An evaluation scheme for assessing the effectiveness of intersection movement assist (IMA) on improving traffic safety

Objective: Intersection movement assist (IMA) has been recognized as one of the prominent countermeasures to reduce angle crashes at intersections, which constitute 22% of total crashes in the United States. Utilizing vehicle-based sensors, vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V), and vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) communications, IMA offers extended vision to provide early warning for an imminent crash. However, most of IMA-related research implements their methods and strategies only in simulations, test tracks, or driving simulator studies that have quite a few assumptions and limitations and hence the effectiveness evaluations reported may not be transferable or comparable.

Methods: This study seeks to develop a generalized evaluation scheme that can be used not only to assess the effectiveness of IMA on improving traffic safety at intersections but to facilitate comparisons across similar studies. The proposed evaluation scheme utilizes the concepts of traffic conflict in terms of time-to-collision (TTC) as a crash surrogate. This approach avoids the issue of having insufficient crash frequency data for system evaluation. To measure the effectiveness of IMA on reducing traffic conflicts, a relative risk is calculated for comparing the risk of with/without using the IMA. As a proof-of-concept study, this study applied the proposed evaluation scheme and reported the effectiveness of IMA on improving traffic safety in a field operation test (FOT). Seven test scenarios were conducted at 4 intersections, and a total of 40 participants were recruited to use the IMA for 6 months.

Results: It was estimated that IMA users have 26% fewer conflicts with TTC less than 5 s and have 15% fewer conflicts with TTC less than 4 s. However, the results vary across different sites and different definitions of conflicts in terms of TTC.

Conclusions: Overall, IMA is promising to effectively reduce angle crashes related to sight obstruction and has potential to reduce not only crash frequency but crash severity.     

分段变速加载对含瓦斯突出煤力学特性影响试验研究

为探究采动应力变化对含瓦斯突出煤力学特性的影响,利用RLW-500G煤岩三轴蠕变-渗流试验系统,对新景矿含瓦斯突出煤进行了不同围压和瓦斯压力下的常规三轴和分段变速加载力学试验。结果表明:煤样在2种应力路径下的全应力应变曲线均可分为压密、线弹性、塑性变形、应力跌落和残余应力5个阶段;随着围压的升高或者瓦斯压力的降低,煤体在2种应力路径下的强度和弹性模量均增大;相较于常规三轴,煤体在分段变速加载路径下的强度普遍增大,峰值轴向应变、峰值环向应变绝对值和峰值体积应变绝对值也普遍增大,失稳破坏瞬间应力跌落和能量释放更加剧烈。Mohr-Coulomb强度准则仍然适用于分段变速加载条件下的含瓦斯突出煤,该研究对于认识煤与瓦斯突出的发生机制具有一定的指导意义。     

加轴压卸围压下含瓦斯煤岩损伤变形的能量演化机制

采动影响下含瓦斯煤岩的损伤变形是一个极其复杂的非线性过程,单纯依靠传统经典弹塑性力学无法准确分析其破坏机理。针对此情况,通过试验研究了不同初始围压条件下含瓦斯煤岩的损伤变形特征,并分析了损伤变形与能量演化规律之间的内在联系。研究表明:初始围压越高,煤样破坏时强度越大,脆性破坏特征越明显,瓦斯流量急剧增加幅度越大,煤样破坏时积累的总能量和弹性应变能越多,且初始围压与弹性能之间满足对数函数关系。采用累积耗散能定义了煤岩损伤变量,并分析了不同阶段损伤与渗透率之间的演化关系。     

