Optimization of Locomotive Management and Fuel Consumption in Rail Freight Transport

For the enormous capital investment and high operation expense of locomotives, the locomotive management/assignment and fuel consumption are two of the most important areas for railway industry, especially in freight train transportation. Several algorithms have been developed for the Locomotive Assignment Problem (LAP), including exact mathematics models, approximate dynamic programming and heuristics. These previously published optimization algorithms suffer from scalability or solution accuracy issues. In addition, each of the optimization models lacks part of the constraints that are necessary in real-world train/locomotive operation, e.g., maintenance/shop constraints or consist busting avoidance. Furthermore, there are rarely research works for the reduction of total train energy consumption on the locomotive assignment level. The thesis is organized around our three main contributions. Firstly we propose a “consist travel plan” based LAP optimization model, which covers all the required meaningful constraints and which can efficiently be solved using large scale optimization techniques, namely column generation (CG) decomposition. Our key contribution is that our LAP model can evaluate the occurrence of consist busting using the number of consist travel plans, and allows locomotive status transformation in flow conservation constraints. In addition, a new column generation acceleration architecture is developed, that allows the subproblem, i.e., column generator to create multiple columns in each iteration, that each is an optimal solution for a reduced sub-network. This new CG architecture reduces computational time greatly comparing to our original LAP model. For train fuel consumption, we derive, linearize and integrate a train fuel consumption model into our LAP model. In addition, we establish a conflict-free pre-process for time windows for train rescheduling without touching train-meet time and position. The new LAP-fuel consumption model works fine for the optimization of the train energy exhaustion on the locomotive assignment level. For the optimization models above, the numerical results are conducted on the railway network infrastructure of Canada Pacific Railway (CPR), with up to 1,750 trains and 9 types of locomotives over a two-week time period in the entire CPR railway network

New electric utility management and control systems : proceedings of conference, held in Boxborough, Massachusetts, May 30-June 1, 1979

"This work was supported by the Center for Energy Policy Research and the Electric Power Systems Engineering Laboratory of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Ninth Workshop and Tutorial on Practical Use of Coloured Petri Nets and the CPN Tools, Aarhus, Denmark, October 20-22, 2008

This booklet contains the proceedings of the Ninth Workshop on Practical Use of Coloured Petri Nets and the CPN Tools, October 20-22, 2008. The workshop is organised by the CPN group at the Department of Computer Science, University of Aarhus, Denmark. The papers are also available in electronic form via the web pages: http://www.daimi.au.dk/CPnets/workshop0

On IP over WDM burst-switched long haul and metropolitan area networks

The IP over Wavelength Division Multiplexing (WDM) network is a natural evolution ushered in by the phenomenal advances in networking technologies and technical breakthroughs in optical communications, fueled by the increasing demand in the reduction of operation costs and the network management complexity. The unprecedented bandwidth provisioning capability and the multi-service supportability of the WDM technology, in synergy with the data-oriented internetworking mechanisms, facilitates a common shared infrastructure for the Next Generation Internet (NGJ). While NGI targets to perform packet processing directly on the optical transport layer, a smooth evolution is critical to success. Intense research has been conducted to design the new generation optical networks that retain the advantages of packet-oriented transport prototypes while rendering elastic network resource utilization and graded levels of service. This dissertation is focused on the control architecture, enabling technologies, and performance analysis of the WDM burst-switched long haul and Metropolitan Area Networks (MANs). Theoretical analysis and simulation results are reported to demonstrate the system performance and efficiency of proposed algorithms. A novel transmission mechanism, namely, the Forward Resource Reservation (ERR) mechanism, is proposed to reduce the end-to-end delay for an Optical Burst Switching (OBS)-based IP over WDM system. The ERR scheme adopts a Linear Predictive Filter and an aggressive reservation strategy for data burst length prediction and resource reservation, respectively, and is extended to facilitate Quality of Service (QoS) differentiation at network edges. The ERR scheme improves the real-time communication services for applications with time constraints without deleterious system costs. The aggressive strategy for channel holding time reservations is proposed. Specifically, two algorithms, the success probability-driven (SPD) and the bandwidth usage-driven (BUD) ones, are proposed for resource reservations in the FRRenabled scheme. These algorithms render explicit control on the latency reduction improvement and bandwidth usage efficiency, respectively, both of which are important figures of performance metrics. The optimization issue for the FRR-enabled system is studied based on two disciplines - addressing the static and dynamic models targeting different desired objectives (in terms of algorithm efficiency and system performance), and developing a \u27\u27crank back\u27\u27 based signaling mechanism to provide bandwidth usage efficiency. The proposed mechanisms enable the network nodes to make intelligent usage of the bandwidth resources. In addition, a new control architecture with enhanced address resolution protocol (E-ARP), burst-based transmission, and hop-based wavelength allocation is proposed for Ethernet-supported IP over WDM MANs. It is verified, via theoretical analysis and simulation results, that the E-ARP significantly reduces the call setup latency and the transmission requirements associated with the address probing procedures; the burst-based transport mechanism improves the network throughput and resource utilization; and the hop-based wavelength allocation algorithm provides bandwidth multiplexing with fairness and high scalability. The enhancement of the Ethernet services, in tandem with the innovative mechanisms in the WDM domain, facilitates a flexible and efficient integration, thus making the new generation optical MAN optimized for the scalable, survivable, and IP-dominated network at gigabit speed possible

