8,072 research outputs found

    Driver attitude and its influence on the energy waste of electric buses

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    The objective of this paper is to analyze the influence of different driver behaviors on the energy consumption of electric buses. It shows that risk-taking attitudes on traffic are not only dangerous to the driver, to the bus users and to the surroundings, but also promotes a poorer performance of the vehicle itself, increasing its energy consumption and reducing the amount of energy that can be recovered on regenerative braking.This work is financially supported by FEDER Funds, through the Operational Programme for Competitiveness Factors – COMPETE under the project grant 13844. Authors acknowledge FCT (Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia) support to Deborah Perrotta through PhD scholarship (SFRH/BD/51256/2010) under the scope of the MIT Portugal Program in Engineering Design and Advanced Manufacturing – Leaders for Technical Industries focus area, and to Zafeiris Kokkinogenis through PhD scholarship (SFRH/BD/67202/2009) in the Informatics Engineering doctoral programme at FEUP

    The State of the Art in Fuel Cell Condition Monitoring and Maintenance

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    Fuel cell vehicles are considered to be a viable solution to problems such as carbon emissions and fuel shortages for road transport. Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) Fuel Cells are mainly used in this purpose because they can run at low temperatures and have a simple structure. Yet to make this technology commercially viable, there are still many hurdles to overcome. Apart from the high cost of fuel cell systems, high maintenance costs and short lifecycle are two main issues need to be addressed. The main purpose of this paper is to review the issues affecting the reliability and lifespan of fuel cells and present the state of the art in fuel cell condition monitoring and maintenance. The Structure of PEM fuel cell is introduced and examples of its application in a variety of applications are presented. The fault modes including membrane flooding/drying, fuel/gas starvation, physical defects of membrane, and catalyst poisoning are listed and assessed for their impact. Then the relationship between causes, faults, symptoms and long term implications of fault conditions are summarized. Finally the state of the art in PEM fuel cell condition monitoring and maintenance is reviewed and conclusions are drawn regarding suggested maintenance strategies and the optimal structure for an integrated, cost effective condition monitoring and maintenance management system

    Transportation Systems Analysis and Assessment

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    The transportation system is the backbone of any social and economic system, and is also a very complex system in which users, transport means, technologies, services, and infrastructures have to cooperate with each other to achieve common and unique goals.The aim of this book is to present a general overview on some of the main challenges that transportation planners and decision makers are faced with. The book addresses different topics that range from user's behavior to travel demand simulation, from supply chain to the railway infrastructure capacity, from traffic safety issues to Life Cycle Assessment, and to strategies to make the transportation system more sustainable

    Modular space station phase B extension period executive summary

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    A narrative summary is presented of technical, programmatic, and planning information developed during the space station definition study extension period. The modular space station is emphasized, but tasks pertaining to shuttle sorties missions and information management advanced development are included. A series of program options considering technical, schedule, and programmatic alternatives to the baseline program are defined and evaluated

    Investigating Transport Energy Consumption Patterns on Sustainable Campuses

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    This research investigates the energy consumption patterns of the students at the University of Stavanger, particularly that of the students residing in student housing facilities (SIS). An energy estimation methodology was developed and applied to analyse the annual consumption of students with a focus on transportation energy. Household energy consumption was also designated as a supplementary sector to achieve comparability with the results of the transport sector, revealing significantly higher yearly figures in households especially due to the cold Norwegian climate. Hereby, the study emphasizes the importance of transport energy which constitutes a substantial amount of a university student’s energy footprint. The study questions whether on-campus residency leads to lower energy consumption in transportation and carbon emissions, with a notion of promoting active transportation methods and enhanced campus amenities. It points out the potential of an expected shift to an electric bus fleet from the diesel equivalents and the energy reduction caused by the collective use of private vehicles. Furthermore, the research explores the relationship between housing density and energy consumption loads for transport and household sectors. The findings demonstrate that densely built multi-dwelling housing facilities lead to lower household energy load per capita, but higher transport energy load per unit area, and the proximity to the campus results in lower annual transport energy consumption. Therefore, a combination of dense housing facilities and robust transportation strategies are the key factors to reduce energy demand. Although the results are context-specific to Norway, the research provides a replicable methodological approach for higher education campuses to reduce carbon emissions and energy consumption, while emphasizing the need for a holistic view of energy consumption, integrating individual behaviour, and comprehensive planning of sustainable transportation development

