Forecasting Containerized Traffic for the Port of Montreal (1981-1995)

Le But de Ce Rapport Est de Presenter L'approche Utilisee Par les Auteurs Pour Effectuer des Previsions a Long Terme du Trafic de Conteneurs Outre-Mer, Pour le Port de Montreal. Cette Approche Suppose D'abord L'estimation du Trafic de Conteneurs Par Categories de Marchandise, Par Origine et Destination, au Cours des Annees Recentes. Ensuite, Nous Avons Obtenu des Previsions du Trafic de Conteneurs Pour 1995, En Nous Basant Sur des Anticipations Relatives aux Tendances Generales du Commerce Exterieur Canadien et a la Composition de Ces Echanges, Par Groupes de Marchandises. Nous Avons Egalement du Effectuer des Projections Sur L'evolution Probable des Taux de Conteneurisation, En Tenant Compte des Diverses Marchandises et Egalement des Partenaires Commerciaux Impliques. Nous Avons Aussi Considere L'evolution Possible des Frontieres de la Zone D'influence (\"Hinterland\") du Port de Montreal. L'importance du Trafic Genere Par le Midwest des Etats Unis a Augmente Considerablement au Cours de la Derniere Decennie, a Cause D'un Certain Nombre de Facteurs Institutionnels. Nos Previsions du Trafic de Conteneurs, Pour le Port de Montreal, Dependent Donc,En Grande Partie, de L'eventualite Que le Midwest des Etats Unis Demeure Dans la Zone D'influence du Port de Montreal. Finalement, Nous Presentons Deux Scenarios de Previsions. le Premier de Ces Scenarios Suppose Que la Position Concurrentielle Actuelle du Port de Montreal Demeure Virtuellement Inchangee. le Second Scenario Suppose la Disparition D'une Importante Entreprise de Transport de Conteneurs, Situee a Montreal.

Study of baleen whales’ ecology and interaction with maritime traffic activities to support management of a complex socio-ecological system

Thesis written in co-mentorship with Robert Michaud.

Salting coefficient of hydroxybenzoic acids

The Setschenow parameter and thermodynamic parameters of transfer of 2- and 4- hydroxybenzoic acids from water to salt solutions have been reported. The data have been rationalised by considering the structure breaking effects of the ions of the salts, the localized hydrolysis model, the internal pressure theory and the theory of water structure due to Symons.

A Beacon based Localization System for Autonomous Mobile Robots and its Applications in Traffic and Transport Control

ACCURATE sensing of vehicle position and attitude is still a very challenging problem in many mobile robot applications. The mobile robot vehicle applications must have some means of estimating where they are and in which direction they are heading. Many existing indoor positioning systems are limited in workspace and robustness because they require clear lines-of-sight or do not provide absolute, driftfree measurements.The research work presented in this dissertation provides a new approach to position and attitude sensing system designed specifically to meet the challenges of operation in a realistic, cluttered indoor environment, such as that of an office building, hospital, industrial or warehouse. This is accomplished by an innovative assembly of infrared LED source that restricts the spreading of the light intensity distribution confined to a sheet of light and is encoded with localization and traffic information. This Digital Infrared Sheet of Light Beacon (DISLiB) developed for mobile robot is a high resolution absolute localization system which is simple, fast, accurate and robust, without much of computational burden or significant processing. Most of the available beacon's performance in corridors and narrow passages are not satisfactory, whereas the performance of DISLiB is very encouraging in such situations. This research overcomes most of the inherent limitations of existing systems.The work further examines the odometric localization errors caused by over count readings of an optical encoder based odometric system in a mobile robot due to wheel-slippage and terrain irregularities. A simple and efficient method is investigated and realized using an FPGA for reducing the errors. The detection and correction is based on redundant encoder measurements. The method suggested relies on the fact that the wheel slippage or terrain irregularities cause more count readings from the encoder than what corresponds to the actual distance travelled by the vehicle.The application of encoded Digital Infrared Sheet of Light Beacon (DISLiB) system can be extended to intelligent control of the public transportation system. The system is capable of receiving traffic status input through a GSM (Global System Mobile) modem. The vehicles have infrared receivers and processors capable of decoding the information, and generating the audio and video messages to assist the driver. The thesis further examines the usefulness of the technique to assist the movement of differently-able (blind) persons in indoor or outdoor premises of his residence.The work addressed in this thesis suggests a new way forward in the development of autonomous robotics and guidance systems. However, this work can be easily extended to many other challenging domains, as well.

