State Transport Research Articles

Prediction and exploration of contributory factors related to fatigue driving among long-haul truck drivers traveling across India: A tree-based machine learning approach

IntroductionLong-haul Truck drivers (LHTDs) have long working hours, insufficient rest, and poor health conditions and often experience fatigue that substantially may lead to crashes and injuries. Despite its potential harmfulness, we have little understanding on non-linear hidden patterns of influential factors on fatigue driving, especially in developing nations like India. ObjectivesThis paper aimed to predict fatigue driving among LHTDs using four tree-based machine learning techniques including Decision tree (DT), Random Forest (RF), Adaptive boosting (AdaBoost), and Extreme gradient boosting (XGBoost) to analyze the non-linear hidden pattern of most influential variables contributing to fatigue driving among Indian LHTDS. MethodsUsing a cross-sectional study design, a face-to-face interview was conducted among LHTDs using carefully designed questionnaire in Salem, Tamil Nadu, India. A total of 756 responses were obtained from LHTDs based on four aspects including socio-economic characteristics, work and vehicle characteristics, health-related lifestyle characteristics, and fatigue-inducing characteristics using a convenience sampling technique. Four tree-based machine learning algorithms namely DT, RF, Adaboost, and Xgboost were employed to predict fatigue driving. The influence of predictors on fatigue driving for the most suitable model was determined through variable importance plot and their causality effect on probability of fatigue were examined using Partial dependency plot (PDP). All the analysis were carried out using IBM SPSS statistics Version 27.0 and R programming language version 4.2.1. ResultsFrom the analysis, it was found that RF model outperformed other investigated classifiers (Accuracy = 81.2%, F1 score = 58.82%, AUROC = 0.854). Furthermore, variable importance plot of befitting RF classifier showed that type of commodity carried, pressured delivery of goods, countermeasure mostly followed, and education level of the LHTD as some of most influential predictors causing fatigue. ConclusionThese findings provide insights to state and highway transportation officials and Indian trucking industries for framing effective strategies to promote safety and well-being among LHTDs.

A transient model integrating the nanoconfinement effect and pore structure characteristics of oil transport through nanopores

Understanding the integrated transport behavior of oil in shale nanopores is critical to efficient shale oil development. In this paper, based on the time-dependent Poiseuille flow momentum equation, we present a novel transient model to describe oil transport in unsteady and steady states. The model incorporates the effect of the critical shift density, apparent viscosity, slip length, and alkane property, as well as pore tortuosity and surface roughness. We evaluated our model through a comparison with other models, experiments, and molecular dynamics simulations. The results show that the development rates of the volume flows of C6–C12 alkane confined in inorganic nanopores and C12 alkane confined in organic nanopores were faster than that of the corresponding bulk alkane. In addition, the critical drift density positively promoted the volume flow development rate in the unsteady state and negatively inhibited the mass flow rate in the steady state. This effect was clearest in pores with a smaller radius and lower-energy wall and in alkane with shorter chain lengths. Furthermore, both the nanoconfinement effect and pore structure determined whether the volume flow enhancement rate was greater than or less than 1. The rate increased or decreased with time and was controlled mainly by the nanoconfinement effect. Moreover, as the wall energy increased, the flow inhibition effect increased; as the carbon number of alkane increased, the flow promotion effect increased. The results indicate that the proposed model can accurately describe oil transport in shale nanopores.

