In petroleum extraction,the sealing surfaces of bolted joints are susceptible to damage due to the high-temperature and high-pressure conditions in wellbores.This damage adversely affects sealing performance,consequen...In petroleum extraction,the sealing surfaces of bolted joints are susceptible to damage due to the high-temperature and high-pressure conditions in wellbores.This damage adversely affects sealing performance,consequently leading to the failure and damage of threaded connections.In severe cases,it can result in considerable economic losses and trigger safety accidents.The sealing performance of special bolted joints holds crucial importance for production efficiency,output,equipment lifespan,and cost control.Enhancing the sealing perfor-mance of threaded connections can have a positive impact on industrial production and environmental protection.The existing research on American Petroleum Institute threaded joints has been thorough and has obtained a series of excellent results.However,the research on the sealing damage mechanism of threaded connections under complex well conditions lacks sufficient depth and that on new sealing technology is scarce.This study proposes a half-size evaluation test to address the abovementioned problem.Based on this test,an investigation into the sealing performance of threaded connections under high-temperature,cyclic loading,and high-temperature creep conditions is conducted.This study uses a combined approach of finite element methods and experiments to investigate the impact of different makeup torques on the sealing performance of premium threaded connections(PTCs).The results of the half-size evaluation test indicate that temperature notably influences the sealing performance of threaded connections.The continuous action of high temperatures causes contact pressure and sealing performance to decrease,and sealing contact pressure increases after cooling.Finite element and test results show that for a certain joint A,the greater the torque,the higher the critical sealing pressure of the thread,and the better the sealing performance.The research on the sealing damage mechanism of PTCs provides a scientific basis and theoretical guidance for the further optimization and development of PTCs.展开更多
The modern transportation system is increasingly developed during recent years.It is an effective solution to set the noise barriers to reduce the traffic noise pollution caused by different kinds of transportation sy...The modern transportation system is increasingly developed during recent years.It is an effective solution to set the noise barriers to reduce the traffic noise pollution caused by different kinds of transportation systems.Many deficiencies on concrete noise barriers and metal noise barriers with rivet structure can be eliminated by a new kind of noise barrier with no-riveted structure.The mechanical performance examination and acoustic performance test are conducted on the new-designed noise barrier with no-riveted structure.The results indicate that the maximum stress is 1.74 MPa and the maximum deformation is 1.04 mm with load acting on the unit plate.The noise reduction coefficient of this kind of no-riveted noise barrier unit plate is 0.75 and its noise insulation is 40 dB,which were conform to or superior to the standard requirements.Therefore,this new designed noise barrier meets the field application requirements of mechanical and acoustic performance,which demonstrates the noise barriers can be widely promoted.展开更多
Mergers and acquisitions （M＆A） are the important methods to quickly acquire external resources, achieve the economies of scale and the economies of scope, improve market share, and expand the scale of enterprise, w...Mergers and acquisitions （M＆A） are the important methods to quickly acquire external resources, achieve the economies of scale and the economies of scope, improve market share, and expand the scale of enterprise, while M＆A performance is an important index to measure if enterprise M＆A is successful. In this paper, the influence of entrepreneurs＇ political connection on the M＆A driving factors and M＆A efficiency of the enterprises with different property rights are analyzed using 357 mergers and acquisitions of China＇ s 189 listed companies in 2005-2011 as samples based on the distinction between political connection and the nature of enterprise property rights. The results show that the political connection plays a very significant positive influence on the M＆A performances of the central state-owned enterprises and private enterprises, but exerts a very significant negative influence on the local state-owned enterprises; the intensity of entrepreneurs＇ political connection also plays a certain influence on enterprise merger and acquisition, and the central political connection and the local political connection are significantly different in the influence on the enterprise M＆A performance.展开更多
Precast concrete structures have gained popularity due to their advantages.However,the seismic performance of their connection joints remains an area of ongoing research and improvement.Grouted Sleeve Connection(GSC)o...Precast concrete structures have gained popularity due to their advantages.However,the seismic performance of their connection joints remains an area of ongoing research and improvement.Grouted Sleeve Connection(GSC)offers a solution for connecting reinforcements in precast components,but their vulnerability to internal defects,such as construction errors and material variability,can significantly impact performance.This article presents a finite element analysis(FEA)to evaluate the impact of internal grouting defects in GSC on the structural performance of precast reinforced concrete columns.Four finite elementmodels representing GSC with varying degrees of defects were used to investigate the effects on mechanical properties,including bearing capacity,stress-deformation behavior,and stiffness degradation.The study highlights the significant impact of internal grouting defects on the mechanical performance of GSC,with findings indicating a decrease in stiffness,increased plastic deformation,and reduced energy dissipation as the proportion of internal defects rises.The analysis reveals that the internal defects in GSC act as stress concentration points,leading to early crack formation and accelerated damage under cyclic loading.By improving construction quality and reducing the prevalence of grouting defects,the adverse effects on the performance of GSC can be mitigated.Compared to defect-free specimens,those with defects of 30%exhibited a 31.23%reduction in horizontal bearing capacity,highlighting the importance of minimizing defects in practical engineering applications.展开更多
Corporate sustainability reporting has become increasingly important in recent years.However,conventional approaches reach their limits when it comes to quantifying and measuring the actual sustainability performance ...Corporate sustainability reporting has become increasingly important in recent years.However,conventional approaches reach their limits when it comes to quantifying and measuring the actual sustainability performance of a company.This article presents a new approach:Sustainable Performance Accounting(SPA),which is based on an extension of bookkeeping by including ESG bookkeeping.SPA enables companies to systematically measure and manage their sustainability performance.The article provides an overview of the basics of SPA methodology and uses a comprehensive example showing how SPA can be implemented in practice.The article is aimed at interested readers from science and practice as well as decision-makers who are interested in future-oriented sustainability reporting.展开更多
