Impact of Shared Lanes on Performance of the Combined Flexible Lane Assignment and Reservation-based Intersection Control

Benefiting from opportunities offered by connected and autonomous vehicles (CAVs), a concept called Combined Alternate-Direction Lane Assignment and Reservation-based Intersection Control (CADLARIC) was proposed recently for management of directionally unrestricted traffic flows in urban environments. In CADLARIC, resolution of vehicular conflicts is distributed between links and intersections to prevent intersections from turning into traffic bottlenecks. Although CADLARIC has shown promising results, it has been observed that, once traffic volume on a certain lane reaches “physical capacity,” adding more traffic on that lane degrades performance of the entire system, as each lane is exclusively dedicated to a particular movement. To overcome this problem, Combined Flexible Lane Assignment and Reservation-based Intersection Control (CFLARIC) is proposed, which offers more flexible lane assignment possibilities. While CFLARIC allows left- and right-turning lanes to be shared with through traffic, it is unclear how much through traffic should be assigned to turning lanes. Thus, this study investigates which strategy is the most beneficial when reassigning extra through traffic to the turning lanes. This goal is divided into two objectives: 1. Identify which lanes should be shared, and 2. Find a close-to-optimal amount of through traffic that should be assigned to the identified shared lane. The proposed CFLARIC strategies are compared with Fixed-Time Control (FTC), Full Reservation-based Intersection Control (FRIC), and CADLARIC for multiple demand scenarios. The results show that the best performing CFLARIC strategies outperform FTC, FRIC, and CADLARIC for delay and number of stops, and reduce the number of conflicting situations compared with FRIC and CADLARIC.

Biogas Production and Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emissions Reduction due to Use of Biogas Digesters in Small Farms in Quang Tri Province, Vietnam

This research aims to assess the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reductions due to the use of biogas technology in Quang Tri Province. With a total of over 354,000 cattle in Quang Tri Province, Vietnam, waste from livestock becomes large. The GHG emitted from the livestock industry is not small, affecting the environment. Currently, there is little concern or documentation about the reduction of GHG emissions in small farms using biogas digesters in central Vietnam. This province has applied technological solutions, typically biogas digesters, but the amount of biogas production is not calculated accurately. Our survey was conducted in Vinh Linh District and Cam Lo District in March 2019 and involved 50 farms equipped with biogas digesters and 20 farms without it. The respondents were selected based on the information provided by local authorities, satisfying two conditions: livestock households and biogas users. The former group was asked 25 questions and the latter was asked 10 questions needed to calculate GHG emissions such as the number of animals and petroleum gas/ firewood consumption. This study uses formulas described in the 2006 guideline issued by IPCC to estimate reduced GHG emissions. The results showed that the average biogas production is 5.52 m³.household-1.day-1. Only 2% of the farms made the best use of the biogas digester. The surveyed households have not really used the most optimal amount of biogas production. In this scenario, this study recommends some solutions for solving the problem. In addition, the average annual emissions before having a biogas digester are estimated to be 20.53 tons CO2e/household/year. After using the biogas, the GHG emissions are reduced to 4.52 tCO2e.household-1.day-1. Thus, the replacement of daily cooking energies with biogas helps reduce 16.01 tCO2e of greenhouse gas for each farm per year.

Selective Etching of Sr-Modified and Directionally Solidified Industrial Al–Si Eutectic Alloys for Fabricating Fibrous Eutectic Si

In order to fabricate fibrous eutectic Si, the selective etching of industrial Al–Si eutectic alloys directionally solidified at different growth rates and modified by different amounts of Sr was studied. Flake eutectic and fibrous Si were obtained by selective etching of non-modified, Sr-modified or directionally solidified Al–Si eutectic alloys. The optimal amount of Sr for fabricating branching eutectic Si was 0.04–0.07%. Through directional solidification with a high enough growth rate (more than 200 μm/s), lamellar eutectic Si transforms to fibrous eutectic Si for use in non-modified Al–Si eutectic alloys. The potentiodynamic polarization and cyclic voltammetry methods were used to test the corrosion behavior of non-modified and Sr-modified Al–Si eutectic alloys. With a constant potential of 0.5 V in HCl solution, non-modified Al–Si eutectic alloys displayed initial pitting corrosion and subsequent spalling corrosion, and 0.04% Sr-modified samples displayed uniform pitting corrosion. Compared with non-modified Al–Si eutectic alloys, Sr-modified samples displayed better corrosion resistance with lower current density and shallower pit depth during the same etching conditions.