Reclaimed Mineland Curve Number Response to Temporal Distribution of Rainfall1

Warner, Richard C., Carmen T. Agouridis, Page T. Vingralek, and Alex W. Fogle, 2010. Reclaimed Mineland Curve Number Response to Temporal Distribution of Rainfall. Journal of the American Water Resources Association (JAWRA) 46(4): 724-732. DOI: 10.1111/j.1752-1688.2010.00444.x Abstract: The curve number (CN) method is a common technique to estimate runoff volume, and it is widely used in coal mining operations such as those in the Appalachian region of Kentucky. However, very little CN data are available for watersheds disturbed by surface mining and then reclaimed using traditional techniques. Furthermore, as the CN method does not readily account for variations in infiltration rates due to varying rainfall distributions, the selection of a single CN value to encompass all temporal rainfall distributions could lead engineers to substantially under- or over-size water detention structures used in mining operations or other land uses such as development. Using rainfall and runoff data from a surface coal mine located in the Cumberland Plateau of eastern Kentucky, CNs were computed for conventionally reclaimed lands. The effects of temporal rainfall distributions on CNs was also examined by classifying storms as intense, steady, multi-interval intense, or multi-interval steady. Results indicate that CNs for such reclaimed lands ranged from 62 to 94 with a mean value of 85. Temporal rainfall distributions were also shown to significantly affect CN values with intense storms having significantly higher CNs than multi-interval storms. These results indicate that a period of recovery is present between rainfall bursts of a multi-interval storm that allows depressional storage and infiltration rates to rebound.     

Hydrological Controls and Freshening in Meromictic Soap Lake,Washington, 1939-20021

Kallis, Jahn, Leo Bodensteiner, and Anthony Gabriel, 2010. Hydrological Controls and Freshening in Meromictic Soap Lake, Washington, 1939-2002. Journal of the American Water Resources Association (JAWRA) 46(4): 744-756. DOI: 10.1111/j.1752-1688.2010.00446.x Abstract: The chemically stratified layer of naturally formed meromictic lakes exhibits unusual and often extreme physical and chemical conditions that have resulted in the evolution of uniquely adapted species. The Columbia Basin Irrigation Project appears to have had a marked effect on the hydrology of Soap Lake, a meromictic lake in the Grand Coulee of central Washington. The relation of hydrology to salinity was assessed by analyzing water budgets before and after the introduction of the irrigation project. Before irrigation, water gains were balanced by losses; after irrigation began groundwater gains approximately doubled. To manage lake levels and reduce groundwater influx, wells were installed to intercept groundwater. Although the hydrological cycle has been restored to pre-irrigation conditions, the meromictic character of the lake continues to change. Interception wells remove 10 to 16 Mm³ of groundwater annually, but influx continues based on change in the monimolimnion. From 1958 to 2003 the chemocline descended 1.1 m and the volume of the monimolimnion from 698,000 m³ to 114,000 m³. Annual loss of volume is occurring at a rate of 1.9% since 1958. Although groundwater interception wells are maintaining the volume of the entire lake, the recession of the chemocline indicates that conditions that have maintained meromixis at Soap Lake are currently not in equilibrium.     

Evaluation of the National Land Cover Database for Hydrologic Applications in Urban and Suburban Baltimore,Maryland1

Smith, Monica Lipscomb, Weiqi Zhou, Mary Cadenasso, Morgan Grove, and Lawrence E. Band, 2010. Evaluation of the National Land Cover Database for Hydrologic Applications in Urban and Suburban Baltimore, Maryland. Journal of the American Water Resources Association (JAWRA) 46(2):429-442. DOI: 10.1111/j.1752-1688.2009.00412.x Abstract: We compared the National Land Cover Database (NLCD) 2001 land cover, impervious, and canopy data products to land cover data derived from 0.6-m resolution three-band digital imagery and ancillary data. We conducted this comparison at the 1 km², 9 km², and gauged watershed scales within the Baltimore Ecosystem Study to determine the usefulness and limitations of the NLCD in heterogeneous urban to exurban environments for the determination of land-cover information for hydrological applications. Although the NLCD canopy and impervious data are significantly correlated with the high-resolution land-cover dataset, both layers exhibit bias at <10 and >70% cover. The ratio of total impervious area and connected impervious area differs along the range of percent imperviousness – at low percent imperviousness, the NLCD is a better predictor of pavement alone, whereas at higher percent imperviousness, buildings and pavement together more resemble NLCD impervious estimates. The land-cover composition and range for each NLCD urban land category (developed open space, low-intensity, medium-intensity, and high-intensity developed) is more variable in areas of low-intensity development. Fine-vegetation land-cover/lawn area is incorporated in a large number of land use categories with no ability to extract this land cover from the NLCD. These findings reveal that the NLCD may yield important biases in urban, suburban, and exurban hydrologic analyses where land cover is characterized by fine-scale spatial heterogeneity.     