Development of fire-resistant, low smoke generating, thermally stable end items for commercial aircraft and spacecraft using a basic polyimide resin

A terpolyimide precursor was developed which can be foamed by microwave methods and yields foams possessing the best seating properties. A continuous process, based on spray drying techniques, permits production of polyimide powder precursors in large quantities. The constrained rise foaming process permits fabrication of rigid foam panels with improved mechanical properties and almost unlimited density characteristics. Polyimide foam core rigid panels were produced by this technique with woven fiberglass fabric bonded to each side of the panel in a one step microwave process. The fire resistance of polyimide foams was significantly improved by the addition of ceramic fibers to the powder precursors. Foams produced from these compositions are flexible, possess good acoustical attenuation and meet the minimum burnthrough requirements when impinged by high flux flame sources

Simulation of packet and cell-based communication networks

This thesis investigates, using simulation techniques, the practical aspects of implementing a novel mobility protocol on the emerging Broadband Integrated Services Digital Network standard. The increasing expansion of telecommunications networks has meant that the demand for simulation has increased rapidly in recent years; but conventional simulators are slow and developments in the communications field are outstripping the ability of sequential uni-processor simulators. Newer techniques using distributed simulation on a multi-processor network are investigated in an attempt to make a cell-level simulation of a non-trivial B.-I.S.D.N. network feasible. The current state of development of the Asynchronous Transfer Mode standard, which will be used to implement a B.-I.S.D.N., is reviewed and simulation studies of the Orwell Slotted Ring protocol were made in an attempt to devise a simpler model for use in the main simulator. The mobility protocol, which uses a footprinting technique to simplify hand- offs by distributing information about a connexion to surrounding base stations, was implemented on the simulator and found to be functional after a few 'special case' scenarios had been catered for

Aspekte der Verkehrstelematik – ausgewählte Veröffentlichungen 2015

Mit dem sechsten Band der Schriftenreihe Verkehrstelematik wird ein Überblick über die intermodalen Forschungsthemen des Jahres 2015 der Professur für Verkehrsleitsysteme und ‑prozessautomatisierung der Fakultät Verkehrswissenschaften „Friedrich List“ der Technischen Universität Dresden anhand ausgewählter Veröffentlichungen gegeben. Sieben ausgewählte Artikel der Mitarbeiter, hauptsächlich veröffentlicht im Rahmen nationaler und internationaler Konferenzen, wurden dafür zusammengestellt. Die ersten Schwerpunkte bilden dabei die energieoptimale Steuerung und das Verkehrsmanagement im Schienenverkehr. Hier wird der Frage nachgegangen, wie Störungen des Bahnbetriebs im Echtzeit-Betriebsmanagement mit mathematischen Methoden begegnet werden kann. Als ein Ansatzpunkt wird das Erzeugen von robusten, stabilen und dabei auch energieeffizienten Fahrplänen diskutiert. Weiterhin wird versucht, im Rahmen des Betriebsmanagements mittels Konfliktlösungsalgorithmen operativ aktualisierte Fahrpläne so aufzubereiten, dass eine Umsetzung mit fahrzeugseitigen Fahrerassistenzsystemen ermöglicht und ein energieeffizienter Betrieb sichergestellt ist. Im zweiten Teil des Bandes wird gezeigt, wie die Methoden und Algorithmen der energieoptimalen Fahrweise und eines entsprechenden Fahrerassistenzsystems auf die Straßenbahn und auch den Bus übertragen werden können. Anschließend wird gänzlich auf den Individualverkehr fokussiert und der Frage der Reichweitenoptimierung elektrischer Fahrzeuge durch energieeffiziente Routing-Algorithmen unter Berücksichtigung von Echtzeit-Verkehrslagedaten nachgegangen. Wie im Schienenverkehr wird das Finden der optimalen Fahrstrategie auch hier durch Fahrerassistenzsysteme unterstützt

Multi Agent Systems for the Active Management of Electrical Distribution Networks

This Thesis presents an investigation on the technical impacts caused by the steady state operation of Small-Scale Embedded Generators (SSEGs) and also introduces the Small Scale Energy Zone (SSEZ) concept which aims to remove the technical barriers associated with SSEGs through intelligent coordination of large numbers of customerowned SSEGs, energy storage units and controllable loads. This approach represents a move away from the conventional passive, “fit-and-forget” philosophy under which the majority of Low Voltage (LV) distribution networks are currently operated and towards a higher degree of network operational management. The employment of a distributed management and control approach for an SSEZ, realised through the Multi Agent Systems (MAS) technology, is proposed due to the advantages that can potentially be realised in the areas of: (i) scalability and openness, (ii) reliability and resilience and (iii) communications efficiency. A FIPA-compliant MAS-based control approach is designed, developed and evaluated based on the specific SSEZ control requirements. The MAS is composed of three types of agents: direct control agents, indirect control agents and utility agents, exchanging information through the employment of a common ontology. In addition, a relational database management system is also designed and developed in order to be coupled with the developed MAS for data management purposes