EFFECT OF REJUVENATORS ON PENETRATION AND SOFTENING POIND OF AGED POLYMER-MODIFIED ROAD BITUMEN

The article describes the effiency of polymer-modified road bitumen regeneration with two types of rejuvenators. Two alternative rejuvenators have been selected aromatic oil Nygen 910 and soft road bitumen V12000. PMB 45/80-55 bitumen, which is used in the upper and lower layers of asphalt pavement, was investigated. During the life time of the asphalt pvement, due to the effects of solar UV radiation, temperature and oxygen, of all the layers of the structure asphalt top layer reaches the highest degree of aging. Short-term and long-term aging were performed to simulate the aging of the bitmen under laboratory conditions. To determine the optimal amount of rejuvenator experiments were performed with 8%, 10% ir 14% rejuvenator by bitumen mass. The effect of rejuvenators were evaluated by studying the main physical properties of bitumen: penetration and softening temperature. Ina n experimental study, aromatic oil was found to be more than 2.5 times more effective than soft bitumen.

LIGHTWEIGHT MORTAR GEOPOLIMER BASED ON FLY ASH AND PALM ASH

This research discusses the use of alumunium powder in the manufacture of geopolymer mortar made from fly ash and palm ash, with the aim of knowing the optimal amount of alumunium powder mixture against the compressive strength of geopolymer mortar. The research method used experimental methods in the laboratory, to examine the compressive strength of different geopolymer mortar tests used in the form of cubes measuring 5 x 5 x 5 cm with a mixture composition of NaOH: Na2SiO3 = 1: 2.5, Activator: Precursor = 1: 1, Fine Aggregate: Precursor = 1.5: 1 Concentration of NaOH = 12 M for the ratio of fly ash use: palm ash = 75: 25% using alumunium powder as much as 0, 0.5, 0.75 and 1%. Mortar strength testing was carried out after 3, 7, 14, 21 and 28 days of maintenance The compressive strength results obtained in each composition of the geopolymer mortar mixture are for geopolymer mortar without a mixture of alumunium powder as large as Mpa, for geopolymer mortar with a mixture of alumunium powder as much as 0.5%, 0.75% and 1% have a compressive strength of 20.9 Mpa, 15.2 Mpa, 12.7 Mpa Dan 9,7 Mpa

The Study of Kenaf Powder Performance in Mortar

As cement is essential in producing mortar, reforms and innovations are needed to reduce the adverse effects of CO2 in the future. The objectives of this study were to determine the optimal amount of kenaf powder in mortar strength and to examine the mechanical and flexural properties of kenaf powder in the mortar. Thirty-six mortar cubes of 50 mm x 50 mm x 50 mm and 12 number of mortar prism were cast using mix ratio of 1:3 with two different water-cement ratios. The replacement of kenaf powder ranging from 10% to 20% to the cement matrix were tested to investigate the mechanical parameters such as workability, density, compressive strength, and water absorption capabilities. Furthermore flexural strength was assessed using a similar mix proportion. The mortar containing 10% of kenaf powder and superplasticizer additives had demonstrated the best performance in workability and improved the compressive strength and flexural strength.

Colour and textural typologies of goat cream butter with sea buckthorn (Hippophae rhamnoides L.) puree: instrumental, sensory, and consumer input for product development

In this research the effect of the addition of sea buckthorn puree (Hippophae rhamnoides L.) to goat cream butter was examined via analysis of its textural, physicochemical and sensory properties. Consumer acceptance was assessed. The addition of sea buckthorn promoted a stickiness and acidic flavour compared to the original goat butter. The number of consumers who liked goat butter increased by 35 %. The optimal amount of sea buckthorn added was determined as 1.5 %. A larger amount had a negative effect on the colour, as well as creating a more acidic flavour and fruit aroma.

Climate Change and Coffee Farm Relocation in Ethiopia: A Real-Options Approach

Climate change and emerging pests and diseases may negatively affect coffee yields and revenues in Ethiopian regions at low altitudes. Hence, the relocation of coffee farms to regions at higher altitudes has been suggested in order to assure sustainability and resilience for Ethiopian coffee production. In this paper, we study how sunk establishment costs, uncertain net returns and policy-induced incentives may affect the timing and value of a coffee farm relocation. This is done by developing a real-options model taking into account the relevant drivers of the farmer’s decision to relocate. We then present an empirical analysis examining a hypothetical relocation. We show that relocation is a rather attractive opportunity even though the presence of volatile net returns and relatively high establishment costs may induce its postponement. Thus, we determine the optimal amount of subsidy needed in order to foster the relocation process.