    Analysis of low carbon transport in Brunei Darussalam : case study of a sustainability transition in an oil-rich economy

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    Moving towards sustainable transportation is a challenging task for Brunei, a small oil-rich country situated in South East Asia, whose population currently enjoys subsidised petrol feeding a culture heavily reliant on the automobile for personal mobility. This study aims to investigate the potential for the development of low-carbon transportation in Brunei Darussalam by using the Multi-Level Perspective of socio-technical transition.This study uses mixed methods (survey questionnaires, interviews, and secondary data) to gain insights into the problems, issues, solutions and expectations of sustainable transportation in Brunei. In summary, Bruneians are over dependent on cars and the majority have negative attitudes and behaviour regarding bus services. The findings on resistance to alternative vehicles in this study are complex, compared to the current literature. The key factors are the car-oriented culture (the product of parenting, employment and security), current transport policies and other government initiatives (such as heavily subsidised petrol); all of which tend to promote the use of cars over buses.The data were then incorporated into the three levels of the Multi-level Perspective. Results indicated that the transition in Brunei towards sustainable transportation (particularly towards low carbon transportation) is on-going but few disruptions in the regime, (especially attitudes and perceptions) are occurring. The complexity of transition and the technical, institutional, policy and car-related cultures have proved to be the barriers. The niches are finding it hard to compete with the current regime. Furthermore, fragmentations in the transportation institutions contribute to the failure to make progress towards sustainability. Therefore, the potential for transition to low-carbon transportation is essentially challenging and a difficult task to achieve. Thus, this thesis contributes to the transition literature in which the study of human attitudes, behaviour and perceptions (non-technological niche) towards sustainable transport are often under-researched and the study of single, or top-down governance, seems to be limited

    Investigating users' preferences for Low Emission Buses : Experiences from Europe's largest hydrogen bus fleet

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    The Health Economics Research Unit is funded by the Chief Scientists Office (CSO) of the Scottish Government Health and Social Care Directorate. The views expressed paper in this paper are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the CSO. Data collection for this study was funded by the Henderson Economics Research Fund. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, or preparation of the manuscript.Peer reviewedPostprin

    Driving behaviour and sustainable mobility-policies and approaches revisited

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    Climate change is receiving increasing attention in recent years. The transportation sector contributes substantially to increased fuel consumption, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and poor air quality, which imposes a serious respiratory health hazard. Road transport has made a significant contribution to this effect. Consequently, many countries have attempted to mitigate climate change using various strategies. This study analysed and compared the number of policies and other approaches necessary to achieve reduced fuel consumption and carbon emission. Frequency aggregation indicates that the mitigation policies associated with driving behaviours adopted to curtail this consumption and decrease hazardous emissions, as well as a safety enhancement. Furthermore, car-sharing/carpooling was the least investigated approach to establish its influence on mitigation of climate change. Additionally, the influence of such driving behaviours as acceleration/deceleration and the compliance to speed limits on each approach was discussed. Other driving behaviours, such as gear shifting, compliance to traffic laws, choice of route, and idling and braking style, were also discussed. Likewise, the influence of aggression, anxiety, and motivation on driving behaviour of motorists was highlighted. The research determined that driving behaviours can lead to new adaptive driving behaviours and, thus, cause a significant decrease of vehicle fuel consumption and CO2 emissions. - 2018 by the authors.Scopu
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