Full counting statistics of ultrafast quantum transport

Quantum transport in the presence of time-dependent drives is dominated by quantum interference and many-body effects at low temperatures. For a periodic driving, the analysis of the full counting statistics revealed the elementary events that determine the statistical properties of the charge transport. As a result, the noise correlations display quantum oscillation as functions of the ratio of the voltage amplitude and the drive frequency, reflecting the detailed shape of the drive. However, so far only continuous wave excitations were considered, but, recently, transport by few-cycle light pulses were investigated, and the need for a statistical interpretation became eminent. We address the charge transfer generated by single- or few-cycle light pulses. The fingerprints of these time-dependent voltage pulses are imprinted in the full counting statistics of a coherent mesoscopic conductor at zero temperature. In addition, we identify the elementary processes that occur in the form of electron–hole pair creations, which can be investigated by the excess noise. We study the quantum oscillations in the differential noise induced by a wave packet consisting of an oscillating carrier modulated by a Gaussian- or a box-shaped envelope. As expected, the differential noise exhibits an oscillatory behavior with increasing amplitude. In particular, we find clear signature of the so-called carrier-envelope phase in the peak heights and positions of these quantum oscillations. More carrier cycles under the Gaussian envelope diminish the influence of the carrier-envelope phase, while this is not true for the box pulses, probably related to the abrupt onset.

Experimental and analytical approaches for load rating reinforced concrete slab bridge

Load testing of bridges is often used as a reliable method for assessing the capacity of in-service bridges with low analytical load rating factors. This paper presents a detailed load rating study of an 82-year-old concrete slab bridge with an unusually large aspect ratio of 3.73 by performing non-destructive diagnostic and proof load tests. The test-based modified rating factor is evaluated based on the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) approach and the structural effective strip width approach which is then compared with the analytical rating factor from a simplified 1-D beam-line model. Field data is also used to evaluate the impact of the rotational stiffness of the bridge on its global response and load rating factor. The field test results based on the AASHTO approach reveal that the rating factor improves by up to 53% compared to the analytical rating factor. Monitoring the rotational residual response at the bridge supports is proven to be an effective method for assessing the global response of the bridge during field testing. The study shows that adding a rotational spring with a field-calibrated rotational stiffness to the 1-D analytical model of the bridge can significantly increase the load rating factor.

An inverse source problem for linearly anisotropic radiative sources in absorbing and scattering medium

We consider in a two dimensional absorbing and scattering medium, an inverse source problem in the stationary radiative transport, where the source is linearly anisotropic. The medium has an anisotropic scattering property that is neither negligible nor large enough for the diffusion approximation to hold. The attenuating and scattering properties of the medium are assumed known. For scattering kernels of finite Fourier content in the angular variable, we show how to recover the anisotropic radiative sources from boundary measurements. The approach is based on the Cauchy problem for a Beltrami-like equation associated with A-analytic maps. As an application, we determine necessary and sufficient conditions for the data coming from two different sources to be mistaken for each other.

Realizing robust edge-to-edge transport of atomic momentum states in a dynamically modulated synthetic lattice

Realizing robust edge-to-edge transport of atomic momentum states in a dynamically modulated synthetic lattice

Obtaining the optimal origin-destination multimodal freight transportation network for the City of Bogotá

Bogotá’s logistics performance as the principal hub for shipping cargo to other destinations in Colombia has not been optimal. Excessive truck traffic, low density of railways in service, and no accessible river routes seem to be major determinant factors. This article proposes a balanced linear transshipment (BLT) model to estimate the optimal origin-destination (OD) multimodal freight transportation network for the mentioned city to seven main destinations in the country. This research also provides an appropriate framework for assessing several hypothetical transportation scenarios. Thus, based on national transport statistics, this study evaluates three main criteria: freight transportation cost, number of nodes, and number of routes. The results of analysis suggest that if alternative modes of transportation are implemented in Bogotá, the three mentioned criteria will improve substantially. The analysis is limited by the size of the OD transportation network considered, the assumptions associated with the research methodology, and the scope and diversity of data sources used as reference. To the authors' knowledge, this study is the first of its kind to examine the optimal OD transportation network in Bogotá by using a BLT model.

Aharonov-Bohm Interference and Phase-Coherent Surface-State Transport in Topological Insulator Rings.

