Earthworks planning for road construction projects: a case study

In this paper we construct earthwork allocation plans for a linear infrastructure road project. Fuel consumption metrics and an innovative block partitioning and modelling approach are applied to reduce costs. 2D and 3D variants of the problem were compared to see what effect, if any, occurs on solution quality. 3D variants were also considered to see what additional complexities and difficulties occur. The numerical investigation shows a significant improvement and a reduction in fuel consumption as theorised. The proposed solutions differ considerably from plans that were constructed for a distance based metric as commonly used in other approaches. Under certain conditions, 3D problem instances can be solved optimally as 2D problems

Business models for collaborative planning in transportation : an application to wood products

In this paper, we propose a framework to describe collaboration in transportation. Then, we discuss the strategic, tactical, operational and real-time transportation planning decisions and raise issues about implementing collaborative decision processes. Also, we provide a literature review of transport decision-support systems that use collaborative planning in the wood fiber flow chain in forestry. Finally, we propose a typology of different business models associated with collaboration in transport

A Methodology for Planning Road Best Management Practices Combining WEPP: Road Erosion Modeling and Simulated Annealing Optimization

Erosion from forest roads is a known problem in mountainous terrain. To abate these negative consequences, physical Best Management Practices (BMPs) are implemented, sometimes with no knowledge of erosion hot spots. With the need to minimize water quality impacts while at the same time accounting for multiple considerations and constraints, road BMP planning at the watershed scale is a difficult task. To assist in this planning process, a methodology is presented here that combines WEPP: Road erosion predictions with simulated annealing optimization. Under this methodology, erosion predictions associated with BMP options for a segment comprise the objective function of an optimization problem. This methodology was tested on a watershed in the Lake Tahoe Basin. WEPP: Road input data was gathered through road surveys. Modeling results predicted relatively little sediment leaving the forest buffer, as a result of numerous well-maintained BMPs and the dry climate found in the watershed. A sensitivity analysis for all WEPP: Road input parameters is presented, which provides insight into the general applicability of these erosion estimates as well as the relative importance of each input parameter. After evaluating erosion risk across the entire watershed, applicable BMPs were assigned to problem road segments and WEPP: Road was used to predict change in sediment leaving the buffer with BMP implementation at a given site. These predictions, combined with budget constraints as well as equipment scheduling considerations, were incorporated into an algorithm using simulated annealing as its optimization engine. Three modeled scenarios demonstrate the viability of this methodology in reducing total sediment leaving the road buffer over a planning horizon. Of the 173 segments surveyed, 38 segments could be treated using generic BMPs. For all three scenarios, BMP-SA reduced sediment leaving the buffer by as much as 70% over the course of a 20-year planning horizon. For the 38 segments treated with BMPs, sediment was reduced by greater than 90% over the planning horizon. This methodology is a viable approach for streamlining watershed-scale road network BMP planning, despite its heavy reliance on road erosion estimates

Business Models for Collaborative Planning in Transportation: an Application to Wood Products

In this paper, we propose a framework to describe collaboration in transportation. Then, we discuss the strategic, tactical, operational and real-time transportation planning decisions and raise issues about implementing collaborative decision processes. Also, we provide a literature review of transport decision-support systems that use collaborative planning in the wood fiber flow chain in forestry. Finally, we propose a typology of different business models associated with collaboration in transpor

Planning Best Management Practices to Reduce Sediment Delivery from Forest Roads Using WEPP:Road Erosion Modeling and Simulated Annealing Optimization

Planning and implementation of road BMPs on a watershed scale can be a difficult task because of the need to prioritize locations while accounting for multiple constraints, such as the available budget, continuous maintenance, and equipment scheduling. Using simulated annealing (SA) as its heuristic optimizer, BMP-SA accounts for sediment being delivered to the stream network through incorporation of modeled road erosion predictions and alternative BMP options and scheduling for problematic road segments. BMP-SA was applied to the Glenbrook Creek watershed in the Lake Tahoe Basin in Nevada, US. WEPP:Road predictions were used to identify road segments posing an erosion risk and appropriate BMPs were identified for problematic segments. Using BMP-SA, modeled road-related sediment leaving the forest buffer, thus entering streams, was minimized over the course of the planning horizon while considering budget constraints and equipment scheduling concerns. BMP-SA can be applied to any watershed but relies heavily on the perceived accuracy of road erosion predictions

Mass-Market Receiver for Static Positioning: Tests and Statistical Analyses

Nowadays, there are several low cost GPS receivers able to provide both pseudorange and carrier phase measurements in the L1band, that allow to have good realtime performances in outdoor condition. The present paper describes a set of dedicated tests in order to evaluate the positioning accuracy in static conditions. The quality of the pseudorange and the carrier phase measurements let hope for interesting results. The use of such kind of receiver could be extended to a large number of professional applications, like engineering fields: survey, georeferencing, monitoring, cadastral mapping and cadastral road. In this work, the receivers performance is verified considering a single frequency solution trying to fix the phase ambiguity, when possible. Different solutions are defined: code, float and fix solutions. In order to solve the phase ambiguities different methods are considered. Each test performed is statistically analyzed, highlighting the effects of different factors on precision and accurac