The effect of through-thickness reinforcement by composite pins （Z-pins） on the static tensile strength and failure mechanisms of the joints made from ceramic matrix composite （CMC） is investigated. Overlap length...The effect of through-thickness reinforcement by composite pins （Z-pins） on the static tensile strength and failure mechanisms of the joints made from ceramic matrix composite （CMC） is investigated. Overlap length of the single lap joint is 15 mm, 20 mm, 23 mm, 37 mm, and 60 mm, respectively. The experimental results indicate that the final failure modes of the joints can be divided into two groups, （a） the bond-line stops debonding until crack encounters Z-pins; and then the adherends break at the location of Z-pins, when overlap length is more than 20 mm; （b） the bond-line detaches entirely and Z-pins are drawn from adherends, when overlap length is equal to 15 mm. A simple efficient computational approach is presented for analyzing the benefit of through-thickness pins for restricting failure in the single lap joints. Here, the mechanics problem is simplified by representing the effect of the pins by tractions acting on the fracture surfaces of the cracked bond-line. The tractions are prescribed as functions of the crack displacement, which are available in simple forms that summarize the complex deformations to a reasonable accuracy. The resulting model can be used to track the evolution of complete failure mechanisms, for example, bond-line initial delamination and ultimate failure associated with Z-pin pullout, ultimate failure of the adherends. The paper simulates connecting performance of the single lap joints with different Z-pins＇ diameter, spacing and overlap length; the numerical results agree with the experimental results; the numerical results indicate enlarging diameter and decreasing spacing of Z-pins are in favor of improving the connecting performance of the joints. By numerical analysis method, the critical overlap length that lies between two final failure modes is between 18 mm and 19 mm, when Z-pins＇ diameter and spacing are 0.4 mm, 5 mm, respectively.展开更多
In this paper,the seismic behaviors of precast bridge columns connected with grouted corrugated-metal duct(GCMD)were investigated through the biaxial quasi-static experiment and numerical simulation.With a geometric s...In this paper,the seismic behaviors of precast bridge columns connected with grouted corrugated-metal duct(GCMD)were investigated through the biaxial quasi-static experiment and numerical simulation.With a geometric scale ratio of 1:5,five specimens were fabricated,including four precast bridge columns connected with GCMD and one cast-in-place(CIP)bridge column.A finite element analysis model was also established by using OpenSees and was then calibrated by using the experimental results for parameter analysis.The results show the biaxial seismic performance of the precast bridge columns connected with GCMD was similar to the CIP bridge columns regarding ultimate bearing capacity and hysteresis energy,and further,that it could meet the design goal of equivalent performance.The seismic performance of the precast bridge columns connected with GCMD deteriorated more significantly under bi-directional load than under uni-directional load.A proper slenderness ratio(e.g.,7.0-10.0)and longitudinal reinforcement ratio could significantly improve the energy dissipation capacity and deformation capacity of the precast bridge columns,while the axial load ratio and concrete strength had little influence on the above properties.The research results could bring insights to the development of the seismic design of precast bridge columns connected with GCMD.展开更多
To improve the heat transfer performance of microchannels,a novel microchannel embedded with connected grooves crossing two sidewalls and the bottom surface(type A)was designed.A comparative study of heat transfer was...To improve the heat transfer performance of microchannels,a novel microchannel embedded with connected grooves crossing two sidewalls and the bottom surface(type A)was designed.A comparative study of heat transfer was conducted regarding the performances of type A microchannels,microchannels embedded with grooves on their bottom(including types B and C),or on the sidewalls(type D)as well as smooth rectangular microchannels(type E)via a three-dimensional numerical simulation and experimental validation(at Reynolds numbers from 118 to 430).Numerical results suggested that the average Nusselt number of types A,B,C,and D microchannels were 106,73.4,50.1,and 12.6%higher than that of type E microchannel,respectively.The smallest synergy angle β and entropy generation number Ns,a were determined for type A microchannels based on field synergy and nondimensional entropy analysis,which indicated that type A exhibited the best heat transfer performance.Numerical flow analysis indicated that connected grooves induced fluid to flow along two different temperature gradients,which contributed to enhanced heat transfer performance.展开更多
Local arterials can be significantly impacted by diversions from adjacent work zones. These diversions often occur on unofficial detour routes due to guidance received on personal navigation devices. Often, these rout...Local arterials can be significantly impacted by diversions from adjacent work zones. These diversions often occur on unofficial detour routes due to guidance received on personal navigation devices. Often, these routes do not have sufficien<span style="font-family:Verdana;">t sensing or communication equipment to obtain infrastructure-based tra</span><span style="font-family:Verdana;">ffic signal performance measures, so other data sources are required to identify locations being significantly affected by diversions. This paper examines the network impact caused by the start of an 18-month closure of the I-65/70 interchange (North Split), which usually serves approximately 214,000 vehicles per day in Indianapolis, IN. In anticipation of some proportion of the public diverting from official detour routes to local streets, a connected vehicle monitoring program was established to provide daily performances measures for over 100 intersections in the area without the need for vehicle sensing equipment. This study reports on 13 of the most impacted signals on an alternative arterial to identify locations and time of day where operations are most degraded, so that decision makers have quantitative information to make informed adjustments to the system. Individual vehicle movements at the studied locations are analyzed to estimate changes in volume, split failures, downstream blockage, arrivals on green, and travel times. Over 130,000 trajectories were analyzed in an 11-week period. Weekly afternoon peak period volumes increased by approximately 455%, split failures increased 3%, downstream blockage increased 10%, arrivals on green decreased 16%, and travel time increase 74%. The analysis performed in this paper will serve as a framework for any agency that wants to assess traffic signal performance at hundreds of locations with little or no existing sensing or communication infrastructure to prioritize tactical retiming and/or longer-term infrastructure investments.</span>展开更多
