Autonomous emergency braking systems adapted to snowy road conditions improve drivers' perceived safety and trust

Objective: This study investigated drivers' evaluation of a conventional autonomous emergency braking (AEB) system on high and reduced tire–road friction and compared these results to those of an AEB system adaptive to the reduced tire–road friction by earlier braking. Current automated systems such as the AEB do not adapt the vehicle control strategy to the road friction; for example, on snowy roads. Because winter precipitation is associated with a 19% increase in traffic crashes and a 13% increase in injuries compared to dry conditions, the potential of conventional AEB to prevent collisions could be significantly improved by including friction in the control algorithm. Whereas adaption is not legally required for a conventional AEB system, higher automated functions will have to adapt to the current tire–road friction because human drivers will not be required to monitor the driving environment at all times. For automated driving functions to be used, high levels of perceived safety and trust of occupants have to be reached with new systems. The application case of an AEB is used to investigate drivers' evaluation depending on the road condition in order to gain knowledge for the design of future driving functions.

Methods: In a driving simulator, the conventional, nonadaptive AEB was evaluated on dry roads with high friction (μ = 1) and on snowy roads with reduced friction (μ = 0.3). In addition, an AEB system adapted to road friction was designed for this study and compared with the conventional AEB on snowy roads with reduced friction. Ninety-six drivers (48 males, 48 females) assigned to 5 age groups (20–29, 30–39, 40–49, 50–59, and 60–75 years) drove with AEB in the simulator. The drivers observed and evaluated the AEB's braking actions in response to an imminent rear-end collision at an intersection.

Results: The results show that drivers' safety and trust in the conventional AEB were significantly lower on snowy roads, and the nonadaptive autonomous braking strategy was considered less appropriate on snowy roads compared to dry roads. As expected, the adaptive AEB braking strategy was considered more appropriate for snowy roads than the nonadaptive strategy. In conditions of reduced friction, drivers' subjective safety and trust were significantly improved when driving with the adaptive AEB compared to the conventional AEB. Women felt less safe than men when AEB was braking. Differences between age groups were not of statistical significance.

Conclusions: Drivers notice the adaptation of the autonomous braking strategy on snowy roads with reduced friction. On snowy roads, they feel safer and trust the adaptive system more than the nonadaptive automation.     

Motorcycle crashes potentially preventable by three crash avoidance technologies on passenger vehicles

Objective: The objective of this study was to identify and quantify the motorcycle crash population that would be potential beneficiaries of 3 crash avoidance technologies recently available on passenger vehicles.

Methods: Two-vehicle crashes between a motorcycle and a passenger vehicle that occurred in the United States during 2011–2015 were classified by type, with consideration of the functionality of 3 classes of passenger vehicle crash avoidance technologies: frontal crash prevention, lane maintenance, and blind spot detection. Results were expressed as the percentage of crashes potentially preventable by each type of technology, based on all known types of 2-vehicle crashes and based on all crashes involving motorcycles.

Results: Frontal crash prevention had the largest potential to prevent 2-vehicle motorcycle crashes with passenger vehicles. The 3 technologies in sum had the potential to prevent 10% of fatal 2-vehicle crashes and 23% of police-reported crashes. However, because 2-vehicle crashes with a passenger vehicle represent fewer than half of all motorcycle crashes, these technologies represent a potential to avoid 4% of all fatal motorcycle crashes and 10% of all police-reported motorcycle crashes.

Discussion: Refining the ability of passenger vehicle crash avoidance systems to detect motorcycles represents an opportunity to improve motorcycle safety. Expanding the capabilities of these technologies represents an even greater opportunity. However, even fully realizing these opportunities can affect only a minority of motorcycle crashes and does not change the need for other motorcycle safety countermeasures such as helmets, universal helmet laws, and antilock braking systems.     

上游阻挡建筑间距对街谷内空气环境的影响

城市中的大部分街谷都存在上游阻挡建筑.为考察阻挡建筑对街谷内空气环境的影响,通过数值计算方法研究分析了上游阻挡建筑对街谷内空气品质的影响作用,结果表明,在常规建筑间距范围内,街谷湍流强度、平均风速和风速波动范围均随着上游阻挡建筑间距增大而减小,这将导致当上游阻挡建筑与街谷建筑间距从15m增加到60m时,街谷空间污染物平均浓度增大36%,近地空间增大41%.因此,实际设计中街谷上游阻挡建筑与临街建筑间的距离不应过大.     