We present low-temperature magnetotransport measurements on selectively grown Sb2Te3-based topological insulator ring structures. These devices display clear Aharonov-Bohm oscillations in the conductance originating from phase-coherent transport around the ring. The temperature dependence of the oscillation amplitude indicates that the Aharonov-Bohm oscillations originate from ballistic transport along the ring arms. We attribute these oscillations to the topological surface states. Further insight into the phase coherence is gained by comparing with similar Aharonov-Bohm-type oscillations in topological insulator nanoribbons exposed to an axial magnetic field. Here, quasi-ballistic phase-coherent transport is confirmed for closed-loop topological surface states in the transverse direction enclosing the nanoribbon. In contrast, the appearance of universal conductance fluctuations indicates phase-coherent transport in the diffusive regime, which is attributed to bulk carrier transport. Thus, it appears that even in the presence of diffusive p-type charge carriers in Aharonov-Bohm ring structures, phase-coherent quasi-ballistic transport of topological surface states is maintained over long distances.

Analyzing the Impact of Depreciation-Estimating Methods on State Transportation Agencies’ Equipment Replacement Decisions Using Dynamic Programming

Replacing equipment at the most economical time not only helps to save state transportation agencies (STAs) costs for operating the fleet but also keeps the fleet’s level of service at an optimal level. Prior research studies focused on developing alternative economic-oriented equipment replacement models rather than the equivalent annual cost (EAC) model to achieve better economic decisions. In addition, various optimization techniques were applied to equipment replacement problems with different objectives, constraints, and contexts. However, few studies examined the impact of depreciation estimation on the equipment replacement decision within STAs by minimizing total equipment cost over a finite study period using the dynamic programming optimization method. This study performed a case study of two class codes of equipment [1.5 m3 (2-yd) diesel engine front-end loaders and 0.453 t (half-ton) fleetside pickup trucks] to analyze the impact of different depreciation calculations on equipment replacement decisions. Using real-world data provided by the Oklahoma Department of Transportation, the study showed that the double-declining balance depreciation method substantially reduces the number of pieces of equipment recommended for replacement compared with the result of the straight-line depreciation method. This study contributes to the understanding of the impact of depreciation methods on equipment replacement decisions as well as the importance of properly estimating equipment depreciation to minimize the equipment costs over a designated study period among STA communities. The demonstrated manual calculation procedures of dynamic programming for cost optimization potentially may facilitate STA’s adoption of dynamic programming for equipment economic decisions.

Scribing as an innovative technology in teaching oral foreign speech to students majoring in engineering

The purpose of this research is to study the features, forms and structure, as well as the possibility of practical application of scribing in the process of teaching foreign language speech to students of technical universities. Scribing is considered to be a technology that has great didactic potential and contributes to the solution of pedagogical problems in various fields of knowledge. Having come to pedagogy from the business environment, this technology can also be used to develop oral speech skills in foreign languages. The main stages of scribing have been defined. It is noted that scribing technology can be considered as a type of project activity. The main advantages of this technology are highlighted. Paper versions of scribing on several topics have been developed and presented in accordance with the Foreign Languages Work Programs of the Rostov State Transport University. Methods of description, analysis, systematization and generalization of theoretical material have been used, as well as practical application of the studied technology during the classes of foreign languages. The analysis of the obtained results has been carried out. The results of the work will be of interest, first of all, to the tutors and teachers who are trying to apply innovative teaching technologies in the classroom. In future work, it is planned to develop and apply scribing for the presentation of other educational topics using online platforms.

Digital educational platforms: structure and principles of work

The purpose of the study is to study the conditions and principles for the formation of digital educational platforms as a stage in the development of the system of staffing industries and human capital. To achieve this goal, the following main tasks were set and solved: an analysis was made of existing trends and factors in the development of the system of vocational education, resource constraints of educational organizations; development of the structure and principles of the formation of digital educational platforms, the economic model of its work; the nature of the relationship between key performance indicators is determined.The object of the study is digital platforms that emulate the management of vocational education. Such platforms are seen as the next stage in the evolution of the vocational education system. The subject of the study is the process of implementing professional educational programs, which evolves from educational organizations that own educational programs to digital educational platforms that unite participants in the educational process (developers of educational programs, teachers, students, business).The practical significance of the study lies in expanding the possibility of using digital educational platforms that can be used in parallel with traditional systems of vocational education. The main result of the presented research is the development of the structure, principles of formation and economic model of digital educational platforms, which are considered as the next stage in the development of the vocational education system.This study is part of a comprehensive scientific study on the improvement of the human capital development system, conducted on the basis of the Samara State Transport University.

