A methodology for assessment of long-term exposure to whole-body vibrations in vehicle drivers to propose preventive safety measures

Introduction: The appearance of musculoskeletal disorders (MDs) in professional drivers due to exposition to whole-body vibration (WBV) makes it relevant to assess this exposure. The European Directive 2002/44/EC has two methods to evaluate exposure to WBV (defined in ISO2631-1:2008). These methods evaluate the exposure associated with an 8-hour working day; however, MDs due to WBV could also be caused by accumulated exposure to vibrations over long term, and hence, the methods defined in the European directive may be limited in their ability to ensure the safety of workers exposed to WBV throughout their years of employment. Method: A detailed comparison and discussion of methods defined in the European Directive and the ISO2631-5:2018 was used as a starting point of the main results of this paper. On this basis, a new methodology for the management and organization of preventive measures is proposed to consider the assessment of ISO2631-5:2018 standard and the full working life of workers. Experimental data to assess exposure to WBV in heavy equipment vehicle (HEV) drivers under different road surface conditions and range of velocities were considered to illustrate the process of the proposed methodology. Results: The methods defined in the standards provide different assessments leading to a different possible consideration of safe operations when the risks associated with them may actually be high. The proposed methodology can be used with the aim of ensuring safety of workers throughout their working lives and providing an easy implementation of the calculations of ISO2631-5:2018 standard. Conclusions: A procedure to assess the health risk probability to which the HEV worker is exposed in terms of the exposure years and a different range of operational vehicle speeds is proposed and exemplified with a study case. Practical applications: This study provides a practical tool for the management of WBV exposure related to work-tasks in HEV drivers. Safety managers should consider the global exposition to WBV throughout their working life, and this research provides an easy tool to accomplish it.     

柴油车尾气颗粒物排放现状评价

对2013年哈尔滨市不同供油方式的柴油车排气细颗粒物或黑碳测量参数—光吸收系数进行了统计分析,结果表明:涡轮增压和自然吸气供油方式光吸收系数均值分别为1.39 m-1和1.27 m-1,超标率分别为5.8%和2.4%,采用颗粒物控制措施及排气装置强制维护降低了颗粒物排放,符合排放标准。     

利用IVE模型建立成都市轻型汽油客车排放清单

城市机动车污染物排放清单的建立是控制机动车污染的关键.本研究以2012年为基准年,通过对成都市轻型汽油客车技术水平分布、活动水平和保有量等数据的调查,将IVE模型本地化,计算了成都市2012年轻型汽油客车VOCs、PM、NOx、CO的排放清单,并分析了清单的不确定性.结果表明:成都市2012年轻型汽油客车排放的VOCs、PM、NOx和CO分别为2.23×104t、1.6×102t、1.26×104t和2.03×105t;轻型汽油客车中黄标车VOCs、PM、NOx、CO的排放量分别占排放总量的27.5%、18.1%、37.2%和42.5%,表明黄标车是轻型汽油客车污染物排放的主要来源;排放清单的不确定性主要来自于排放因子,VOCs、PM、NOx和CO清单的不确定性分别为-31.67%~32.35%、-54.75%~55.09%、-6.56%~6.76%和-12.22%~12.51%.     

地铁运营突发事件应急响应模式的马尔科夫链分析

为研究城市轨道交通网络化运营线路的风险传导规律和耦合关系,构建基于随机Petri网的同构马尔科夫链模型。通过模型分析突发事件应急响应模式中线路之间的相互影响,以及各线路启动突发事件应急响应模式对整个系统稳态的影响。结果表明,用该模型可从数学上研究城市轨道交通运营线路之间的传导规律和耦合关系,找出影响整个应急指挥系统效率的关键因素,最终提高地铁应对突发事件的能力。     

基于生命周期的轨道交通能耗与碳排放分析

轨道交通的高效低污染特征备受关注,以广佛二期地铁为研究对象,测算广佛二期地铁的能源消费量,以及CO2、CH4、N2O等温室气体(Greenhouse Gases,GHGs)排放量;再基于生命周期理论,采用量化方法对比广佛二期地铁与出租车、私人载客汽车、公交车、私人摩托车4种客运交通工具的能源利用效率、能源强度、碳排放强度;最后,分析广佛二期地铁对佛山市交通行业能耗和GHGs排放的影响.结果表明,广佛二期地铁近期能源消费量为4 562.95 t标准煤,CO2排放量为12 651.57 t,CH4排放量为0.152 t,N2O排放量为0.201 t.与燃油机动车相比,广佛二期地铁具有更高的能源利用效率,同时具有较高的节能减排潜力.研究表明,广佛二期地铁的开通不但是缓解佛山市机动车辆增长的重要方式,而且对城市交通节能减排具有重要意义.     