The essence of this study is to investigate the influence of the board gender diversity on firms’accounting and market-based performance using a sample of Standard&Poor’s 500 companies belonging to the informati...The essence of this study is to investigate the influence of the board gender diversity on firms’accounting and market-based performance using a sample of Standard&Poor’s 500 companies belonging to the information technology sector over 12 years.Using the pooled ordinary least squares(OLS)method,the outcomes provide evidence for a positive influence of women on corporate boards on both measures of company performance,except for the percentage of female executives in the case of return on assets(ROA).After estimating the fixed effects and random-effects through panel data,the econometric outcomes show no statistically significant association among board gender diversity and ROA but a positive influence of the number and percentage of women on board on price-to-earnings ratio.展开更多
Since the first Diverging Diamond Interchange (DDI) implementation in 2009, most of the performance studies developed for this type of interchange have been based on simulations and historical crash data, with a small...Since the first Diverging Diamond Interchange (DDI) implementation in 2009, most of the performance studies developed for this type of interchange have been based on simulations and historical crash data, with a small numbe<span style="font-family:Verdana;">r of studies using Automated Traffic Signal Performance Measures (ATS</span><span style="font-family:Verdana;">PM). Simulation models require considerable effort to collect volumes and to model actual controller operations. Safety studies based on historical crashes usually require from 3 to 5 years of data collection. ATSPMs rely on sensing equipment. This study describes the use of connected vehicle trajectory data to analyze the performance of a DDI located in the metropolitan area of Fort Wayne, IN. An extension of the Purdue Probe Diagram (PPD) is proposed to assess the levels of delay, progression, and saturation. Further, an additional PPD variation is presented that provides a convenient visualization to qualitatively understand progression patterns and to evaluate queue length for spillback in the critical interior crossover. Over 7000 trajectories and 130,000 GPS points were analyzed between the 7</span><sup><span style="font-family:Verdana;">th</span></sup><span style="font-family:Verdana;"> and the 11</span><sup><span style="font-family:Verdana;">th</span></sup><span style="font-family:Verdana;"> of June 2021 from 5:00 AM to 10:00 PM to estimate the DDI’s arrivals on green, level of service, split failures, and downstream blockage. Although this technique was demonstrated for weekdays, the ubiquity of connected vehicle data makes it very ea</span><span style="font-family:Verdana;">sy to adapt these techniques to analysis during special events, winter sto</span><span style="font-family:Verdana;">rms, and weekends. Furthermore, the methodologies presented in this paper can be applied by any agency wanting to assess the performance of any DDI in their jurisdiction.</span>展开更多
There are over 8000 roundabouts in the United States. The current techniques for assessing their performance require field counts to provide inputs to analysis or simulation models. These techniques are labor-intensiv...There are over 8000 roundabouts in the United States. The current techniques for assessing their performance require field counts to provide inputs to analysis or simulation models. These techniques are labor-intensive and do not scale well. This paper presents a methodology to use connected vehicle (CV) trajectory data to estimate delay and level of service for roundabout approaches by adapting the Purdue Probe Diagram used for traffic signal analytics. By linear referencing vehicle trajectories with a particular movement based on the location and time they exit a roundabout, delay can be calculated. The scalability is demonstrated by applying these techniques to assess over 100 roundabouts in Carmel, IN during the weekday afternoon peak period in July 2021. Over 264,000 trajectories and 3,600,000 GPS points were analyzed to rank over 300 roundabout approaches by delay and summarize in Pareto-sorted graphics and maps. The paper concludes by discussing how </span><span style="font-family:Verdana;">these techniques can also be used to analyze queue</span></span><span style="font-family:""> </span><span style="font-family:Verdana;">lengths and origin</span><span style="font-family:Verdana;">-destination characteristics at roundabouts. The methodology presented in this study can be used by any agency that wants to assess the performance of all roundabouts in their system.展开更多
As an approach to the interpretation of the closest connection doctrine used for years in the European continent for the choice of the law appliable to contractual relations as well as non-contractual ones,the charact...As an approach to the interpretation of the closest connection doctrine used for years in the European continent for the choice of the law appliable to contractual relations as well as non-contractual ones,the characteristic performance test evolves with the development of international economic and trade activities.Despite criticisms on this approach as embodied in the Rome Convention,the RomeⅠRegulation retains it.This article will focus on the development of the characteristic performance theory and try to explain that this theory,as one of the interpretations and solutions to the closest connection doctrine universally accepted nowadays,has its strengths and weaknesses.展开更多
As a solution against the serviceability problem caused by the cracks occurring at the UHPC precast deck-joint interface, this study proposes a method exposing the steel fiber at the interface and evaluates the corres...As a solution against the serviceability problem caused by the cracks occurring at the UHPC precast deck-joint interface, this study proposes a method exposing the steel fiber at the interface and evaluates the corresponding flexural performance of the lap spliced construction joint. After having slowed down the strength development of the concrete placed in the joint of the precast deck by means of a curing retardant, the concrete at the interface is crushed so as to expose the steel fibers and the change in the flexural performance is observed experimentally according to the exposure of the steel fibers. The results show that, even if the ultimate strength and stiffness of the UHPC precast deck including the joint are mostly determined by the arrangement details of the rebar lap splice, the exposure of the steel fibers can secure stable ductile behavior and reduce the width of the cracks generated at the precast deck-joint interface under service load.展开更多
The comparative research on the seismic performance of grouted sleeve connected pier(GS)and prestressed precast segmental concrete pier(PC)is mostly carried out by numerical simulation.In this study,the GS pier and th...The comparative research on the seismic performance of grouted sleeve connected pier(GS)and prestressed precast segmental concrete pier(PC)is mostly carried out by numerical simulation.In this study,the GS pier and the PC pier of the new railway project from Hetian to Ruoqiang are taken into consideration.Two kinds of 1/5-scale assembled double-column specimens are made,and the quasi-static tests are carried out.The overall seismic performance of the two spliced piers is studied,and compared in terms of failure mechanism,bearing capacity,ductility,stiffness and energy dissipation capacity.The results show that the failure modes of both GS pier and PC pier are characterized by bending.However,the specific failure location and form are different.The GS pier presents a complete hysteretic curve,large equivalent stiffness and strong energy dissipation capacity.The hysteretic area of the PC pier is small.However,it has good self-reset ability and quasi-static residual displacement.Finite element models are set up using DispBeamColumn fiber elements and ZeroLength elements.The models that are calibrated with the test data can effectively simulate the damage development under monotonic loading.The load−displacement curves are in good agreement with the backbone curves of the test results.展开更多