Utilisation of Coir Geotextiles for Unpaved Roads and Embankments

The increasing tempo of construction activity the world over creates heavy pressure on existing land space. The quest for new and competent site often points to the needs for improving existing sites, which are otherwise deemed unsuitable for adopting conventional foundations. This is accomplished by ground improvement methods, which are employed to improve the quality of soil incompetent in their natural state. Among the construction activities, a well-connected road network is one of the basic infrastructure requirements, which play a vital role for the fast and comfortable movement of inter- regional traffic in countries like India.One of the innovative ground improvement techniques practised all over the world is the use of geosynthetics, which include geotextiles, geomembranes, geogrids, etc . They offer the advantages such as space saving, enviromnental sensitivity, material availability, technical superiority, higher cost savings, less construction time, etc . Because of its fundamental properties, such as tensile strength, filtering and water permeability, a geotextile inserted between the base material and sub grade can function as reinforcement, a filter medium, a separation layer and as a drainage medium. Though polymeric geotextiles are used in abundant quantities, the use of natural geotextiles (like coir, jute, etc.) has yet to get momentum. This is primarily due to the lack of research work on natural geotextilcs for ground improvement, particularly in the areas of un paved roads. Coir geotextiles are best suited for low cost applications because of its availability at low prices compared to its synthetic counterparts. The proper utilisation of coir geotextilcs in various applications demands large quantities of the product, which in turn can create a boom in the coir industry. The present study aims at exploring the possibilities of utilising coir geotextiles for unpaved roads and embankments.The properties of coir geotextiles used have been evaluated. The properties studied include mass per unit area, puncture resistance, tensile strength, secant modulus, etc . The interfacial friction between soils and three types of coir geotextiles used was also evaluated. It was found that though the parameters evaluated for coir geotextiles have low values compared to polymeric geotextiles, the former are sufficient for use in unpaved roads and embankments. The frictional characteristics of coir geotextile - soil interfaces are extremely good and satisfy the condition set by the International Geosynthetic Society for varied applications.The performance of coir geotextiles reinforced subgrade was studied by conducting California Bearing Ratio (CBR) tests. Studies were made with coir geotextiles placed at different levels and also in multiple layers. The results have shown that the coir geotextile enhances the subgrade strength. A regression analysis was perfonned and a mathematical model was developed to predict the CBR of the coir geotextile reinforced subgrade soil as a function of the soil properties, coir geotextile properties, and placement depth of reinforcement.The effects of coir geotextiles on bearing capacity were studied by perfonning plate load tests in a test tan1e This helped to understand the functioning of geotextile as reinforcement in unpaved roads and embankments. The perfonnance of different types of coir geotextiles with respect to the placement depth in dry and saturated conditions was studied. The results revealed that the bearing capacity of coir-reinforced soil is increasing irrespective of the type of coir geotextiles and saturation condition.The rut behaviour of unreinforced and coir reinforced unpaved road sections were compared by conducting model static load tests in a test tank and also under repetitive loads in a wheel track test facility. The results showed that coir geotextiles could fulfill the functions as reinforcement and as a separator, both under static and repetitive loads. The rut depth was very much reduced whik placing coir geotextiles in between sub grade and sub base.In order to study the use of Coir geotextiles in improving the settlement characteristics, two types of prefabricated COlf geotextile vertical drains were developed and their time - settlement behaviour were studied. Three different dispositions were tried. It was found that the coir geotextile drains were very effective in reducing consolidation time due to radial drainage. The circular drains in triangular disposition gave maximum beneficial effect.In long run, the degradation of coir geotextile is expected, which results in a soil - fibre matrix. Hence, studies pertaining to strength and compressibility characteristics of soil - coir fibre composites were conducted. Experiments were done using coir fibres having different aspect ratios and in different proportions. The results revealed that the strength of the soil was increased by 150% to 200% when mixed with 2% of fibre having approximately 12mm length, at all compaction conditions. Also, the coefficient of consolidation increased and compression index decreased with the addition of coir fibre.Typical design charts were prepared for the design of coir geotextile reinforced unpaved roads. Some illustrative examples are also given. The results demonstrated that a considerable saving in subase / base thickness can he achieved with the use of eoir geotextiles, which in turn, would save large quantities of natural aggregates.

