A Brief Overview of Road Accidents and Recent Preventive Methodologies for Accident Hotspots in the United Arab Emirates

This paper highlights major causes of road accidents in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and explores the possibility of reducing them through modern in-vehicle control technologies. Mostly, road safety data from the Global Road Safety Facility (GSRF), Road Safety Polices and Regulations for UK and UAE have been reviewed for comparison and analysis. It contains a descriptive analysis of road accident data which was taken from Ministry of Interior (MOI) - UAE website. It shows how the Pareto Principle applies to most of the road accidents in the UAE with young males’ poor driving habits and higher maximum speed limits being the major causes and, a systematic approach as per the Nilsson Power Model, to tackle these issues. It ends with the conclusion that, although high speed limits on urban roads and highways are some of the critical factors in causing dangerous road accidents but, it can be tackled with by implementing strict road safety policies and enforcing them with modern in vehicle technologies.

Numerical Study of Longitudinal Inter-Distance and Operational Characteristics for High-Speed Capsular Train Systems

High-speed capsular vehicles are firstly suggested as an idea by Elon Musk of Tesla Company. Unlike conventional high-speed trains, capsular vehicles are individual vessels carrying passengers and freight with the expected maximum speed of near 1200 [km/h] in a near-vacuum tunnel. More individual vehicle speed, dispatch, and position control in the operational aspect are expected over connected trains. This numerical study and investigation evaluate and analyze inter-distance control and their characteristics for high-speed capsular vehicles and their operational aspects. Among many aspects of operation, the inter-distance of multiple vehicles is critical toward passenger/freight flow rate and infrastructural investment. In this paper, the system’s equation, equation of the motion, and various characteristics of the system are introduced, and in particular control design parameters for inter-distance control and actuation are numerically shown. As a conclusion, (1) Inter-distance between vehicles is a function of error rate and second car start time, the magnitude range is determined by second car start time, (2) Inter-distance fluctuation rate is a function of error rate and second car start time, however; it can be minimized by choosing the correct second car start time, and (3) If the second car start time is chosen an integer number of push-down cycle time at specific velocity error rate, the inter-distance fluctuation can be zero.

Dynamics of machines with ideal inertial motion

The term "inertioid" and its first design in 1936 was invented by engineer V. N. Tolchin. Despite the demonstration of unsupported motion using a physical model, the mystery of the inertioid has existed for almost a century. There are several theories explaining the motion of the inertioid (or mechanisms with inertial motion). These theories include the theory of friction, which proves that the movement of the device occurs due to the difference between the coefficients of friction and the coefficients of rolling resistance in contact between the bottom of the machine and the road. In some works, to explain the physical nature of this phenomenon, it is often legitimate to use A. Einstein's theory of relativity from a scientific point of view. In our opinion, the approach to the study of the process of motion of the inertioid should be based on the theory of the gravitational field. In the theory of relativity, A. Einstein notes that rapidly moving frames of reference create their own gravitational fields. Rotating weights create their own potential fields, since they are affected by centripetal accelerations. When the field of rotating loads is imposed on the gravitational field of the earth, accelerations appear that cause the movement of an inertioid (machines with an inertial mover). In fact, we constantly encounter this kind of overlap of potential fields in our daily life. For example, the effect of latitude on the value of the free fall acceleration of a body above the earth's surface is explained by the imposition of the earth's gravitational field of the potential field of its rotation around its axis. In the paper an inertioid with an idealized engine, which creates a constant driving (traction) force directed towards the movement has been investigated. As a result of the study, the equations of the translational motion of a machine with an ideal inertial engine were obtained, an expression for calculating its maximum speed was determined, and the maximum required engine power for the movement of a machine with an ideal inertial engine was determined.

Comparison of Cabin Noise of Airport Express Rail Systems

In this paper, the cabin noise of four airport express rail systems, namely the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport MRT, the Hong Kong Airport Express, RER B service from Paris Gare du Nord to Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport, and the Shanghai Maglev, have been measured. These four airport express rail systems have different specifications and maximum speeds, ranging from 100 to 300 km/h. The results show a significant low-frequency noise content below 100 Hz, which would not be captured if the measurements were conducted in dB(A). The difference between Leq in terms of dB(C) and dB(A) ranges from 11.3 to 17.0 dB. The maximum speed of the Taoyuan Airport MRT was found to be the lowest at 100 km/h and with the lowest Leq in terms of 66.4 dB(A) and 81.4 dB(C). The Shanghai Maglev has a maximum speed of 300 km/h but a relatively low Leq of 69.7 dB(A), although its top speed is almost three times the maximum of the other airport rail systems. It also has the lowest Lmax of 73.1 dB(A) among the four rail systems. Moreover, the Paris RER B railway system, with its top speed of 120 km/h, was measured to have the highest Leq and Lmax values of 72.8 dB(A) and 83.8 dB(A), respectively.