Connected vehicle (CV) trajectory data provides practitioners with opportunities to assess traffic signal performance with no investment in detection or communication infrastructure. With over 500 billion trajectory r...Connected vehicle (CV) trajectory data provides practitioners with opportunities to assess traffic signal performance with no investment in detection or communication infrastructure. With over 500 billion trajectory records generated each month in the United States, operations can be evaluated virtually at any of the over 400,000 traffic signals in the nation. The manual intersection mapping required to generate accurate movement-level trajectory-based performance estimations is the most time-consuming aspect of using CV data to evaluate traffic signal operations. Various studies have utilized vehicle location data to update and create maps;however, most proposed mapping techniques focus on the identification of roadway characteristics that facilitate vehicle navigation and not on the scaling of traffic signal performance measures. This paper presents a technique that uses commercial CV trajectory and open-source OpenStreetMap (OSM) data to automatically map intersection centers and approach areas of interest to estimate signal performance. OSM traffic signal tags are processed to obtain intersection centers. CV data is then used to extract intersection geometry characteristics surrounding the intersection. To demonstrate the proposed technique, intersection geometry is mapped at 500 locations from which trajectory-based traffic signal performance measures are estimated. The results are compared to those obtained from manual geometry definitions. Statistical tests found that at a 99% confidence level, upstream-focused performance estimations are strongly correlated between both methodologies. The presented technique will aid agencies in scaling traffic signal assessment as it significantly reduces the amount of manual labor required.展开更多
Diamond interchanges are frequently used where a freeway intersects a two-way surface street. Most of the techniques to evaluate the performance of diamond interchanges rely on the Highway Capacity Manual (HCM), simul...Diamond interchanges are frequently used where a freeway intersects a two-way surface street. Most of the techniques to evaluate the performance of diamond interchanges rely on the Highway Capacity Manual (HCM), simulation, Automated Traffic Signal Performance Measures (ATSPMs), and historical crash data. HCM and simulation techniques require on-site data collection to obtain models’ inputs. ATSPMs need high-resolution controller event data acquired from roadway sensing equipment. Safety studies typically need 3 to 5 years of crash data to provide statistically significant results. This study utilizes commercially available connected vehicle (CV) data to assess the performance and operation of a three- and four-phase diamond interchange located in Indianapolis, Indiana, and Dallas, Texas, respectively. Over 92,000 trajectories and 1,400,000 GPS points are analyzed from August 2020 weekdays CV data. Trajectories are linear-referenced to generate Purdue Probe Diagrams (PPDs) from which arrivals on green (AOG), split failures, downstream blockage, and movement-based control delay are estimated. In addition, an extension of the PPD is presented that characterizes the complete journey of a vehicle travelling through both signals of the diamond interchange. This enhanced PPD is a significant contribution as it provides an analytical framework and graphical summary of the operational characteristics of how the external movements traverse the entire system. The four-phase control showed high internal progression (99% AOG) compared to the moderate internal progression of the three-phase operation (64% AOG). This is consistent with the design objectives of three- and four-phase control models, but historically these quantitative AOG measures were not possible to obtain with just detector data. Additionally, a graphical summary that illustrates the spatial distribution of hard-braking and hard-acceleration events is also provided. The presented techniques can be used by any agency to evaluate the performance of their diamond interchanges without on-site data collection or capital investments in sensing infrastructure.展开更多
Bus rapid transit (BRT) systems have been implemented in many cities over the past two decades. Widespread adoption of General Transit Feed Specification (GTFS), the deployment of high-fidelity bus GPS data tracking, ...Bus rapid transit (BRT) systems have been implemented in many cities over the past two decades. Widespread adoption of General Transit Feed Specification (GTFS), the deployment of high-fidelity bus GPS data tracking, and anonymized high-fidelity connected vehicle data from private vehicles have provided new opportunities for performance measures that can be used by both transit agencies and traffic signal system operators. This paper describes the use of trajectory-based data to develop performance measures for a BRT system in Indianapolis, Indiana. Over 3 million data records during the 3-month period between March and May 2022 are analyzed to develop visualizations and performance metrics. A methodology to estimate the average delay and schedule adherence is presented along a route comprised of 74 signals and 28 bus stations. Additionally, this research demonstrates how these performance measures can be used to evaluate dedicated and non-dedicated bus lanes with general traffic. Travel times and reliability of buses are compared with nearly 30 million private vehicle trips. Results show that median travel time for buses on dedicated bi-directional lanes is within one minute of general traffic and during peak periods the buses are often faster. Schedule adherence was observed to be more challenging, with approximately 3% of buses arriving within 1 minute on average during the 5AM hour and 5% of buses arriving 6 - 9 minutes late during the 5PM hour. The framework and performance measures presented in this research provide agencies and transportation professionals with tools to identify opportunities for adjustments and to justify investment decisions.展开更多
Emerging connected vehicle (CV) data sets have recently become commercially available, enabling analysts to develop a variety of powerful performance measures without deploying any field infrastructure. This paper pre...Emerging connected vehicle (CV) data sets have recently become commercially available, enabling analysts to develop a variety of powerful performance measures without deploying any field infrastructure. This paper presents several tools using CV data to evaluate traffic progression quality along a signalized corridor. These include both performance measures for high-level analysis as well as visualizations to examine details of the coordinated operation. With the use of CV data, it is possible to assess not only the movement of traffic on the corridor but also to consider its origin-destination (O-D) path through the corridor. Results for the real-world operation of an eight-intersection signalized arterial are presented. A series of high-level performance measures are used to evaluate overall performance by time of day, with differing results by metric. Next, the details of the operation are examined with the use of two visualization tools: a cyclic time-space diagram (TSD) and an empirical platoon progression diagram (PPD). Comparing flow visualizations developed with different included O-D paths reveals several features, such as the presence of secondary and tertiary platoons on certain sections that cannot be seen when only end-to-end journeys are included. In addition, speed heat maps are generated, providing both speed performance along the corridor and locations and the extent of the queue. The proposed visualization tools portray the corridor’s performance holistically instead of combining individual signal performance metrics. The techniques exhibited in this study are compelling for identifying locations where engineering solutions such as access management or timing plan change are required. The recent progress in infrastructure-free sensing technology has significantly increased the scope of CV data-based traffic management systems, enhancing the significance of this study. The study demonstrates the utility of CV trajectory data for obtaining high-level details of the corridor performance as well as drilling down into the minute specifics.展开更多