Management of Traffic Control — A Computer Oriented Approach

Traffic Management system (TMS) comprises four major sub systems: The Network Database Management system for information to the passengers, Transit Facility Management System for service, planning, and scheduling vehicle and crews, Congestion Management System for traffic forecasting and planning, Safety Management System concerned with safety aspects of passengers and Environment. This work has opened a rather wide frame work of model structures for application on traffic. The facets of these theories are so wide that it seems impossible to present all necessary models in this work. However it could be deduced from the study that the best Traffic Management System is that whichis realistic in all aspects is easy to understand is easy to apply As it is practically difficult to device an ideal fool—proof model, the attempt here has been to make some progress-in that direction.

Channel Adaptive MAC Protocol with Traffic-Aware Distributed Power Management in Wireless Sensor Networks-Some Performance Issues

In Wireless Sensor Networks (WSN), neglecting the effects of varying channel quality can lead to an unnecessary wastage of precious battery resources and in turn can result in the rapid depletion of sensor energy and the partitioning of the network. Fairness is a critical issue when accessing a shared wireless channel and fair scheduling must be employed to provide the proper flow of information in a WSN. In this paper, we develop a channel adaptive MAC protocol with a traffic-aware dynamic power management algorithm for efficient packet scheduling and queuing in a sensor network, with time varying characteristics of the wireless channel also taken into consideration. The proposed protocol calculates a combined weight value based on the channel state and link quality. Then transmission is allowed only for those nodes with weights greater than a minimum quality threshold and nodes attempting to access the wireless medium with a low weight will be allowed to transmit only when their weight becomes high. This results in many poor quality nodes being deprived of transmission for a considerable amount of time. To avoid the buffer overflow and to achieve fairness for the poor quality nodes, we design a Load prediction algorithm. We also design a traffic aware dynamic power management scheme to minimize the energy consumption by continuously turning off the radio interface of all the unnecessary nodes that are not included in the routing path. By Simulation results, we show that our proposed protocol achieves a higher throughput and fairness besides reducing the delay

Malayalam Isolated Digit Recognition using HMM and PLP cepstral coefficient

Development of Malayalam speech recognition system is in its infancy stage; although many works have been done in other Indian languages. In this paper we present the first work on speaker independent Malayalam isolated speech recognizer based on PLP (Perceptual Linear Predictive) Cepstral Coefficient and Hidden Markov Model (HMM). The performance of the developed system has been evaluated with different number of states of HMM (Hidden Markov Model). The system is trained with 21 male and female speakers in the age group ranging from 19 to 41 years. The system obtained an accuracy of 99.5% with the unseen data