长输管道穿越河流的环境影响及对策浅析

由于近年来施工机械及河流穿越技术的不断进步,对于各地区不同的气候和地质条件,各类长输管道穿越河流等特殊地段的施工方式日趋多样化,除工程成本及管线安全性外,也更多的考虑到了工程施工给周边环境带来的不良影响,如何在穿越地段选择合理的施工方式和污染防治措施已成为工程设计阶段的重要关注点,本文主要针对目前中国油气长输管道穿越河流段普遍采用的施工方式进行环境影响分析,并在此基础上提出相应污染防治措施。     

基于距离相关系数和支持向量机回归的PM2.5浓度滚动统计预报方案

针对目前空气质量统计预报方法存在的主要缺陷,本文提出了距离相关系数和支持向量机回归相结合的统计预报方案DC-SVR.利用淮安市2013年1—12月PM_(2.5)观测资料和常规气象观测资料,首先在选入预报当日气象要素的基础上,增加选取前期污染物和气象要素作为预报因子,再采用距离相关系数分季节从预报因子中筛选出重要预报因子,最后采用支持向量机回归对PM_(2.5)浓度值进行逐日滚动统计预报.研究发现,淮安地区气温和气压对PM_(2.5)的距离相关性要高于其他气象要素,夏秋季PM_(2.5)与气象要素的距离相关性较春冬季好.基于距离相关系数和支持向量机回归建立DC-SVR模型,PM_(2.5)的试预报值和实测值的全年相关系数高达0.76,平均偏差仅为1.13μg·m~(-3),平均绝对误差为23.47μg·m~(-3).通过与支持向量机回归、人工神经网络的统计预报效果对比,DC-SVR模型有效降低预报因子维数且能自适应选取最佳参数,预报精度显著优于其他3种统计预报方案,可为业务化预报提供参考.     

近距离煤层群叠加开采采动应力与覆岩位移场演化特征

为获得近距离煤层群叠加开采条件下采动应力与覆岩位移场的演化特征,以潘二矿近距离煤层6,7煤层地质条件为背景,采用相似模拟与工程实践相结合的方法进行了研究。结果表明:近距离煤层群叠加开采形成的覆岩宏观运移形态和特征与单一煤层开采相似,叠加开采时,覆岩呈多岩层整体协调运移的规律,具有位移叠加增长效应;7煤层的开采使覆岩起到一定的垫层作用,缓和了矿山压力,使近距离煤层叠加开采时具有应力减弱效应;与开采7煤层相比,6煤层开采过程中,周期来压步距减小,来压时支架载荷减弱,动压系数相应减小,但周期来压时,存在部分岩层发生台阶式下沉的现象。基于近距离煤层群叠加开采研究结果,在近距离煤层群开采的设备选型时,选用了高额定工作阻力的液压支架,在周期来压期间,采取了一定的辅助措施,同时加强了组织管理,生产中没有发生冲击液压支架及其他动力灾害的现象。     

SCREEN3模型在大气环境管理中的应用研究

基于高斯扩散的单源估算模式SCREEN3计算佛山市环境统计企业的SO2排放最大落地浓度距离,发现全市工业企业SO2排放最大落地浓度距离为0.4~13.5 km.其中水泥和火电等高架源的最大落地浓度的距离最远.佛山市及五区纳入环境统计的重点废气排放企业平均的SO2排放最大落地浓度距离为2.9~4.9 km,能直接影响国控监测点位的企业合计37家,其中40%为高明区的企业.该结果证明加强空气质量国控监测点位周边至少5 km内废气排放企业的督查有利于空气质量的改善.     

油田生产设施环境安全距离理论与估算方法初探

石油生产会带来各种不利的环境影响,甚至造成许多重大安全隐患,并由此对区域生态环境构成严重威胁.对此笔者提出环境安全距离概念及其理论模型,并结合油田主要生产设施的环境影响分析,给出了油田生产过程中气体污染物排放、噪声污染、井喷、管线泄漏和火灾爆炸的环境安全距离估算方法,从而为减轻油田生产的潜在环境影响和损害,解决城市规划建设与油田已建设施之间的矛盾和确保油田生产的环境安全提供科学依据和管理对策.     

An assessment of how distance and diesel oxidation catalyst will impact thermal decomposition behaviors of particles

Decomposition mass loss and pyrolysis products analyses of particles sampled at various locations along the tailpipe of a Euro-IV diesel engine were performed using a thermogravimetry in conjunction with Fourier transformation infrared spectrometry-mass spectrum. Diesel particles were collected at the same location with and without diesel oxidation catalyst (DOC) mounted on the test engine separately. The three poles in thermal gravity-differential thermal gravity images suggested that the decomposition process of diesel particles could be divided into three stages which correspond to the decompositions of lower boiling substances, higher boiling substances and soot respectively. It is noticed that no matter whether DOC was mounted or not, the further the particles were sampled away from the engine block, the lower the peak temperatures and the heavier the mass losses within the first two stages, which indicated that the soluble organic fraction in the particle samples increased and therefore lowering the activation energy of thermal decomposition. Hydroxyl, ammonia, C_xH_y fragments, benzene, toluene, and phenol were found to be the primary products of particle decomposition, which didn't change with the location of particle sample point. The employment of DOC increased the activation energy for particle oxidation and resulted in a higher peak temperature and lower mass loss within the first-stage. Moreover, the CO stretching bands of aldehyde and ketone at 1771 cm^?1 was only detected without a DOC, while the NO₂ peak at 1634 cm^?1 was solely noticed with the presence of DOC. Compared to the first-stage pyrolysis products, more polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and less C_xH_y fragments were seen in the second-stage.