Workload of each service class varies dynamically in the grid environment, making the static service pool size allocation scheme unable to guarantee the QoS requirement of each service class. In this paper, we link th...Workload of each service class varies dynamically in the grid environment, making the static service pool size allocation scheme unable to guarantee the QoS requirement of each service class. In this paper, we link the issue of dynamical service pool size allocation scheme with QoS requirement under the varying workload, and formulate the QoS performance of service requests in the grid environment by queue theory. Combined Lagrangian optimization with a bisearch approach, the problem of optimally allocating service pool size scheme is resolved. Simulation results show efficiency of the optimal service pool size allocation scheme.展开更多
文摘In petroleum extraction,the sealing surfaces of bolted joints are susceptible to damage due to the high-temperature and high-pressure conditions in wellbores.This damage adversely affects sealing performance,consequently leading to the failure and damage of threaded connections.In severe cases,it can result in considerable economic losses and trigger safety accidents.The sealing performance of special bolted joints holds crucial importance for production efficiency,output,equipment lifespan,and cost control.Enhancing the sealing perfor-mance of threaded connections can have a positive impact on industrial production and environmental protection.The existing research on American Petroleum Institute threaded joints has been thorough and has obtained a series of excellent results.However,the research on the sealing damage mechanism of threaded connections under complex well conditions lacks sufficient depth and that on new sealing technology is scarce.This study proposes a half-size evaluation test to address the abovementioned problem.Based on this test,an investigation into the sealing performance of threaded connections under high-temperature,cyclic loading,and high-temperature creep conditions is conducted.This study uses a combined approach of finite element methods and experiments to investigate the impact of different makeup torques on the sealing performance of premium threaded connections(PTCs).The results of the half-size evaluation test indicate that temperature notably influences the sealing performance of threaded connections.The continuous action of high temperatures causes contact pressure and sealing performance to decrease,and sealing contact pressure increases after cooling.Finite element and test results show that for a certain joint A,the greater the torque,the higher the critical sealing pressure of the thread,and the better the sealing performance.The research on the sealing damage mechanism of PTCs provides a scientific basis and theoretical guidance for the further optimization and development of PTCs.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 51768014).
文摘The modern transportation system is increasingly developed during recent years.It is an effective solution to set the noise barriers to reduce the traffic noise pollution caused by different kinds of transportation systems.Many deficiencies on concrete noise barriers and metal noise barriers with rivet structure can be eliminated by a new kind of noise barrier with no-riveted structure.The mechanical performance examination and acoustic performance test are conducted on the new-designed noise barrier with no-riveted structure.The results indicate that the maximum stress is 1.74 MPa and the maximum deformation is 1.04 mm with load acting on the unit plate.The noise reduction coefficient of this kind of no-riveted noise barrier unit plate is 0.75 and its noise insulation is 40 dB,which were conform to or superior to the standard requirements.Therefore,this new designed noise barrier meets the field application requirements of mechanical and acoustic performance,which demonstrates the noise barriers can be widely promoted.
文摘Mergers and acquisitions （M＆A） are the important methods to quickly acquire external resources, achieve the economies of scale and the economies of scope, improve market share, and expand the scale of enterprise, while M＆A performance is an important index to measure if enterprise M＆A is successful. In this paper, the influence of entrepreneurs＇ political connection on the M＆A driving factors and M＆A efficiency of the enterprises with different property rights are analyzed using 357 mergers and acquisitions of China＇ s 189 listed companies in 2005-2011 as samples based on the distinction between political connection and the nature of enterprise property rights. The results show that the political connection plays a very significant positive influence on the M＆A performances of the central state-owned enterprises and private enterprises, but exerts a very significant negative influence on the local state-owned enterprises; the intensity of entrepreneurs＇ political connection also plays a certain influence on enterprise merger and acquisition, and the central political connection and the local political connection are significantly different in the influence on the enterprise M＆A performance.
文摘Precast concrete structures have gained popularity due to their advantages.However,the seismic performance of their connection joints remains an area of ongoing research and improvement.Grouted Sleeve Connection(GSC)offers a solution for connecting reinforcements in precast components,but their vulnerability to internal defects,such as construction errors and material variability,can significantly impact performance.This article presents a finite element analysis(FEA)to evaluate the impact of internal grouting defects in GSC on the structural performance of precast reinforced concrete columns.Four finite elementmodels representing GSC with varying degrees of defects were used to investigate the effects on mechanical properties,including bearing capacity,stress-deformation behavior,and stiffness degradation.The study highlights the significant impact of internal grouting defects on the mechanical performance of GSC,with findings indicating a decrease in stiffness,increased plastic deformation,and reduced energy dissipation as the proportion of internal defects rises.The analysis reveals that the internal defects in GSC act as stress concentration points,leading to early crack formation and accelerated damage under cyclic loading.By improving construction quality and reducing the prevalence of grouting defects,the adverse effects on the performance of GSC can be mitigated.Compared to defect-free specimens,those with defects of 30%exhibited a 31.23%reduction in horizontal bearing capacity,highlighting the importance of minimizing defects in practical engineering applications.