A study on the performance of flexible pavements on mature soil subgrades

The country has witnessed tremendous increase in the vehicle population and increased axle loading pattern during the last decade, leaving its road network overstressed and leading to premature failure. The type of deterioration present in the pavement should be considered for determining whether it has a functional or structural deficiency, so that appropriate overlay type and design can be developed. Structural failure arises from the conditions that adversely affect the load carrying capability of the pavement structure. Inadequate thickness, cracking, distortion and disintegration cause structural deficiency. Functional deficiency arises when the pavement does not provide a smooth riding surface and comfort to the user. This can be due to poor surface friction and texture, hydro planning and splash from wheel path, rutting and excess surface distortion such as potholes, corrugation, faulting, blow up, settlement, heaves etc. Functional condition determines the level of service provided by the facility to its users at a particular time and also the Vehicle Operating Costs (VOC), thus influencing the national economy. Prediction of the pavement deterioration is helpful to assess the remaining effective service life (RSL) of the pavement structure on the basis of reduction in performance levels, and apply various alternative designs and rehabilitation strategies with a long range funding requirement for pavement preservation. In addition, they can predict the impact of treatment on the condition of the sections. The infrastructure prediction models can thus be classified into four groups, namely primary response models, structural performance models, functional performance models and damage models. The factors affecting the deterioration of the roads are very complex in nature and vary from place to place. Hence there is need to have a thorough study of the deterioration mechanism under varied climatic zones and soil conditions before arriving at a definite strategy of road improvement. Realizing the need for a detailed study involving all types of roads in the state with varying traffic and soil conditions, the present study has been attempted. This study attempts to identify the parameters that affect the performance of roads and to develop performance models suitable to Kerala conditions. A critical review of the various factors that contribute to the pavement performance has been presented based on the data collected from selected road stretches and also from five corporations of Kerala. These roads represent the urban conditions as well as National Highways, State Highways and Major District Roads in the sub urban and rural conditions. This research work is a pursuit towards a study of the road condition of Kerala with respect to varying soil, traffic and climatic conditions, periodic performance evaluation of selected roads of representative types and development of distress prediction models for roads of Kerala. In order to achieve this aim, the study is focused into 2 parts. The first part deals with the study of the pavement condition and subgrade soil properties of urban roads distributed in 5 Corporations of Kerala; namely Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Kochi, Thrissur and Kozhikode. From selected 44 roads, 68 homogeneous sections were studied. The data collected on the functional and structural condition of the surface include pavement distress in terms of cracks, potholes, rutting, raveling and pothole patching. The structural strength of the pavement was measured as rebound deflection using Benkelman Beam deflection studies. In order to collect the details of the pavement layers and find out the subgrade soil properties, trial pits were dug and the in-situ field density was found using the Sand Replacement Method. Laboratory investigations were carried out to find out the subgrade soil properties, soil classification, Atterberg limits, Optimum Moisture Content, Field Moisture Content and 4 days soaked CBR. The relative compaction in the field was also determined. The traffic details were also collected by conducting traffic volume count survey and axle load survey. From the data thus collected, the strength of the pavement was calculated which is a function of the layer coefficient and thickness and is represented as Structural Number (SN). This was further related to the CBR value of the soil and the Modified Structural Number (MSN) was found out. The condition of the pavement was represented in terms of the Pavement Condition Index (PCI) which is a function of the distress of the surface at the time of the investigation and calculated in the present study using deduct value method developed by U S Army Corps of Engineers. The influence of subgrade soil type and pavement condition on the relationship between MSN and rebound deflection was studied using appropriate plots for predominant types of soil and for classified value of Pavement Condition Index. The relationship will be helpful for practicing engineers to design the overlay thickness required for the pavement, without conducting the BBD test. Regression analysis using SPSS was done with various trials to find out the best fit relationship between the rebound deflection and CBR, and other soil properties for Gravel, Sand, Silt & Clay fractions. The second part of the study deals with periodic performance evaluation of selected road stretches representing National Highway (NH), State Highway (SH) and Major District Road (MDR), located in different geographical conditions and with varying traffic. 8 road sections divided into 15 homogeneous sections were selected for the study and 6 sets of continuous periodic data were collected. The periodic data collected include the functional and structural condition in terms of distress (pothole, pothole patch, cracks, rutting and raveling), skid resistance using a portable skid resistance pendulum, surface unevenness using Bump Integrator, texture depth using sand patch method and rebound deflection using Benkelman Beam. Baseline data of the study stretches were collected as one time data. Pavement history was obtained as secondary data. Pavement drainage characteristics were collected in terms of camber or cross slope using camber board (slope meter) for the carriage way and shoulders, availability of longitudinal side drain, presence of valley, terrain condition, soil moisture content, water table data, High Flood Level, rainfall data, land use and cross slope of the adjoining land. These data were used for finding out the drainage condition of the study stretches. Traffic studies were conducted, including classified volume count and axle load studies. From the field data thus collected, the progression of each parameter was plotted for all the study roads; and validated for their accuracy. Structural Number (SN) and Modified Structural Number (MSN) were calculated for the study stretches. Progression of the deflection, distress, unevenness, skid resistance and macro texture of the study roads were evaluated. Since the deterioration of the pavement is a complex phenomena contributed by all the above factors, pavement deterioration models were developed as non linear regression models, using SPSS with the periodic data collected for all the above road stretches. General models were developed for cracking progression, raveling progression, pothole progression and roughness progression using SPSS. A model for construction quality was also developed. Calibration of HDM–4 pavement deterioration models for local conditions was done using the data for Cracking, Raveling, Pothole and Roughness. Validation was done using the data collected in 2013. The application of HDM-4 to compare different maintenance and rehabilitation options were studied considering the deterioration parameters like cracking, pothole and raveling. The alternatives considered for analysis were base alternative with crack sealing and patching, overlay with 40 mm BC using ordinary bitumen, overlay with 40 mm BC using Natural Rubber Modified Bitumen and an overlay of Ultra Thin White Topping. Economic analysis of these options was done considering the Life Cycle Cost (LCC). The average speed that can be obtained by applying these options were also compared. The results were in favour of Ultra Thin White Topping over flexible pavements. Hence, Design Charts were also plotted for estimation of maximum wheel load stresses for different slab thickness under different soil conditions. The design charts showed the maximum stress for a particular slab thickness and different soil conditions incorporating different k values. These charts can be handy for a design engineer. Fuzzy rule based models developed for site specific conditions were compared with regression models developed using SPSS. The Riding Comfort Index (RCI) was calculated and correlated with unevenness to develop a relationship. Relationships were developed between Skid Number and Macro Texture of the pavement. The effort made through this research work will be helpful to highway engineers in understanding the behaviour of flexible pavements in Kerala conditions and for arriving at suitable maintenance and rehabilitation strategies. Key Words: Flexible Pavements – Performance Evaluation – Urban Roads – NH – SH and other roads – Performance Models – Deflection – Riding Comfort Index – Skid Resistance – Texture Depth – Unevenness – Ultra Thin White Topping