75 years of the Volgograd Technical School of Railway Transport — branch of the Rostov State Transport University

The history and present days of the Volgograd Technical School of Railway Transport, a branch of the Rostov State Transport University, are considered. An innovative educational space has been formed in the technical school, within which teachers have developed personal websites with interactive elements, electronic learning modules, electronic laboratories, the idea of creating an educational mini-quantorium is being implemented.From the moment of its formation to the present day, the technical school conducts specialized training of mid-level specialists for railway transport enterprises. Classrooms, laboratories, workshops are equipped with modern training complexes, software that allows students to solve professional problems.The innovative educational space of the technical school not only provides training for a specialist in the railway industry who is competitive in the labor market, versed in related fields of activity, able to improve in professional skills, but also synchronizes training in accordance with the needs of the labor market. Today, the technical school is a modern educational institution that trains railway industry specialists who are in demand on the modern labor market under secondary vocational education programs.

Problems and prospects of the federal project “Professionalitet” implementation as a tool for the secondary vocational education development

The paper considers the problems of implementing the federal project “Professionalitet”, which began in 2022 and is aimed at integrating technical schools (colleges) with enterprises of the real sector of the economy, with the participation of state support for the development of educational infrastructure at the expense of budget allocations of the federal budget.Based on the analysis of the performance of the indicators of the federal project “Professionalitet”, a generalization and systematization of the effectiveness of participation in it of the Rostov State Transport University was carried out. A systematic analysis of regulatory legal acts on the implementation of the federal project “Professionalitet” has been carried out, shortcomings of legal regulation have been identified and proposals for its improvement have been formulated.Taking into account the historically strong interaction of industrial technical schools (colleges) with railway transport enterprises, the old approaches in improving the activities of educational organizations for personnel training have been rethought and new approaches have been identified. The proposed approaches to the construction of educational and production centers (clusters) and the model of the infrastructure sheet can be useful for educational organizations when forming an application for participation in a competition for the creation and development of educational and production centers (clusters).The author suggests possible directions for the development of the federal project “Professionalitet”, first of all, meeting new trends in legislation in the field of education on the creation of educational and industrial complexes as part of educational organizations of secondary vocational education.

Federal project “Professionalitet” — a new model of education and training of railway personnel

At the end of March 2022, Rostov State Transport University won the competitive selection for grants from the federal budget to participate in the federal project (FP) “Professionalitet” of the national project “Education”. The branches of the university were chosen as sites for the implementation of the project: the Rostov State Transport University technical school (Rostov-on-Don) and the Likhovsky College of Railway Transport.The “Professionalitet” program is aimed at improving the quality of training for Russian Railways, and provides for the introduction of new programs in the system of secondary vocational education with reduced training periods. At the same time, the preparation of students will be more intensive and practice-oriented. Young people will receive skills in accordance with the professional standards and requirements of Russian Railways.Thanks to the implementation of the national project “Education”, increased attention is paid to the development of the professional competence of teachers. In addition, they are introduced to various projects aimed at improving the education system.Railway specialties in the labor market are becoming more in demand, competitiveness is growing. The implementation of the FP is an important milestone in the transformation of the education system, a step towards the formation of a highly qualified specialist for the leading enterprise in the region.

Quantum Topological Neuristors for Advanced Neuromorphic Intelligent Systems.