文摘Corporate sustainability reporting has become increasingly important in recent years.However,conventional approaches reach their limits when it comes to quantifying and measuring the actual sustainability performance of a company.This article presents a new approach:Sustainable Performance Accounting(SPA),which is based on an extension of bookkeeping by including ESG bookkeeping.SPA enables companies to systematically measure and manage their sustainability performance.The article provides an overview of the basics of SPA methodology and uses a comprehensive example showing how SPA can be implemented in practice.The article is aimed at interested readers from science and practice as well as decision-makers who are interested in future-oriented sustainability reporting.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 90405015)the Research Fund forthe Doctoral Program of Higher Education (No. 20030699040).
文摘The effect of through-thickness reinforcement by composite pins （Z-pins） on the static tensile strength and failure mechanisms of the joints made from ceramic matrix composite （CMC） is investigated. Overlap length of the single lap joint is 15 mm, 20 mm, 23 mm, 37 mm, and 60 mm, respectively. The experimental results indicate that the final failure modes of the joints can be divided into two groups, （a） the bond-line stops debonding until crack encounters Z-pins; and then the adherends break at the location of Z-pins, when overlap length is more than 20 mm; （b） the bond-line detaches entirely and Z-pins are drawn from adherends, when overlap length is equal to 15 mm. A simple efficient computational approach is presented for analyzing the benefit of through-thickness pins for restricting failure in the single lap joints. Here, the mechanics problem is simplified by representing the effect of the pins by tractions acting on the fracture surfaces of the cracked bond-line. The tractions are prescribed as functions of the crack displacement, which are available in simple forms that summarize the complex deformations to a reasonable accuracy. The resulting model can be used to track the evolution of complete failure mechanisms, for example, bond-line initial delamination and ultimate failure associated with Z-pin pullout, ultimate failure of the adherends. The paper simulates connecting performance of the single lap joints with different Z-pins＇ diameter, spacing and overlap length; the numerical results agree with the experimental results; the numerical results indicate enlarging diameter and decreasing spacing of Z-pins are in favor of improving the connecting performance of the joints. By numerical analysis method, the critical overlap length that lies between two final failure modes is between 18 mm and 19 mm, when Z-pins＇ diameter and spacing are 0.4 mm, 5 mm, respectively.
基金National Natural Science Foundation of China under Grant No.51408360the Natural Science Foundation of Fujian(NSFF)under Grant No.2020J01477the Technology Project of Fuzhou Science and Technology Bureau(TPFB)under Grant No.2020-GX-18。
文摘In this paper,the seismic behaviors of precast bridge columns connected with grouted corrugated-metal duct(GCMD)were investigated through the biaxial quasi-static experiment and numerical simulation.With a geometric scale ratio of 1:5,five specimens were fabricated,including four precast bridge columns connected with GCMD and one cast-in-place(CIP)bridge column.A finite element analysis model was also established by using OpenSees and was then calibrated by using the experimental results for parameter analysis.The results show the biaxial seismic performance of the precast bridge columns connected with GCMD was similar to the CIP bridge columns regarding ultimate bearing capacity and hysteresis energy,and further,that it could meet the design goal of equivalent performance.The seismic performance of the precast bridge columns connected with GCMD deteriorated more significantly under bi-directional load than under uni-directional load.A proper slenderness ratio(e.g.,7.0-10.0)and longitudinal reinforcement ratio could significantly improve the energy dissipation capacity and deformation capacity of the precast bridge columns,while the axial load ratio and concrete strength had little influence on the above properties.The research results could bring insights to the development of the seismic design of precast bridge columns connected with GCMD.
基金Supported by the Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant No.51922092)Natural Science Foundation of Fujian Province of China(Grant No.2017J06015)+1 种基金the Equipment Pre-research Foundation of China(Grant No.61409230206)Open Fund of the Key Laboratory for Metallurgical Equipment and Control of Ministry of Education in Wuhan University of Science and Technology(Grant No.MECOF2019A01).
文摘To improve the heat transfer performance of microchannels,a novel microchannel embedded with connected grooves crossing two sidewalls and the bottom surface(type A)was designed.A comparative study of heat transfer was conducted regarding the performances of type A microchannels,microchannels embedded with grooves on their bottom(including types B and C),or on the sidewalls(type D)as well as smooth rectangular microchannels(type E)via a three-dimensional numerical simulation and experimental validation(at Reynolds numbers from 118 to 430).Numerical results suggested that the average Nusselt number of types A,B,C,and D microchannels were 106,73.4,50.1,and 12.6%higher than that of type E microchannel,respectively.The smallest synergy angle β and entropy generation number Ns,a were determined for type A microchannels based on field synergy and nondimensional entropy analysis,which indicated that type A exhibited the best heat transfer performance.Numerical flow analysis indicated that connected grooves induced fluid to flow along two different temperature gradients,which contributed to enhanced heat transfer performance.
文摘Local arterials can be significantly impacted by diversions from adjacent work zones. These diversions often occur on unofficial detour routes due to guidance received on personal navigation devices. Often, these routes do not have sufficien<span style="font-family:Verdana;">t sensing or communication equipment to obtain infrastructure-based tra</span><span style="font-family:Verdana;">ffic signal performance measures, so other data sources are required to identify locations being significantly affected by diversions. This paper examines the network impact caused by the start of an 18-month closure of the I-65/70 interchange (North Split), which usually serves approximately 214,000 vehicles per day in Indianapolis, IN. In anticipation of some proportion of the public diverting from official detour routes to local streets, a connected vehicle monitoring program was established to provide daily performances measures for over 100 intersections in the area without the need for vehicle sensing equipment. This study reports on 13 of the most impacted signals on an alternative arterial to identify locations and time of day where operations are most degraded, so that decision makers have quantitative information to make informed adjustments to the system. Individual vehicle movements at the studied locations are analyzed to estimate changes in volume, split failures, downstream blockage, arrivals on green, and travel times. Over 130,000 trajectories were analyzed in an 11-week period. Weekly afternoon peak period volumes increased by approximately 455%, split failures increased 3%, downstream blockage increased 10%, arrivals on green decreased 16%, and travel time increase 74%. The analysis performed in this paper will serve as a framework for any agency that wants to assess traffic signal performance at hundreds of locations with little or no existing sensing or communication infrastructure to prioritize tactical retiming and/or longer-term infrastructure investments.</span>
文摘The essence of this study is to investigate the influence of the board gender diversity on firms’accounting and market-based performance using a sample of Standard&Poor’s 500 companies belonging to the information technology sector over 12 years.Using the pooled ordinary least squares(OLS)method,the outcomes provide evidence for a positive influence of women on corporate boards on both measures of company performance,except for the percentage of female executives in the case of return on assets(ROA).After estimating the fixed effects and random-effects through panel data,the econometric outcomes show no statistically significant association among board gender diversity and ROA but a positive influence of the number and percentage of women on board on price-to-earnings ratio.
