The European bus system of the future: Research and innovation

The development of a new generation of bus systems was the goal of the European Bus System of the Future (EBSF) project, funded by the European Commission within the 7th Framework Program. To accomplish this, a series of very different innovative solutions for buses (such as new vehicle layouts, advanced remote maintenance systems, improved on-board communication systems, more performing bus stops and eco-efficient engines) were simultaneously tested in seven Use Cases (UCs) in Europe (Bremerhaven, Brunoy, Budapest, Gothenburg, Madrid, Rome and Rouen). All the tested measures had to increase the attractiveness and improve the image of the mode. The efficiency of all of them was assessed as well as their transferability to other European contexts. The paper describes the tested solutions and focuses on the assessment methodology, the main results achieved and the drivers and barriers for the transfer of such solutions across Europe

Compressible Media for Water Treatment

Tertiary water treatment is used to remove total suspended solids (TSS) from wastewater. Suez uses compressible media for their tertiary water treatment. There have been supplier issues in the past such as unreliability, long lead-times, unknown manufacturing process, and chances of resale. The chance of resale is an important issue because the specifications may change from one supplier to another. The group was tasked to characterize different types of compressible media for water treatment, design a lab scale filtration unit, and design and manufacture a new media to be tested. In order to gain an operational expenditure advantage, Suez accomplishes media compression without the use of a mechanical device, which was taken into account when designing the filtration unit. The media characterization determined that the media’s fiber was crimped polyethylene terephthalate and the node was atactic polystyrene. The original media was tested on the lab scale filtration unit at concentrations of 10, 30, and 50 mg TSS/L. Due to the size of PVC column diameter (3 inches), channeling and wall-effects were observed, which allowed solids to pass through the media. Because of these effects, the 10 mg TSS/L run was the only acceptable test in terms of turbidity requirements (\u3c2 NTU). New media was designed and manufactured using uncrimped polyethylene terephthalate and hot melt adhesive. The team has future plans to test the new media on the filtration unit. It is expected that the media will be less successful because the fibers are uncrimped.https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/capstone/1156/thumbnail.jp

Influence of Super-Horizon Scales on Cosmological Observables Generated during Inflation

Using the techniques of out-of-equilibrium field theory, we study the influence on the properties of cosmological perturbations generated during inflation on observable scales coming from fluctuations corresponding today to scales much bigger than the present Hubble radius. We write the effective action for the coarse-grained inflaton perturbations integrating out the sub-horizon modes, which manifest themselves as a colored noise and lead to memory effects. Using the simple model of a scalar field with cubic self-interactions evolving in a fixed de Sitter background, we evaluate the two- and three-point correlation function on observable scales. Our basic procedure shows that perturbations do preserve some memory of the super-horizon-scale dynamics, in the form of scale-dependent imprints in the statistical moments. In particular, we find a blue tilt of the power-spectrum on large scales, in agreement with the recent results of the WMAP collaboration which show a suppression of the lower multipoles in the Cosmic Microwave Background anisotropies, and a substantial enhancement of the intrinsic non-Gaussianity on large scalesComment: 19 pages, 5 figures. One reference adde

An analysis on health care costs due to accidents involving powered two wheelers to increase road safety

Powered Two Wheelers (PTWs) provide a convenient mode for a large portion of population in many cities. At the same time PTWs present serious system problems, the most important being poorer safety if compared to other motorized modes. But even when lower safety levels are acknowledged, problems behind are far from being solved. Rome is an example: although PTWs accidents rates are not negligible, the need for a specific safety policy is still unmet. Therefore the local Mobility Agency appointed the authors of this paper for a study of PTWs accidents occurring in the urban area. An assessment of the associated health care costs was also required. The objective of the paper is to report the main outcomes of this study highlighting recurring features of PTWs accidents, the high health care costs and how to quantify the economic resources to improve safety. The methodology was based on three steps: i) an analysis of the causes of PTWs accidents, which resulted into the location of black spots and assessment of the severity of the events; ii) the estimation of health care costs after a scientific literature review; iii) the association of health care costs to black spots and accidents severity to rank interventions to improve PTWs safety. This led to a final list of roads where PTWs accidents of the highest severity occurred and the required economic resources to improve their safety level. This stressed, for the first time, the unaffordable expenditures due to PTWs accidents. In conclusion, the issue whether the awareness of such costs can be used as leverage for more mindful behaviors among the riders is addressed

