57,090 research outputs found
Bringing World-Class High-Speed Rail to America: Special General Session, 12th Annual Transportation and Infrastructure Summit, MTI S-09-04
The 12th Annual Transportation & Infrastructure Summit, held in Irving, Texas on August 11?14, 2009, provided more than 1,100 attendees from 30 states and 13 countries the opportunity to network and interact with elected representatives and influential transportation officials from the United States, and to learn about transportation systems on a global scale. The special session, Bringing World-Class High-Speed Rail to America, featured representatives from three proposed regional high-speed rail projects currently planned for the United States. Majority Whip of the California State Assembly Fiona Ma shared information about California´s High-Speed Rail Initiative. Assemblywoman Ma talked about her experience on France´s record-breaking TGV train and her vision for bringing a similar system to California. Rick Harnish, executive director for the Midwest High-Speed Rail Association discussed how regional initiatives were working toward improving current Midwestern rail corridors and upgrading to high-speed levels to increase mobility. Robert Eckels, chair of the Texas High-Speed Rail and Transportation Corporation, shared his organization´s vision and details of Texas´ T-Bone high-speed rail project
Rail Security: Critical Insights and Applications
The Mineta Transportation Institute (MTI) presented a workshop at the request of the Transportation Research Board (TRB) Committee. The half-day discussion was offered on a timely, relevant, and critical topic, given the revelations that Osama bin Laden and al Qaida may have been planning rail attacks in the United States. While these plans were not well developed, it did underscore that terrorists do plan to expand their attacks beyond Europe and Asia. MTI presented the forum because it strongly believes that passenger rail security must be given much greater attention, especially because of the open nature of the mode and the millions of people who travel by rail each day, whether on intercity rail, subways, light rail, or commuter rail. The panel addressed the areas of primary concern and vulnerability
Rail Passenger Selective Screening Summit, MTI S-09-01
This publication is an edited transcript of the Rail Passenger Selective Screening Summit, which was co-sponsored by MTI and the American Public Transportation Association (APTA) in Chicago, Illinois on June 18, 2009, during APTA´s annual Rail Conference. The workshop was moderated by Brian Michael Jenkins, director, Mineta Transportation Institute\u27s National Transportation Security Center of Excellence (NTSCOE). Speakers included Bruce R. Butterworth, co-author, Selective Screening of Rail Passengers; Greg Hull, president, American Public Transportation Association (APTA); Paul MacMillan, chief of police, Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, Transit Police Department; Ron Masciana, deputy chief, Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA), New York; Jesus Ojeda, security coordinator, Southern California Regional Rail Authority; Ed Phillips, operations deputy, Office of Security, Amtrak; and John P. Sammon, assistant administrator, Transportation Sector Network Management, Transportation Security Administration (TSA
National Transportation Security Summit, MTI Report S-01-02
This publication is transcript of an event that was held on October 30, 2001. The Mineta Transportation Institute brought together several agency representatives from transportation and labor-related agencies from across the United States to discuss security concerns related to the surface transportation industry. The keynote speaker for the event was Secretary Norman Y. Mineta, and serving as moderators were Rod Diridon, Executive Director of MTI, and Ellen Engelman from the U.S Department of Transportation’s Research and Special Programs Administration. Welcomers included Jeff Morales, Director of Caltrans; Pete Cipolla, General Manager, Valley Transportation Authority; and John Horsley, Executive Director, AASHTO. Panelists were Brian Jenkins, MTI Counter Terrorism Research Team Leader, Dr. Larry Gerston and Dr. Frances Edwards-Winslow. Afternoon panelists were Mortimer Downey, Consultant, PV Consult; Sherrie Anderson, Program Manager, Land Transportation Security U.S DOT; Robert Prince, Jr., General Manager, Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority; Steve Vaughn, Assistant Chief, California Highway Patrol; and Dr. Christine Johnson, Program Manager, Operations Core Business Unit, FHWA