文摘Since the first Diverging Diamond Interchange (DDI) implementation in 2009, most of the performance studies developed for this type of interchange have been based on simulations and historical crash data, with a small numbe<span style="font-family:Verdana;">r of studies using Automated Traffic Signal Performance Measures (ATS</span><span style="font-family:Verdana;">PM). Simulation models require considerable effort to collect volumes and to model actual controller operations. Safety studies based on historical crashes usually require from 3 to 5 years of data collection. ATSPMs rely on sensing equipment. This study describes the use of connected vehicle trajectory data to analyze the performance of a DDI located in the metropolitan area of Fort Wayne, IN. An extension of the Purdue Probe Diagram (PPD) is proposed to assess the levels of delay, progression, and saturation. Further, an additional PPD variation is presented that provides a convenient visualization to qualitatively understand progression patterns and to evaluate queue length for spillback in the critical interior crossover. Over 7000 trajectories and 130,000 GPS points were analyzed between the 7</span><sup><span style="font-family:Verdana;">th</span></sup><span style="font-family:Verdana;"> and the 11</span><sup><span style="font-family:Verdana;">th</span></sup><span style="font-family:Verdana;"> of June 2021 from 5:00 AM to 10:00 PM to estimate the DDI’s arrivals on green, level of service, split failures, and downstream blockage. Although this technique was demonstrated for weekdays, the ubiquity of connected vehicle data makes it very ea</span><span style="font-family:Verdana;">sy to adapt these techniques to analysis during special events, winter sto</span><span style="font-family:Verdana;">rms, and weekends. Furthermore, the methodologies presented in this paper can be applied by any agency wanting to assess the performance of any DDI in their jurisdiction.</span>
文摘There are over 8000 roundabouts in the United States. The current techniques for assessing their performance require field counts to provide inputs to analysis or simulation models. These techniques are labor-intensive and do not scale well. This paper presents a methodology to use connected vehicle (CV) trajectory data to estimate delay and level of service for roundabout approaches by adapting the Purdue Probe Diagram used for traffic signal analytics. By linear referencing vehicle trajectories with a particular movement based on the location and time they exit a roundabout, delay can be calculated. The scalability is demonstrated by applying these techniques to assess over 100 roundabouts in Carmel, IN during the weekday afternoon peak period in July 2021. Over 264,000 trajectories and 3,600,000 GPS points were analyzed to rank over 300 roundabout approaches by delay and summarize in Pareto-sorted graphics and maps. The paper concludes by discussing how </span><span style="font-family:Verdana;">these techniques can also be used to analyze queue</span></span><span style="font-family:""> </span><span style="font-family:Verdana;">lengths and origin</span><span style="font-family:Verdana;">-destination characteristics at roundabouts. The methodology presented in this study can be used by any agency that wants to assess the performance of all roundabouts in their system.
文摘As an approach to the interpretation of the closest connection doctrine used for years in the European continent for the choice of the law appliable to contractual relations as well as non-contractual ones,the characteristic performance test evolves with the development of international economic and trade activities.Despite criticisms on this approach as embodied in the Rome Convention,the RomeⅠRegulation retains it.This article will focus on the development of the characteristic performance theory and try to explain that this theory,as one of the interpretations and solutions to the closest connection doctrine universally accepted nowadays,has its strengths and weaknesses.
文摘As a solution against the serviceability problem caused by the cracks occurring at the UHPC precast deck-joint interface, this study proposes a method exposing the steel fiber at the interface and evaluates the corresponding flexural performance of the lap spliced construction joint. After having slowed down the strength development of the concrete placed in the joint of the precast deck by means of a curing retardant, the concrete at the interface is crushed so as to expose the steel fibers and the change in the flexural performance is observed experimentally according to the exposure of the steel fibers. The results show that, even if the ultimate strength and stiffness of the UHPC precast deck including the joint are mostly determined by the arrangement details of the rebar lap splice, the exposure of the steel fibers can secure stable ductile behavior and reduce the width of the cracks generated at the precast deck-joint interface under service load.
基金Project(N2018G034)supported by China Railway Corporation。
文摘The comparative research on the seismic performance of grouted sleeve connected pier(GS)and prestressed precast segmental concrete pier(PC)is mostly carried out by numerical simulation.In this study,the GS pier and the PC pier of the new railway project from Hetian to Ruoqiang are taken into consideration.Two kinds of 1/5-scale assembled double-column specimens are made,and the quasi-static tests are carried out.The overall seismic performance of the two spliced piers is studied,and compared in terms of failure mechanism,bearing capacity,ductility,stiffness and energy dissipation capacity.The results show that the failure modes of both GS pier and PC pier are characterized by bending.However,the specific failure location and form are different.The GS pier presents a complete hysteretic curve,large equivalent stiffness and strong energy dissipation capacity.The hysteretic area of the PC pier is small.However,it has good self-reset ability and quasi-static residual displacement.Finite element models are set up using DispBeamColumn fiber elements and ZeroLength elements.The models that are calibrated with the test data can effectively simulate the damage development under monotonic loading.The load−displacement curves are in good agreement with the backbone curves of the test results.
