和质量较大，多采用截面积较大的起重机钢轨作为行走轨道。根据港口系统设备使用特点和工程施工现场条件，结合码头和堆场结构，借鉴轻轨和重轨的无缝连接技术，对各种焊接工艺进行比较，分析钢轨的材料组成和焊接过程内部组织变化，推荐一种保证设备使用安全和操作人员舒适度、连接质量稳定、便于维护、操作简便、满足港口系统设备钢轨安装现场要求的连接方法和工艺,有助于实现工期目标，可推广应用于矿山、港口、电厂、码头及堆场等大质量机车或起重设备的钢轨连接。     

越南某电厂新建煤码头排水系统设计方案优化

越南某燃煤电厂为满足当地电力的发展需求,拟对电厂进行扩建,并新建煤码头及输煤系统。针对外方提供的新建煤码头排水系统设计方案,从技术和经济角度展开全面分析,指出外方设计的排水系统存在的不足。结合国内煤码头排水系统的习惯做法,通过对比分析,对外方设计的排水系统进行优化,以满足码头区域雨水和冲洗废水“零排放”的环保要求。