Neuromorphic artificial intelligence systems are the future of ultrahigh performance computing clusters to overcome complex scientific and economical challenges. Despite their importance, the advancement in quantum neuromorphic systems is slow without specific device design. To elucidate biomimicking mammalian brain synapses, a new class of quantum topological neuristors (QTN) with ultralow energy consumption (pJ) and higher switching speed (µs) is introduced. Bioinspired neural network characteristics of QTNs are the effects of edge state transport and tunable energy gap in the quantum topological insulator (QTI) materials. With augmented device and QTI material design, top notch neuromorphic behavior with effective learning-relearning-forgetting stages is demonstrated. Critically, to emulate the real-time neuromorphic efficiency, training of the QTNs is demonstrated with simple hand gesture game by interfacing them with artificial neural networks to perform decision-making operations. Strategically, the QTNs prove the possession of incomparable potential to realize next-gen neuromorphic computing for the development of intelligent machines and humanoids.

Разработка метода оценки рисков обеспечения железнодорожным подвижным составом государственных перевозок в условиях чрезвычайных ситуаций

Purpose: The development of a method for assessing the risks of providing state transportation with railway rolling stock in emergency situations will create an effective method of transport support for state transportation. Purpose is to reduce uncertainties in the provision of public transportation by identifying the main causes of risks arising in the system of providing railway rolling stock, which include, inter alia, the transportation of goods for the needs of the EMERCOM of Russia. Methods: Comparison and analysis of indicators characterizing the results of the consequences of the occurrence of negative events in the system of providing state transportation with railway rolling stock; modeling of risk assessment of providing state transportation with railway rolling stock in emergency situations. Results: A method of modeling the occurrence of risks of providing state transportation with railway rolling stock in emergency situations is proposed; estimates of risk situations are obtained according to the options for choosing rolling stock, taking into account restrictions on the maximum radius of dislocation relative to the place of loading of equipment. Practical significance: Development of methods and recommendations to improve the efficiency of providing rolling stock for public transportation in conditions of uncertainty.

The ways to overcome the crisis situations in the fuel and energy complex field under martial law (Ukrainian experience)

The article reveals the problems of functioning of the fuel and energy complex of Ukraine under martial law. It was determined that Ukraine faced a crisis in the field of energy security due to Russian terrorist attacks on well infrastructure facilities, as well as the main strategies and mechanisms of response to crisis phenomena in the field of the fuel and energy complex, which are carried out through legislative and regulatory changes, were investigated; analyzed changes aimed at ensuring the security of supply and access of citizens to energy during wartime and preventing humanitarian crises. The article provides an overview of the adopted legislative changes in the field of the Ukrainian fuel and energy complex, defines the role of the Energy Community, which helps Ukraine to restore critical infrastructure objects faster and minimize damage from terrorist missile attacks, and also helps with the logistics of necessary materials to overcome crisis phenomena. It is noted that in order to become more independent in the field of fuel and energy complex in the future, Ukraine needs diversification, energy efficiency and fast renewable energy. From the point of view of diversification, Ukraine needs to increase its purchases of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from such suppliers as the USA, Qatar, Norway, African producers and others. Ukraine was able to pass the heating period 2022/2023. And this result was ensured by the heroic efforts of gas workers, heat workers, electricians, employees of the State Emergency Service, transport and logistics. The power industry held on, albeit at a high cost — unfortunately, there were casualties among repairmen, operating personnel, and engineering staff, not to mention the damaged and destroyed infrastructure At present, the global energy crisis is not over yet, therefore, it is extremely necessary to consolidate the efforts of the entire civilized world to avoid possible negative bifurcations in the further development of the situation, in particular, to prevent options and conditions under which this crisis can turn into a global political crisis Ukraine needs to take into account the energy development trends of the world and Europe and focus on decentralized and distributed "green" energy.