文摘Connected vehicle (CV) trajectory data provides practitioners with opportunities to assess traffic signal performance with no investment in detection or communication infrastructure. With over 500 billion trajectory records generated each month in the United States, operations can be evaluated virtually at any of the over 400,000 traffic signals in the nation. The manual intersection mapping required to generate accurate movement-level trajectory-based performance estimations is the most time-consuming aspect of using CV data to evaluate traffic signal operations. Various studies have utilized vehicle location data to update and create maps;however, most proposed mapping techniques focus on the identification of roadway characteristics that facilitate vehicle navigation and not on the scaling of traffic signal performance measures. This paper presents a technique that uses commercial CV trajectory and open-source OpenStreetMap (OSM) data to automatically map intersection centers and approach areas of interest to estimate signal performance. OSM traffic signal tags are processed to obtain intersection centers. CV data is then used to extract intersection geometry characteristics surrounding the intersection. To demonstrate the proposed technique, intersection geometry is mapped at 500 locations from which trajectory-based traffic signal performance measures are estimated. The results are compared to those obtained from manual geometry definitions. Statistical tests found that at a 99% confidence level, upstream-focused performance estimations are strongly correlated between both methodologies. The presented technique will aid agencies in scaling traffic signal assessment as it significantly reduces the amount of manual labor required.
文摘Diamond interchanges are frequently used where a freeway intersects a two-way surface street. Most of the techniques to evaluate the performance of diamond interchanges rely on the Highway Capacity Manual (HCM), simulation, Automated Traffic Signal Performance Measures (ATSPMs), and historical crash data. HCM and simulation techniques require on-site data collection to obtain models’ inputs. ATSPMs need high-resolution controller event data acquired from roadway sensing equipment. Safety studies typically need 3 to 5 years of crash data to provide statistically significant results. This study utilizes commercially available connected vehicle (CV) data to assess the performance and operation of a three- and four-phase diamond interchange located in Indianapolis, Indiana, and Dallas, Texas, respectively. Over 92,000 trajectories and 1,400,000 GPS points are analyzed from August 2020 weekdays CV data. Trajectories are linear-referenced to generate Purdue Probe Diagrams (PPDs) from which arrivals on green (AOG), split failures, downstream blockage, and movement-based control delay are estimated. In addition, an extension of the PPD is presented that characterizes the complete journey of a vehicle travelling through both signals of the diamond interchange. This enhanced PPD is a significant contribution as it provides an analytical framework and graphical summary of the operational characteristics of how the external movements traverse the entire system. The four-phase control showed high internal progression (99% AOG) compared to the moderate internal progression of the three-phase operation (64% AOG). This is consistent with the design objectives of three- and four-phase control models, but historically these quantitative AOG measures were not possible to obtain with just detector data. Additionally, a graphical summary that illustrates the spatial distribution of hard-braking and hard-acceleration events is also provided. The presented techniques can be used by any agency to evaluate the performance of their diamond interchanges without on-site data collection or capital investments in sensing infrastructure.
文摘Bus rapid transit (BRT) systems have been implemented in many cities over the past two decades. Widespread adoption of General Transit Feed Specification (GTFS), the deployment of high-fidelity bus GPS data tracking, and anonymized high-fidelity connected vehicle data from private vehicles have provided new opportunities for performance measures that can be used by both transit agencies and traffic signal system operators. This paper describes the use of trajectory-based data to develop performance measures for a BRT system in Indianapolis, Indiana. Over 3 million data records during the 3-month period between March and May 2022 are analyzed to develop visualizations and performance metrics. A methodology to estimate the average delay and schedule adherence is presented along a route comprised of 74 signals and 28 bus stations. Additionally, this research demonstrates how these performance measures can be used to evaluate dedicated and non-dedicated bus lanes with general traffic. Travel times and reliability of buses are compared with nearly 30 million private vehicle trips. Results show that median travel time for buses on dedicated bi-directional lanes is within one minute of general traffic and during peak periods the buses are often faster. Schedule adherence was observed to be more challenging, with approximately 3% of buses arriving within 1 minute on average during the 5AM hour and 5% of buses arriving 6 - 9 minutes late during the 5PM hour. The framework and performance measures presented in this research provide agencies and transportation professionals with tools to identify opportunities for adjustments and to justify investment decisions.
文摘Emerging connected vehicle (CV) data sets have recently become commercially available, enabling analysts to develop a variety of powerful performance measures without deploying any field infrastructure. This paper presents several tools using CV data to evaluate traffic progression quality along a signalized corridor. These include both performance measures for high-level analysis as well as visualizations to examine details of the coordinated operation. With the use of CV data, it is possible to assess not only the movement of traffic on the corridor but also to consider its origin-destination (O-D) path through the corridor. Results for the real-world operation of an eight-intersection signalized arterial are presented. A series of high-level performance measures are used to evaluate overall performance by time of day, with differing results by metric. Next, the details of the operation are examined with the use of two visualization tools: a cyclic time-space diagram (TSD) and an empirical platoon progression diagram (PPD). Comparing flow visualizations developed with different included O-D paths reveals several features, such as the presence of secondary and tertiary platoons on certain sections that cannot be seen when only end-to-end journeys are included. In addition, speed heat maps are generated, providing both speed performance along the corridor and locations and the extent of the queue. The proposed visualization tools portray the corridor’s performance holistically instead of combining individual signal performance metrics. The techniques exhibited in this study are compelling for identifying locations where engineering solutions such as access management or timing plan change are required. The recent progress in infrastructure-free sensing technology has significantly increased the scope of CV data-based traffic management systems, enhancing the significance of this study. The study demonstrates the utility of CV trajectory data for obtaining high-level details of the corridor performance as well as drilling down into the minute specifics.
基金Project supported by the National-High-Technology Research and Development Program of China (Grant No.2004AA111110)
文摘Workload of each service class varies dynamically in the grid environment, making the static service pool size allocation scheme unable to guarantee the QoS requirement of each service class. In this paper, we link the issue of dynamical service pool size allocation scheme with QoS requirement under the varying workload, and formulate the QoS performance of service requests in the grid environment by queue theory. Combined Lagrangian optimization with a bisearch approach, the problem of optimally allocating service pool size scheme is resolved. Simulation results show efficiency of the optimal service pool size allocation scheme.