Implementation of a DPU-Based Intelligent Thermal Imaging Hardware Accelerator on FPGA

Thermal imaging has many applications that all leverage from the heat map that can be constructed using this type of imaging. It can be used in Internet of Things (IoT) applications to detect the features of surroundings. In such a case, Deep Neural Networks (DNNs) can be used to carry out many visual analysis tasks which can provide the system with the capacity to make decisions. However, due to their huge computational cost, such networks are recommended to exploit custom hardware platforms to accelerate their inference as well as reduce the overall energy consumption of the system. In this work, an energy adaptive system is proposed, which can intelligently configure itself based on the battery energy level. Besides achieving a maximum speed increase that equals 6.38X, the proposed system achieves significant energy that is reduced by 97.81% compared to a conventional general-purpose CPU.

Analysis of the Influence of Transmission Housing Elasticity on the Vibration Characteristics of Gear Shafting under Coupling Effect

The influences of transmission housing elastic deformations on the vibration gear shafting characteristics are studied. The vibration model of the vehicle transmission system in consideration of the dynamics coupling of the housing and the gear shafting is constructed. Aiming at a vehicle transmission, the mathematical model of the bending and torsional gear shafting vibrations is established based on the lumped mass method. Following the elastic treatment of the box, a comprehensive stiffness model at the bearing considering the housing deformation is proposed to achieve the dynamic coupling between the box and the gear shafting system. Furthermore, the gear shafting vibration characteristics considering housing deformations are obtained by integrating multisource dynamic excitation, which is solved using an iterative method. The results are verified through a bench test. And, it shows that the elastic deformation of the housing aggravates the gear shafting vibration (bending and torsional coupled vibration). The peak frequency mostly remains the same. The maximum speed changes amplitude and associated root mean square value (calculated at the gear position) increase by 55.5% and 59.6%, respectively. Next, the maximum bearing support force and its root mean square value are increased by 63.7% and 97.6%, respectively. Finally, the largest increase in maximum vibration acceleration at the measuring point and the simulated root mean square value are 90% and 63.1%, respectively. It is concluded that the research results provide a theoretical basis for the study of transmission dynamic reliability.

Numerical Simulation of Impact Rockburst of Elliptical Caverns with Different Axial Ratios

Herein, a finite discrete element method was used to simulate the rockburst phenomenon of elliptical caverns with different axis ratios. Two situations were employed, namely when the disturbance direction is perpendicular and parallel to the ellipse. Based on the peak stress, maximum velocity, stress nephogram, and image fractal characteristics, the influence of axis ratio and direction of the disturbance on rockburst were analyzed. The results show that the samples with different axis ratios experienced the same process of quiet period, slab cracking period, and rockburst. The rockburst pit had V shape, and the failure modes of rockburst primarily included shear cracks, horizontal tension cracks, and vertical tension cracks. With the rise in axis ratio, the peak stress and maximum speed increased. Furthermore, the pressure area on the left and right sides of the sample cavern decreased when the disturbance direction was parallel to the short axis of the ellipse, while it increased for the sample with a disturbance direction perpendicular to the short axis. The fractal dimension value of the crack was gradually amplified with disturbance. The fractal dimension value of the sample whose disturbance direction was perpendicular to the minor axis of the ellipse was lower, and it was more difficult to damage.

Determination of the aerodynamic characteristics of the tiltrotor with the wingtip-mounted coaxial rotors