ASCR/HEP Exascale Requirements Review Report

This draft report summarizes and details the findings, results, and recommendations derived from the ASCR/HEP Exascale Requirements Review meeting held in June, 2015. The main conclusions are as follows. 1) Larger, more capable computing and data facilities are needed to support HEP science goals in all three frontiers: Energy, Intensity, and Cosmic. The expected scale of the demand at the 2025 timescale is at least two orders of magnitude -- and in some cases greater -- than that available currently. 2) The growth rate of data produced by simulations is overwhelming the current ability, of both facilities and researchers, to store and analyze it. Additional resources and new techniques for data analysis are urgently needed. 3) Data rates and volumes from HEP experimental facilities are also straining the ability to store and analyze large and complex data volumes. Appropriately configured leadership-class facilities can play a transformational role in enabling scientific discovery from these datasets. 4) A close integration of HPC simulation and data analysis will aid greatly in interpreting results from HEP experiments. Such an integration will minimize data movement and facilitate interdependent workflows. 5) Long-range planning between HEP and ASCR will be required to meet HEP's research needs. To best use ASCR HPC resources the experimental HEP program needs a) an established long-term plan for access to ASCR computational and data resources, b) an ability to map workflows onto HPC resources, c) the ability for ASCR facilities to accommodate workflows run by collaborations that can have thousands of individual members, d) to transition codes to the next-generation HPC platforms that will be available at ASCR facilities, e) to build up and train a workforce capable of developing and using simulations and analysis to support HEP scientific research on next-generation systems.Comment: 77 pages, 13 Figures; draft report, subject to further revisio

Planering av väginvesteringar

The problems around and the planning of wood flow is some of the most complex issues in the forest-sector. The experience and overview of the single employees is crucial for the possibility of correct tactical and economical decision-making. The increasing demand of savings and shorter reaction-times with greater flexibility in the wood-supply-chain, makes solutions and aids for improved effectiveness in the work and processes according to wood-flow urgent. Holmen Skog is starting to develop a new forest-road-management-system. The system will facilitate the work according to construction, improvements and updating the standard of roads. The aim of this study was to investigate the tactical and economical functionality of the decision-support tool Vägrust. The goal was to establish a plan for road improvements with 4, 6 and 8 weeks of thaw, running on 10 year at Holmen Skog district Bredbyn. Road-data, stand-data and the coming need of wood at the district founded the base which the optimization was performed. The location of the wood-volumes, conditions of the road-network with respect of accessibility and the yearly procurement-need of the industries was recorded in Vägrust. One optimization was run for each thaw-period of 4, 6 and 8 weeks by Mathias Henningsson at Linköpings universitet. The optimizations shows, in this context, a very low improvement-cost ranging between 5,6-9,7 kr/m³fub for the planning-period depending on the length of the thaw period. Vägrust, that today is a prototype decision-tool, generated useful and reliable plans of road improvements at district Bredbyn. The costs of road management at Holmen Skog AB is supposed to decrease through the use of an optimization-model for road-improvements.Problematiken runt och planering av virkesflödet är något av det mest komplexa i skogsnäringen. Idag är den enskilde tjänstemannens erfarenhet och överblick helt avgörande för att korrekta beslut kan tas, såväl ur ett taktiskt som ekonomiskt perspektiv. Med ökande besparingskrav samt krav på en allt kortare reaktionstid och högre flexibilitet i flödeskedjan är det hög tid att hitta lösningar och hjälpmedel som kan effektivisera arbetet och processerna runt virkesflödet. Holmen Skog ligger i startgroparna med att utveckla ett nytt vägförvaltningssystem. Systemet ska underlätta arbetet med vägar, dels nybyggnation och upprustning men också ajourhållning. Syftet med denna studie var att undersöka funktionaliteten i beslutsstödet Vägrust, såväl ur ett ekonomiskt som ett praktiskt perspektiv. Målet har varit att upprätta en vägupprustningsplan för 4, 6 och 8 veckors tjällossning, löpande på 10 år för Holmen Skog, distrikt Bredbyn. Väg och beståndsdata för distriktet samt för distriktet i dagsläget aktuella mottagares kommande råvarubehov utgjorde grunden för optimeringen. I Vägrust angavs virkesvolymernas geografiska läge, vägnätets beskaffenhet med avseende på tillgänglighet samt respektive industris försörjningsbehov under året. En optimering för respektive förfallsperiod 4, 6 och 8 veckor genomfördes sedan av Mathias Henningsson vid Linköpings universitet. Optimeringarna visade på i sammanhanget mycket låga upprustningskostnader för planperioden, mellan 5,6 och 9,7 kr/m³fub beroende på förfallperiodens längd. Vägrust som idag är en prototyp av ett beslutsstöd för vägupprustningar genererade användbara och trovärdiga upprustningsplaner för distrikt Bredbyn. Holmen Skog AB antas sänka kostnaden för väghållning genom att använda en optimeringsmodell för vägupprustning

Spatial multi-criteria decision process to define maintenance priorities of forest road network: an application in the Italian Alpine region

The combination of GIS tools and Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) techniques is used to develop a Decision Support System to rank the maintenance priorities of a forest road network according to the actual conditions and needs. The decision-making process is divided into 4 stages. The first stage fixes the objectives of the analysis as the minimization of the sediment production from road surface and the maximization of the social value of the road. The second stage defines the hierarchical structure of the decision problem. At this stage the set of factors (criteria) to maximize each objective and the evaluation methods are defined. At the third stage AHP analysis is applied using a specific application running on ArcGIS, to calculate the evaluation layer that represents the importance of each road according to the set objectives. The values of the evaluation layer are used at the fourth stage to rank the maintenance interventions according to the given benefit. The methodology has been tested in a forest road network with an extension of 107.8 km including in the analysis the real budget constraints and maintenance costs. The results show that the integrated use of GIS and AHP analysis represents a valuable tool to rate the importance of the forest road network for the management of a mountain territory and to define priorities among maintenance operations of the road network, in order to maximize the overall benefit with limited economic resource