Magnetothermal and magnetorotational instabilities in hot accretion flows
In a hot, dilute, magnetized accretion flow, the electron mean-free path can
be much greater than the Larmor radius, thus thermal conduction is anisotropic
and along magnetic field lines. In this case, if the temperature decreases
outward, the flow may be subject to a buoyancy instability (the magnetothermal
instability, or MTI). The MTI amplifies the magnetic field, and aligns field
lines with the radial direction. If the accretion flow is differentially
rotating, the magnetorotational instability (MRI) may also be present. Using
two-dimensional, time-dependent magnetohydrodynamic simulations, we investigate
the interaction between these two instabilities. We use global simulations that
span over two orders of magnitude in radius, centered on the region around the
Bondi radius where the infall time of gas is longer than the growth time of
both the MTI and MRI. Significant amplification of the magnetic field is
produced by both instabilities, although we find that the MTI primarily
amplifies the radial component, and the MRI primarily the toroidal component,
of the field, respectively. Most importantly, we find that if the MTI can
amplify the magnetic energy by a factor , and the MRI by a factor ,
then when the MTI and MRI are both present, the magnetic energy can be
amplified by a factor of . We therefore conclude that
amplification of the magnetic energy by the MTI and MRI operates independently.
We also find that the MTI contributes to the transport of angular momentum,
because radial motions induced by the MTI increase the Maxwell (by amplifying
the magnetic field) and Reynolds stresses. Finally, we find that thermal
conduction decreases the slope of the radial temperature profile. The increased
temperature near the Bondi radius decreases the mass accretion rate.Comment: 8 pages, 9 figures, accepted by MNRA
Turning Over a New Leaf: The start of an electric vehicle revolution, Symposium Report S-09-08
Environmental legislation and public interest in reducing automobile emissions have generated increased efforts to develop and market electrically powered vehicles. But long-distance driving and limited infrastructure for recharging pose serious challenges. What is the industry doing to overcome these limitations? Are electric vehicles a viable solution? On May 18, 2010, the Mineta Transportation Institute (MTI), along with the the U.S. Department of Transportation, Caltrans, and other sponsors and co-sponsors, hosted a panel of experts to address the environmental impact, engineering, and market acceptance of electric vehicles, and the infrastructure needed to keep them viable. Discussion centered around the need for additional infrastructure, consumer requirements, costs, and environmental sustainability
Spherical Accretion with Anisotropic Thermal Conduction
We study the effects of anisotropic thermal conduction on magnetized
spherical accretion flows using global axisymmetric MHD simulations. In low
collisionality plasmas, the Bondi spherical accretion solution is unstable to
the magnetothermal instability (MTI). The MTI grows rapidly at large radii
where the inflow is subsonic. For a weak initial field, the MTI saturates by
creating a primarily radial magnetic field, i.e., by aligning the field lines
with the background temperature gradient. The saturation is quasilinear in the
sense that the magnetic field is amplified by a factor of
independent of the initial field strength (for weak fields). In the saturated
state, the conductive heat flux is much larger than the convective heat flux,
and is comparable to the field-free (Spitzer) value (since the field lines are
largely radial). The MTI by itself does not appreciably change the accretion
rate relative to the Bondi rate . However, the radial field
lines created by the MTI are amplified by flux freezing as the plasma flows in
to small radii. Oppositely directed field lines are brought together by the
converging inflow, leading to significant resistive heating. When the magnetic
energy density is comparable to the gravitational potential energy density, the
plasma is heated to roughly the virial temperature; the mean inflow is highly
subsonic; most of the energy released by accretion is transported to large
radii by thermal conduction; and the accretion rate . The
predominantly radial magnetic field created by the MTI at large radii in
spherical accretion flows may account for the stable Faraday rotation measure
towards Sgr A* in the Galactic Center.Comment: accepted in MNRAS with some modifications suggested by the referee;
15 pages, 16 figure
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