The article describes the study of rotor-to-wing aerodynamic interaction for the wingtip-mounted coaxial rotors configuration of the tiltrotor aircraft. The influence of the rotor slipstreams on lift-to-drag ratio characteristic was determined. Obtained results were compared with similar characteristics of the equivalent in thrust conventional single rotor slipstreams impact. Using the computational aerodynamics methods (panel-vortex method) the flow around the tiltrotor model with the wingtip-mounted single and coaxial rotors has been simulated. A study of the basic model configuration with conventional single rotors, based on the technical characteristics of the AgustaWestland AW609 tiltrotor, was conducted. Further researches were conducted for a modified model where single rotors were replaced with equivalent in thrust coaxial rotors. The influence of the rotor slipstreams on the aerodynamic characteristics of the model for both directions of rotors rotation in coaxial combination is considered. Also, the dependence of the maximum lift-to-drag characteristic due to the coaxial rotor diameters change has been determined. The results show that the coaxial rotor slipstreams-to-wing aerodynamic interaction effect is the similar to the effect of conventional single rotor, but less intensive. Comparison of the results showed that a tiltrotor equipped with wingtip-mounted single rotors has approximately 20% greater maximum lift-to-drag characteristic than one equipped with coaxial rotors with the same thrust. However, the use of coaxial rotors allows getting higher maximum speed, when conventional single rotors lose the efficiency significantly. Therefore, it is advisable to conduct further research for the possibility of using coaxial rotors for tiltrotor aircrafts. The research results are presented in graphical form. The obtained data provides a basis for further studies of the described problem, and also will be useful for new tiltrotor design works.

Development of a model of selecting cloud software for a road construction organization under interval information

The object of research is the management processes of a road construction organization. The research is based on the principles of systems analysis for structuring design processes; methods of mathematical modeling, fuzzy mathematics, discrete programming, multicriteria assessment and optimization for the selection of cloud software for road construction organizations in terms of interval information. The information system of a road construction organization includes planning, reporting, regulatory and technical documentation that characterizes the state and movement of information in the enterprise. It is important to use systems that speed up the generation, processing and preparation of documents, as well as improve the storage and retrieval of information. The introduction of cloud technologies has become a necessary condition for increasing the mobility, flexibility and efficiency of the management system of a road construction organization. Formalized processes of information collection and internal distribution can better predict the dynamics of market trends and act more quickly, make decisions confidently and reasonably. In the final stages of selection for assessment, it is convenient to apply the criteria in conditions of interval uncertainty. The study was aimed at improving the efficiency of transport management by developing a model for choosing the cloud software of a road construction organization in terms of interval information. The following criteria of partial optimization were used in the developed model: maximum speed of execution of functions by cloud software; minimum cloud software requirements for internet connection speed; minimum cost of cloud software. The scope of permissible solutions is determined by restrictions: – execution of all functions must be provided by cloud software; – the minimum speed of execution of functions by the cloud software should be not lower than set; – cloud software requirements for Internet connection speed should not exceed the specified; – the cost of cloud software should be no more than specified. The developed model will reduce the cost of purchasing cloud software and increase the efficiency of transport management of a road construction organization.

ANALYSIS OF HIGH-SPEEDRUNNING AND SPRINT RUNNING IN ELITE FEMALE FOOTBALL COMPETITIONS

Introduction: Although football is recognized as the fastest growing sport globally, scientific literature on female footballis still limited. Available published data in understanding the physical demands of female football players have described the necessity of a high level of physical conditioning during matches with average heart rates of 84-86% maximum heart rate and an average of 9.1-11.9 km in total distance covered in the running. The most commonly utilized physical performance measures reported are high-speed running (19km/h-23km/h) and sprinting (>23 km/h). A better understanding of football's physical, technical and tactical demands has resulted from investigations of both training and matches by wearing a global positioning system unit.Objective: This study aimed to assess the running speed and the proportions of different types of running during official competitions in elite female football players.Material and Method: A total of 22 female players (16 seniors and six juniors) that are part of a Romanian First League female football team -Politehnica Timisoara, have been monitored for running speed and covered distance in 6 official matches, which represent a quarter of the championship period. The assessment period was ten weeks (August-October 2021). The monitored parameters (total distance, distance/minute, low speed running, high speed running, sprint running, and maximum speed) wereobtained using K-Sport GPS with a high sampling rate of 50 Hz.Results: During the six analyzed matches the following average values were found: total covered distance -7906.33 ± 1176.68 m, distance/minute -90.83 ± 3.72 m/min, low-speed running distance-7598.50 ± 1102.16 m, high-speed running distance -308 ± 101.31 m, sprint running distance -69.50 ± 28.54 m, and maximum speed -25.13 ± 0.84 km/h.Conclusion: Regarding the monitored parameters (total distance, average speed, proportion of different speed running, maximum speed), we observed a constancy between different matches. During female football matches, high-speed running and sprinting covered 4.77% of the total distance. Based on this data, a future training objective would be the enhancement of this percentage in order to optimize the key moments of the matches.