Increasing Potential of Road Pricing for Improved Efficiency of Urban Transportation

There are a number of factors which contribute to the continuous pressure for driving in different cities. However most serious, but often overlooked is the problem that the structure of costs of driving stimulates excessive car use. This paper presents the structure of driving costs and classifies then into user, social and environmental costs. The incidence of all these costs is discussed. The importance of using road pricing for a more effective control of the demand for car travel is shown. The paper reviews objectives of road pricing and actions for their implementation and concludes that the need for road pricing and opportunities for its applications will greatly increased in the foreseeable future

Theory and Practice of Metro Network Design

Most transit networks are designed empirically. For bus net­works this process 1s often satisfactory because bus routes and networks are very dependent on local conditions, and they can be easily modified, allowing easy corrections of problems which line design may cause in operations. However, with transit systems which have extensive infrastructure, most typically metro lines and networks, corrections are ex­tremely difficult to make. Develop­ment of an optimal network and avoidance of design features which result in operational pro­blems are therefore of great im­portance. Yet, the experiences from the design and operation of such large older metro systems as London, Moscow, New York, Pan\u27s and Tokyo, or from numerous recently built medium-size metro systems, such as Hong Kong, San Francisco, Sao Paulo and Washington, remain largely unknown to the designers of new metro networks. This paper presents a theoretical analysis of transit lines and networks and its applications. The focus is on network geometry and operational characteristics. The basic design and operational elements, such as geometric forms of lines, headways, schedules, etc., are discussed in general terms, valid for any mode; however, the main focus is on metro systems because of the par­ticular importance of these analyses for fixed, permanent systems

Role and Organization of Transfers in Transit Networks

Passenger transfers among transit lines involve certain resistance , because they cause some delay and require passenger orientation and walking between vehicles on different lines. Therefore it is sometimes believed that transfers are undesirable and that they should be avoided whenever possible. The fact is, however, that transit networks with many transfer opportunities offer passengers much greater selection of travel paths than networks with disconnected lines which involve no transferring. In addition, the more transferring is performed, the greater is network efficiency, because each line can be designed optimally for its physical conditions, volume and character of demand. Consequently, when transfers are planned correctly, the resistance for passengers can be easily outweighed by the benefits transfers bring with respect to line alignments, schedules and, eventually, in better services offered. Passenger transfers among lines thus represent an important element of transit travel

Car Sharing in Rome: a Case Study to Support Sustainable Mobility

AbstractAlthough a “niche” measure, Car Sharing (CS) in Rome proved to be popular and worthy of a city-wide upscale. This prompted the municipality to develop an expansion plan. The authors, responsible for this plan, had to appraise whether CS could be successfully transferred to other locations and assess the environmental benefits thus far achieved as a way to increase CS attractiveness. The paper describes the methodology used and the main results i.e., the operational thresholds and the quality of the built environment required to start operating the service successfully in new districts of the city, along with the benefits for the community, especially under the environmental point of view

The role of structure in the chemically induced deformations of FEBEX bentonite

The paper presents the experimental results of an investigation aimed at understanding the role played by the soil structure in the evolution of chemo-mechanical-coupled processes in bentonite. The objective was pursued by subjecting samples with different structures to similar salinisation–desalinisation cycles. Samples were prepared at approximately the same void ratio by means of either static compaction at hygroscopic humidity or starting from slurries consolidated under mechanical loads. The investigation was carried out both from a macroscopic point of view (measuring the induced deformations) and from a microscopic point of view (ESEM analysis, mercury intrusion porosimetry). It is evidenced how the behaviour of the compacted samples differs from the one in the consolidated samples, especially as far as the evolution in time of the deformations is considered. An attempt to explain the differences by means of structural considerations is then provided

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