Untersuchungen zu Controlled Traffic Farming und satellitenbasierten Lenksystemen

Diese Arbeit behandelt Controlled Traffic Farming (CTF) Anbausysteme, bei denen für alle Arbeitsgänge satellitengesteuert immer dieselben Fahrspuren benutzt werden. Lässt sich mit CTF die Belastung des Bodens verringern und die Effizienz von Direktsaat-Anbausystemen steigern? Neben agronomischen und bodenphysikalischen Parametern wurden Auswirkungen von Lenksystemen und Umsetzungsmöglichkeiten von CTF in die Praxis untersucht. Die Analyse einer CTF-Umsetzung unter europäischen Bedingungen mit der Verwendung von Standardmaschinen zeigte, dass sich CTF-Anbausysteme mit den heute zur Verfügung stehenden Maschinen für Dauergrünland, Mähdruschfrüchte und Mais auf kleiner und grösser strukturierten Flächen relativ einfach mechanisieren lassen. Bei Zuckerrüben und Kartoffeln können Kompromisse notwendig sein. Generell erfordern CTF-Anbausysteme eine sorgfältige Planung und Umsetzung in die Praxis. Im dreijährigen Feldversuch (Winterweizen, Wintergerste, Kunstwiese mit Kleegrasmischung) auf einem Lehmboden wurde CTF-Direktsaat mit konventionell zufällig befahrenen Direktsaat- und Pflugverfahren verglichen. Unter CTF zeigte sich eine Differenzierung der nicht, gering und intensiv befahrenen Varianten. Auf dem vorliegenden kompakten Boden mit 1150 mm Jahresniederschlag waren die Unterschiede zwischen den nicht befahrenen Flächen und den mit niedrigem Kontaktflächendruck befahrenen Flächen eher gering. In den nicht befahrenen Flächen entwickelten Eindringwiderstand und Kohlendioxidgehalt der Bodenluft nach drei Jahren signifikant bessere Werte. Bodendichte und Porosität zeigten hingegen keinen eindeutig interpretierbaren Trend. Aufgrund teils suboptimaler Feldaufgänge liess sich keine generelle agronomische Tendenz ableiten. Die intensive Befahrung der Pflegefahrgassen zeigte allerdings klar negative bodenkundliche und planzenbauliche Auswirkungen. Es bietet sich daher an, vor allem für Pflegearbeiten permanent dieselben Fahrspuren zu nutzen. In der Untersuchung zu den Auswirkungen von Lenksystemen zeigten sich signifikante Vorteile von Lenksystemen in einer Verminderung der Fahrerbelastung und einer höheren Lenkgenauigkeit vor allem bei grossen Arbeitsbreiten ohne Spuranreisser. Die meisten anderen Messparameter waren mit Lenksystem leicht vorteilhafter als ohne, unterschieden sich aber nicht signifikant voneinander. Fahrer und naturräumliche Gegebenheiten wie die Schlagform hatten einen wesentlich grösseren Einfluss. Gesamthaft betrachtet erweitert CTF in Kombination mit weiteren Bodenschutzmass-nahmen die Möglichkeiten, Bodenverdichtungen zu vermeiden, den Bedarf an energieintensiver Bodenlocke-rung zu reduzieren und die Entwicklung einer stabileren Bodenstruktur mit höherer Tragfähigkeit zu fördern. Zusammen mit einer an Kultur und Anbausystem angepassten Saatbettbereitung und den in geraden Reihen einfacher durchführbaren mechanischen Pflegemassnahmen ergeben sich gute Voraussetzungen für die Gestaltung agronomisch leistungsfähiger und ökologisch nachhaltiger Anbausysteme.

