Abstract: Over 90% of the world trade is carried by the
international shipping industry. As most of the countries are
developing, seaborne trade continues to expand to bring benefits for
consumers across the world. Studies show that world trade will
increase 70-80% through shipping in the next 15-20 years. Present
global fleet of 70000 commercial ships consumes approximately 200
million tonnes of diesel fuel a year and it is expected that it will be
around 350 million tonnes a year by 2020. It will increase the
demand for fuel and also increase the concentration of CO2 in the
atmosphere. So, it-s essential to control this massive fuel
consumption and CO2 emission. The idea is to utilize a diesel-wind
hybrid system for ship propulsion. Use of wind energy by installing
modern wing-sails in ships can drastically reduce the consumption of
diesel fuel. A huge amount of wind energy is available in oceans.
Whenever wind is available the wing-sails would be deployed and
the diesel engine would be throttled down and still the same forward
speed would be maintained. Wind direction in a particular shipping
route is not same throughout; it changes depending upon the global
wind pattern which depends on the latitude. So, the wing-sail
orientation should be such that it optimizes the use of wind energy.
We have made a computer programme in which by feeding the data
regarding wind velocity, wind direction, ship-motion direction; we
can find out the best wing-sail position and fuel saving for
commercial ships. We have calculated net fuel saving in certain
international shipping routes, for instance, from Mumbai in India to
Durban in South Africa. Our estimates show that about 8.3% diesel
fuel can be saved by utilizing the wind. We are also developing an
experimental model of the ship employing airfoils (small scale wingsail)
and going to test it in National Wind Tunnel Facility in IIT
Kanpur in order to develop a control mechanism for a system of
airfoils.
Abstract: With the increase of economic behavior and the upgrade
of living standar, the ratio for people in Taiwan who own automobiles
and motorcycles have recently increased with multiples. Therefore,
parking issues will be a big challenge to facilitate traffic network and
ensure urban life quality. The Parking Guidance and Information
System is one of important systems for Advanced Traveler Information
Services (ATIS). This research proposes a parking guidance and
information system which integrates GPS and 3G network for a map on
the Geographic Information System to solution inadequate of roadside
information kanban. The system proposed in this study mainly includes
Parking Host, Parking Guidance and Information Server, Geographic
Map and Information System as well as Parking Guidance and
Information Browser. The study results show this system can increase
driver-s efficiency to find parking space and efficiently enhance
parking convenience in comparison with roadside kanban system.
Abstract: Urban road network traffic has become one of the
most studied research topics in the last decades. This is mainly due to
the enlargement of the cities and the growing number of motor
vehicles traveling in this road network. One of the most sensitive
problems is to verify if the network is congestion-free. Another
related problem is the automatic reconfiguration of the network
without building new roads to alleviate congestions. These problems
require an accurate model of the traffic to determine the steady state
of the system. An alternative is to simulate the traffic to see if there
are congestions and when and where they occur. One key issue is to
find an adequate model for road intersections. Once the model
established, either a large scale model is built or the intersection is
represented by its performance measures and simulation for analysis.
In both cases, it is important to seek the queueing model to represent
the road intersection. In this paper, we propose to model the road
intersection as a BCMP queueing network and we compare this
analytical model against a simulation model for validation.
Abstract: A novel path planning approach is presented to solve
optimal path in stochastic, time-varying networks under priori traffic
information. Most existing studies make use of dynamic programming
to find optimal path. However, those methods are proved to
be unable to obtain global optimal value, moreover, how to design
efficient algorithms is also another challenge.
This paper employs a decision theoretic framework for defining
optimal path: for a given source S and destination D in urban transit
network, we seek an S - D path of lowest expected travel time
where its link travel times are discrete random variables. To solve
deficiency caused by the methods of dynamic programming, such as
curse of dimensionality and violation of optimal principle, an integer
programming model is built to realize assignment of discrete travel
time variables to arcs. Simultaneously, pruning techniques are also
applied to reduce computation complexity in the algorithm. The final
experiments show the feasibility of the novel approach.
Abstract: In the context of global climate change, flooding and sea level rise is increasingly threatening coastal urban areas, in which large population is continuously concentrated. Dutch experiences in urban water system management provide high reference value for sustainable coastal urban development projects. Preliminary studies shows the urban water system in Almere, a typical Dutch polder city, have three kinds of operational modes, achieving functions as: (1) coastline control – strong multiple damming system prevents from storm surges and maintains sufficient capacity upon risks; (2) high flexibility – large area and widely scattered open water system greatly reduce local runoff and water level fluctuation; (3) internal water maintenance – weir and sluice system maintains relatively stable water level, providing excellent boating and landscaping service, coupling with water circulating model maintaining better water quality. Almere has provided plenty of hints and experiences for ongoing development of coastal cities in emerging economies.