Stationary flow driven by non-sinusoidal time-periodic pressure gradients in wavy-walled channels

The classical problem of secondary flow driven by a sinusoidally varying pressure gradient is extended here to address periodic pressure gradients of complex waveform, which are present in many oscillatory physiological flows. A slender two-dimensional wavy-walled channel is selected as a canonical model problem. Following standard steady-streaming analyses, valid for small values of the ratio ε of the stroke length of the pulsatile motion to the channel wavelength, the spatially periodic flow is described in terms of power-law expansions of ε, with the Womersley number assumed to be of order unity. The solution found at leading order involves a time-periodic velocity with a zero time-averaged value at any given point. As in the case of a sinusoidal pressure gradient, effects of inertia enter at the following order to induce a steady flow in the form of recirculating vortices with zero net flow rate. An improved two-term asymptotic description of this secondary flow is sought by carrying the analysis to the following order. It is found that, when the pressure gradient has a waveform with multiple harmonics, the resulting velocity corrections display a nonzero flow rate, not present in the single-frequency case, which enables stationary convective transport along the channel. Direct numerical simulations for values of ε of order unity are used to investigate effects of inertia and delineate the range of validity of the asymptotic limit ε≪1. The comparisons of the time-averaged velocity obtained numerically with the two-term asymptotic description reveals that the latter remains remarkably accurate for values of ε exceeding 0.5. As an illustrative example, the results of the model problem are used to investigate the cerebrospinal-fluid flow driven along the spinal canal by the cardiac and respiratory cycles, characterized by markedly non-sinusoidal waveforms.

Self-consistent simulations of intracavity terahertz comb difference frequency generation by mid-infrared quantum cascade lasers

Portable terahertz (THz) frequency comb sources are highly desired for applications in rotational molecular spectroscopy and sensing. To date, direct THz quantum cascade laser (QCL) frequency comb generation is not achievable at room temperature. However, THz comb generation based on intracavity difference frequency generation (DFG) in mid-infrared (mid-IR) QCLs is a promising alternative. Here, we present a numerical study of THz DFG-QCL comb formation in mid-IR QCLs based on a self-consistent multi-domain simulation approach. The dynamical simulations are performed using our open-source software tool mbsolve, which provides a flexible and efficient codebase for solving the generalized full-wave Maxwell–Bloch equations. Here, DFG in the active region of a dual-wavelength mid-IR QCL is considered for the generation of THz radiation. The mixing process and, thus, THz generation require a high second-order intersubband nonlinear susceptibility in the QCL active region and can be obtained by targeted quantum engineering. The associated nonlinear effects are included in the Hamiltonian of our Maxwell–Bloch simulation approach. All necessary input parameters for the description of the quantum system are determined self-consistently using our in-house ensemble Monte Carlo software tool for stationary carrier transport simulations. Notably, such simulations require a full-wave Maxwell–Bloch solver that does not employ the common rotating wave approximation, as a broadband optical field extending from the THz to the mid-IR region is investigated. Our modeling approach and the obtained simulation results for two THz DFG-QCL comb setups are validated against experimental data, showing reasonable agreement. Furthermore, we obtain a locked frequency modulated comb state for mid-IR and THz regimes.

Development and Evaluation of a MASH TL-3 Modified Single Wood-Post Skid-Mounted Sign Support System

Previous crash testing determined that the conventional Texas Department of Transportation, U.S., single wood-post, skid-mounted temporary sign support system did not satisfy guidelines included in the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials Manual for Assessing Safety Hardware (MASH). Modifications were made to the system to improve impact performance and meet MASH requirements. The modifications included increasing the mounting height of the sign, installing weakening holes in the wood support post at a prescribed height, and adding a wire rope loop around the weakening holes to act as a hinge mechanism when sections of the wood sign support fracture during vehicle impact. Crash tests were performed on the modified system in accordance with the MASH Test Level 3 (TL-3) matrix for work-zone traffic control devices. The modified single wood-post, skid-mounted temporary sign support system with a 90 in. sign mounting height, weakening holes, and tether cable met the performance criteria for MASH TL-3 work-zone traffic control devices.