Fast Object Recognition in Noisy Images Using Simulated Annealing

A fast simulated annealing algorithm is developed for automatic object recognition. The normalized correlation coefficient is used as a measure of the match between a hypothesized object and an image. Templates are generated on-line during the search by transforming model images. Simulated annealing reduces the search time by orders of magnitude with respect to an exhaustive search. The algorithm is applied to the problem of how landmarks, for example, traffic signs, can be recognized by an autonomous vehicle or a navigating robot. The algorithm works well in noisy, real-world images of complicated scenes for model images with high information content.

Resource dimensioning aspect of heterogeneous traffic with different service requirements: Integration versus segregation

In this paper, we consider the ATM networks in which the virtual path concept is implemented. The question of how to multiplex two or more diverse traffic classes while providing different quality of service requirements is a very complicated open problem. Two distinct options are available: integration and segregation. In an integration approach all the traffic from different connections are multiplexed onto one VP. This implies that the most restrictive QOS requirements must be applied to all services. Therefore, link utilization will be decreased because unnecessarily stringent QOS is provided to all connections. With the segregation approach the problem can be much simplified if different types of traffic are separated by assigning a VP with dedicated resources (buffers and links). Therefore, resources may not be efficiently utilized because no sharing of bandwidth can take place across the VP. The probability that the bandwidth required by the accepted connections exceeds the capacity of the link is evaluated with the probability of congestion (PC). Since the PC can be expressed as the CLP, we shall simply carry out bandwidth allocation using the PC. We first focus on the influence of some parameters (CLP, bit rate and burstiness) on the capacity required by a VP supporting a single traffic class using the new convolution approach. Numerical results are presented both to compare the required capacity and to observe which conditions under each approach are preferred

Optimal Traffic Grooming in WDM using Lighttours

Recent developments in optical communications have allowed simpler optical devices to improve network resource utilization. As such, we propose adding a lambda-monitoring device to a wavelength-routing switch (WRS) allowing better performance when traffic is routed and groomed. This device may allow a WRS to aggregate traffic over optical routes without incurring in optical-electrical-optical conversion for the existing traffic. In other words, optical routes can be taken partially to route demands creating a sort of "lighttours". In this paper, we compare the number of OEO conversions needed to route a complete given traffic matrix using either lighttours or lightpaths

A new approach to real time traffic sign recognition based on colour information

The automatic interpretation of conventional traffic signs is very complex and time consuming. The paper concerns an automatic warning system for driving assistance. It does not interpret the standard traffic signs on the roadside; the proposal is to incorporate into the existing signs another type of traffic sign whose information will be more easily interpreted by a processor. The type of information to be added is profuse and therefore the most important object is the robustness of the system. The basic proposal of this new philosophy is that the co-pilot system for automatic warning and driving assistance can interpret with greater ease the information contained in the new sign, whilst the human driver only has to interpret the "classic" sign. One of the codings that has been tested with good results and which seems to us easy to implement is that which has a rectangular shape and 4 vertical bars of different colours. The size of these signs is equivalent to the size of the conventional signs (approximately 0.4 m2). The colour information from the sign can be easily interpreted by the proposed processor and the interpretation is much easier and quicker than the information shown by the pictographs of the classic signs