An Aquifer Classification System and Geographical Information System-Based Analysis Tool for Watershed Managers in the Western U.S.1

Payne, Scott M. and William W. Woessner, 2010. An Aquifer Classification System and Geographical Information System-Based Analysis Tool for Watershed Managers in the Western U.S. Journal of the American Water Resources Association (JAWRA) 46(5):1003-1023. DOI: 10.1111/j.1752-1688.2010.00472.x Abstract: Aquifers and groundwater systems can be classified using a variety of independent methods to characterize geologic and hydraulic properties, the degree of connection with surface water, and geochemical conditions. In light of a growing global demand for water, an approach for classifying groundwater systems at the watershed scale is needed. A comprehensive classification system is proposed that combines recognized methods and new approaches. The purpose of classification is to provide groundwater professionals, policy makers, and watershed managers with a widely applicable and repeatable system that reduces sometimes cumbersome complex databases and analyzes to straightforward terminology and graphical representations. The proposed classification system uses basin geology, aquifer productivity, water quality, and the degree of groundwater/surface water connection as classification criteria. The approach is based on literature values, reference databases, and fundamental hydrologic and hydrogeologic principles. The proposed classification system treats dataset completeness as a variable and includes a tiered assessment protocol that depends on the quality and quantity of data. In addition, it assembles and catalogs groundwater information using a consistent set of nomenclature. It is designed to analyze and display results using Geographical Information System mapping tools.     

突变灰盖鬼伞过氧化物酶降解刚果红的响应面法优化分析简

酶法降解偶氮染料刚果红是一个复杂的过程,受温度、pH、酶量、刚果红浓度和双氧水浓度显著影响。为研究各因素及因素间交互作用对刚果红降解影响,提高刚果红的降解率,分别使用单因素法和响应面分析法对刚果红降解条件进行了优化。单因素实验结果显示灰盖鬼伞过氧化物酶降解刚果红的最适条件为：pH 5.0、32℃、酶量4.98 U、双氧水0.1 mmol/L、刚果红20 mg/L,此时刚果红最高降解率为34.84%。然后选双氧水浓度、刚果红浓度和灰盖鬼伞过氧化物酶量作为3个因素,通过中心组合设计实验,用响应面法对刚果红降解进行优化分析,最后得到一个拟合度良好的二次多项方程模型（R²=0.9900）。方差分析结果显示,刚果红浓度和酶量是影响最显著的因素,双氧水与酶以及染料与酶之间的交互作用极显著。响应面分析优化后的反应体系为：双氧水浓度0.15 mmol/L,刚果红浓度为27.21 mg/L,酶为2.0 7 U,在此条件下,刚果红降解率达58.13%。     

竹制填料生物接触氧化工艺处理污染河水简

针对受污染的湖溪河水质特征,以传统弹性塑料填料做对比,研究以竹球和竹丝为填料的生物接触氧化工艺,考察填料的挂膜时间、生物量和污水处理效果;确定连续曝气和间歇曝气时反应器的最优运行工况：连续曝气时为HRT=7.5 h,DO=3 mg/L;间歇曝气时为厌氧1.2 h、好氧6.3 h交替运行。实验结果表明,与弹性塑料填料相比,竹制填料挂膜速度快,竹球填料的水处理效果最好;连续曝气最优工况下竹球填料反应器中COD、TN、NH₃-N和TP的平均去除率分别为66.7%、47.9%、57.1%和30.6%;间歇曝气最优工况下竹球填料反应器中COD、TN、NH₃-N和TP的平均去除率分别64.08%、39.95%、60.7%和54.68%;竹制填料可替代传统的塑料填料作为生物接触氧化工艺的载体填料。     

高效脱硫菌的筛选及其性能研究

从高硫污染的活性污泥中富集培养,分离纯化得到一株可以降解噻吩的菌株s_4,并对该菌株的形态特征进行观察。应用Design—Expert8．0．5b软件进行响应面优化实验,研究了反应时间、噻吩浓度、微生物浓度3个因素的组合对菌株s_4脱硫效果的影响,并拟合得到多元二次回归方程,得出最佳实验条件。拟合结果表明,当反应时间27．46h,噻吩浓度为1．04％,微生物浓度4．04％时,预测噻吩降解率为14．8％,通过验证得最佳条件下的降解率为14．3％,与预测值相符。