Abstract: This research is a comparative study of complexity, as a multidimensional concept, in the context of streetscape composition in Algeria and Japan. 80 streetscapes visual arrays have been collected and then presented to 20 participants, with different cultural backgrounds, in order to be categorized and classified according to their degrees of complexity. Three analysis methods have been used in this research: cluster analysis, ranking method and Hayashi Quantification method (Method III). The results showed that complexity, disorder, irregularity and disorganization are often conflicting concepts in the urban context. Algerian daytime streetscapes seem to be balanced, ordered and regular, and Japanese daytime streetscapes seem to be unbalanced, regular and vivid. Variety, richness and irregularity with some aspects of order and organization seem to characterize Algerian night streetscapes. Japanese night streetscapes seem to be more related to balance, regularity, order and organization with some aspects of confusion and ambiguity. Complexity characterized mainly Algerian avenues with green infrastructure. Therefore, for Japanese participants, Japanese traditional night streetscapes were complex. And for foreigners, Algerian and Japanese avenues nightscapes were the most complex visual arrays.
Abstract: In this paper, we propose a single sample path based
algorithm with state aggregation to optimize the average rewards of
singularly perturbed Markov reward processes (SPMRPs) with a
large scale state spaces. It is assumed that such a reward process
depend on a set of parameters. Differing from the other kinds of
Markov chain, SPMRPs have their own hierarchical structure. Based
on this special structure, our algorithm can alleviate the load in the
optimization for performance. Moreover, our method can be applied
on line because of its evolution with the sample path simulated.
Compared with the original algorithm applied on these problems of
general MRPs, a new gradient formula for average reward
performance metric in SPMRPs is brought in, which will be proved
in Appendix, and then based on these gradients, the schedule of the
iteration algorithm is presented, which is based on a single sample
path, and eventually a special case in which parameters only
dominate the disturbance matrices will be analyzed, and a precise
comparison with be displayed between our algorithm with the old
ones which is aim to solve these problems in general Markov reward
processes. When applied in SPMRPs, our method will approach a fast
pace in these cases. Furthermore, to illustrate the practical value of
SPMRPs, a simple example in multiple programming in computer
systems will be listed and simulated. Corresponding to some practical
model, physical meanings of SPMRPs in networks of queues will be
clarified.
Abstract: The present study has been carried out with a view to calculate the coastal vulnerability index (CVI) to know the high and low sensitive areas and area of inundation due to future SLR. Both conventional and remotely sensed data were used and analyzed through the modelling technique. Out of the total study area, 8.26% is very high risk, 14.21% high, 9.36% medium, 22.46% low and 7.35% in the very low vulnerable category, due to costal components. Results of the inundation analysis indicate that 225.2 km² and 397 km² of the land area will be submerged by flooding at 1m and 10m inundation levels. The most severely affected sectors are expected to be the residential, industrial and recreational areas. As this coast is planned for future coastal developmental activities, measures such as industrializations, building regulation, urban growth planning and agriculture, development of an integrated coastal zone management, strict enforcement of the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) Act, monitoring of impacts and further research in this regard are recommended for the study area.
Abstract: In gas lifted oil fields, the lift gas should be distributed optimally among the wells which share gas from a common source to maximize total oil production. One of the objectives of the paper is to show that a linear MPC consisting of a control objective and an economic objective can be used both as an optimizer and a controller for gas lifted systems. The MPC is based on linearized model of the oil field developed from first principles modeling. Simulation results show that the total oil production is increased by 3.4%. Difficulties in accurately measuring the bottom hole pressure using sensors in harsh operating conditions can be resolved by using an Unscented Kalman Filter (UKF) for estimation. In oil fields where input disturbance (total supply of gas) is not measured, UKF can also be used for disturbance estimation. Increased total oil production due to optimization leads to increased profit.
Abstract: Integration of system process information obtained
through an image processing system with an evolving knowledge
database to improve the accuracy and predictability of wear particle
analysis is the main focus of the paper. The objective is to automate
intelligently the analysis process of wear particle using classification
via self organizing maps. This is achieved using relationship
measurements among corresponding attributes of various
measurements for wear particle. Finally, visualization technique is
proposed that helps the viewer in understanding and utilizing these
relationships that enable accurate diagnostics.
Abstract: Integration of system process information obtained
through an image processing system with an evolving knowledge
database to improve the accuracy and predictability of wear debris
analysis is the main focus of the paper. The objective is to automate
intelligently the analysis process of wear particle using classification
via self-organizing maps. This is achieved using relationship
measurements among corresponding attributes of various
measurements for wear debris. Finally, visualization technique is
proposed that helps the viewer in understanding and utilizing these
relationships that enable accurate diagnostics.
Abstract: Development of cities and villages, agricultural farms
and industrial regions in abutment and/or in the course of streams and
rivers or in prone flood lands has been caused more notations in
hydrology problems and city planning topics. In order to protection
of cities against of flood damages, embankment construction is a
desired and scientific method. The cities that located in arid zones
may damage by floods periodically. Zavvareh city in Ardestan
township(Isfahan province) with 7704 people located in Ardestan
plain that has been damaged by floods that have flowed from
dominant mountainous watersheds in past years with regard to return
period. In this study, according to flowed floods toward Zavvareh
city, was attempt to plan suitable hydraulic structures such as canals,
bridges and collectors in order to collection, conduction and
depletion of city surface runoff.