Perceptions of safety on a shared road: Driving,cycling, or walking near an autonomous vehicle

Introduction: While improved safety is a highly cited potential benefit of autonomous vehicles (AVs), at the same time a frequently cited concern is the new safety challenges that AVs introduce. The literature lacks a rigorous exploration of the safety perceptions of road users who will interact with AVs, including vulnerable road users. Addressing this gap is essential because the successful integration of AVs into transportation systems hinges on an understanding of how all road users will react to their presence. Methods: A stated preference survey of the Phoenix, Arizona, metropolitan statistical area (Phoenix MSA) was conducted in July 2018. A series of ordered probit models was estimated to analyze the survey responses and identify differences between various population groups with respect to the perceived safety of driving, cycling, and walking near AVs. Results: Greater exposure to and awareness of AVs are not uniformly associated with increases in perceived safety. Various attitudinal factors, level of AV automation, and other intrinsic and extrinsic factors are related to safety perceptions of driving, walking, and cycling near AVs. Socioeconomic and demographic characteristics, such as gender, age, income, employment, and automobile usage and ownership, have various relationships with perceived safety. Conclusions: Cycling near an AV was perceived as the least safe activity, followed by walking and then driving near an AV. Both similarities and differences were observed among the factors associated with the perceived safety of different travel alternatives. Practical Applications: Public perception will guide the development and adoption of AVs directly and indirectly. To help maintain control of public perception, transportation planners, decision makers, and other stakeholders should consider more deliberate and targeted messaging to address the concerns of different road users. In addition, more careful pilot testing and more direct attention to vulnerable road users may help avoid a backlash that could delay the rollout of this technology.     

Experimental research of LNG accidental underwater release and combustion behavior

Evaluating potential hazards caused by accidental LNG release from underwater pipelines or vessels is a significant consideration in marine transportation safety. The aim of this study was to capture the dynamic behavior of LNG jet released under water and to analyze its vapor dispersion characteristics and combustion characteristics on the water surface during different release scenarios. Controlled experiments were conducted where LNG was jet released from a cryogenic storage tank. The dynamic process of LNG being jet released from orifices of different sizes and shapes, as well as the rising plume structure, were captured by a high-speed camera. The leakage flow rate and pipeline pressure were recorded by a flow meter and pressure gauge, respectively. The concentration distribution that emanated from the water surface was measured utilizing methane sensors in different positions with various wind speeds. The flame combustion characteristics of LNG vapor clouds, which immediately ignited upon the enclosed water tank, were also recorded. Additionally, the mass burning rate of the flame on the water surface was evaluated, and a new correlation between the ratio of flame length and width was established. The results indicated a large dimensionless heat release rate (Q*) and a continuous release flow rate in a limited burning area. This study could provide greater understanding of the mechanisms of LNG release and combustion behavior under water.     

Optimization of the recovery of plastics for recycling by density media separation cyclones

Material recovery processes are presented as the optimum option for recycling plastic wastes as a means of recovering hydrocarbon resources. There exist a large variety of automated material recovery processes for recycling of such wastes but each with significant limitations. Of these, the separation based on differences in densities is advocated as the optimum process either for producing recycled products or preparing wastes for subsequent recovery processing.Density separation processes based on cyclone type density media separation (DMS) is presented as an important, potential method for increasing plastics recycling process capacities. It is demonstrated to have the capacity to separate a significantly larger range of particle sizes than those presently processed industrially. The mathematical relationship for the prediction of quality of typical LARCODEMS type density media separations by particle size and density as expressed by the Ecart Probable is presented.A proposed device configuration is presented for density media separation to optimize the recovery and purity of both density fractions produced. It is also suggested that to be economically viable, a large scale of operation is required for industrial plastics recycling operations recovering and producing a number of different plastics with a purity to be used as a substitute for virgin material.     

Giving green to get green? Incentives and consumer adoption of hybrid vehicle technology

Federal, state, and local governments use a variety of incentives to induce consumer adoption of hybrid-electric vehicles. We study the relative efficacy of state sales tax waivers, income tax credits, and non-tax incentives and find that the type of tax incentive offered is as important as the generosity of the incentive. Conditional on value, sales tax waivers are associated with more than a ten-fold increase in hybrid sales relative to income tax credits. In addition, we examine how adoption varies with fuel prices. Rising gasoline prices are associated with greater hybrid vehicle sales, but this effect operates almost entirely through high fuel-economy vehicles. By comparing consumer response to sales tax waivers and estimated future fuel savings, we estimate an implicit discount rate of 14.6% on future fuel savings.     

Modelling above- and below-ground mass loss and N dynamics in wooden dowels (LIDET) placed across North and Central America biomes at the decadal time scale

This article focuses on modelling above and below-ground mass loss and nitrogen (N) dynamics based on the wooden dowels (Gonystylus bancanus [Miq.] Kurz) of the decadal Long-term Intersite Decomposition Experiment (LIDET) data. These dowels were placed at 27 locations across North and Central America, involving tropical, temperate and boreal forests, grasslands, wetlands and the tundra. The dowel, inserted vertically into the soil with one half remaining exposed to the air, revealed fast mass and N losses under warm to humid conditions, and slow losses under wet as well as cold to dry conditions. The model formulation, referred to as the Wood Decomposition Model, or WDM, related these losses to (i) mean annual precipitation, mean monthly January and July air temperatures, and (ii) mean annual actual evapotranspiration (AET) at each location. The resulting calibrations conformed well to the time-in-field averages for mass remaining by location: R² = 0.83 and 0.90 for the lower and upper parts, respectively. These values dropped, respectively, to 0.41 and 0.55 for the N concentrations, and to 0.28 and 0.43 for N remaining. These reductions likely refer to error propagation and to as yet unresolved variations in N transference into and out of the wood specific to each individual dowel location. Recalibrating the model parameters by ecosystem type reduced the R² values for actual versus best-fitted mass loss by about 0.15. Doing the same without location- or ecosystem-specific adjustments reduced the R² values further, by about 0.3.