Will Online Car-Hailing Affect Consumers’ Decisions about Automobile Purchase?—An Empirical Study Based on Questionnaire Investigation

The online car-hailing industry, which provides the right of use, has a certain impact on the traditional automobile market, but there is no unified theory on whether it has a positive impact or a negative impact. Based on 362 consumer questionnaire data, this study builds a structural equation model to discuss the driving factors of residents’ choice of online car-hailing and whether the development of online car-hailing will have a certain substitution impact on the sales of private cars. From the perspective of consumers’ purchase intention, the research results show that consumers’ price consciousness, convenience consciousness, environmental protection consciousness and possession tendency will affect their choice of travel mode, and the use of online car-hailing is positively correlated with consumers’ willingness to replace private car ownership with online car-hailing.

Classification of Hailstone Trajectories in a Hail Cloud over a Semi-Arid Region in China

The growth trajectory of hailstones in clouds determines the ground intensity and spatial distribution of hailfall.A systematic study of hail trajectories can help improve the current scientific understanding of the mechanisms by which hail forms in semi-arid regions of China and,in doing so,improve the quality of hail forecasts and warnings and help to prevent and mitigate disasters.In this study,the WRFv3.7.1 model was employed to provide the background field to drive the hailstone trajectory model.Cluster analysis was then used to classify hail trajectories to investigate the characteristics of different types of hail trajectories and the microphysical characteristics of hail formation.The differences in hail trajectories might be mainly due to differences in the background flow fields and microphysical fields of hail clouds in different regions.Comparative analysis revealed that as the maximum particle size of ground hailfall increased,the maximum supercooled cloud water content and the maximum updraft velocity for the formation and growth of hailstone increased.The larger the size when the hailstone reaches its maximum height,the larger the ground hailstone formed.Overall,the formation and growth of hailstone are caused by the joint action of the dynamical flow field and cloud microphysical processes.The physical processes of hailstone growth and main growth regions differ for different types of hail trajectories.Therefore,different catalytic schemes should be adopted in artificial hail prevention operations for different hail clouds and trajectories due to differences in hail formation processes and ground hailfall characteristics.

Analysis of Characteristics of Hail Disaster and a Typical Hail Suppression Process in Qujing City

Based on the data of hail disaster in Qujing City and the detection data of the new generation of Doppler weather radar, the spatial and temporal distribution characteristics of hail disaster and hail suppression operations in Qujing City were analyzed statistically, and the hail suppression operations of a typical cell case was analyzed. The results showed that the number of hail days and hail frequency showed an increasing trend in Qujing City from 2017 to 2022, and the number of artificial hail suppression operations increased accordingly. Hail disaster occurred most frequently in Xuanwei City. Through the analysis of hail suppression operations of a typical cell case, it is found that the operations were timely, and the location was reasonable. The ammunition used was sufficient, and the overall effect of the hail suppression operations was good.

Hail Detector and Forecaster ArtAr-HDF

This article describes a new and low-cost microwave passive sensor for hail prediction (forecasting) and detection developed in Armenia, which can be used to implement fully autonomous and automatically functioning hail protection of locally limited or large agricultural and urban areas in order to prevent, suppress or catch hail in traps. The article also presents the results of measurements of the intrinsic emission characteristics of water and ice, rain and hail clouds, carried out in laboratory and field conditions in the Ku-band of radio frequencies. The results obtained showed that the intrinsic emission of a hail cloud in the Ku-band of radio frequencies differs significantly from the intrinsic emission of a rain cloud. The presented results show that indeed the radar is not very suitable for the timely detection and determination of hail with a high probability, which is very important for the timely starting up of anti-hail protection means. On the contrary, radiometers (passive microwave sensors) can become an effective sensing tool for timely detection and recognition of hail with a high probability of long-range approaches up to ~12 - 15 km.

Damage in hybrid corrugated core sandwich structures under high velocity hail ice impact:A numerical study

Potential damage in composite structures caused by hail ice impact is an essential safety threat to the aircraft in flight.In this study,a nonlinear finite element(FE)model is developed to investigate the dynamic response and damage behavior of hybrid corrugated sandwich structures subjected to high velocity hail ice impact.The impact and breaking behavior of hail are described using the FE-smoothed particle hydrodynamics(FE-SPH)method.A rate-dependent progressive damage model is employed to capture the intra-laminar damage response;cohesive element and surface-based cohesive contact are implemented to predict the inter-laminar delamination and sheet/core debonding phenomena respectively.The transient processes of sandwich structure under different hail ice impact conditions are analyzed.Comparative analysis is conducted to address the influences of core shape and impact position on the impact performance of sandwich structures and the corresponding energy absorption characteristics are also revealed.

Analysis of a Rare Large-scale Hail Process in Yantai and Weihai

A rare large-scale hail process in Yantai and Weihai City in the autumn of 2021 was analyzed based on the surface meteorology,high-altitude observation and S-band radar detection data.The results showed that this process was influenced by shallow trough,and strong upper-level jet stream in the middle and upper levels guided the intrusion of mid-level cold air into the warm and humid environment at the lower level.The shear lines and trunk lines in the lower level also provided certain triggering conditions for uplift,brewing conditions suitable for the occurrence and development of strong convection.The vertical wind shear was unusually large,and vertical wind shear was up to 10 m/s at 0-1 km,20 m/s at 0-3 km,and 32 m/s at 0-6 km,which was conducive to the growth of the storm.In this process,isolated multi-cell thunderstorm was generated at the beginning,and then it developed and strengthened continuously,moving to the southeast.In the later stage,a convection cell was born at the boundary between Yantai and Weihai,and developed into supercell storm.The storm lasted for a long time,and continued to develop and strengthen as it moved eastward,affecting most areas of Weihai from northwest to southeast.In the development stage of the storm,the radar reflectivity factor had obvious characteristics of hook echo and three-body scatter spike,and there was echo overhang and other hail echo features in the middle layer.Weak mesocyclone appeared at a low elevation,and there was the potential for the occurrence of tornado.

Hail Sensing Probes: Feasibility Analysis for Probes to Monitor and Study Hail

This work presents the feasibility study regarding the realization of hail sensing probes for remote sensing and study of hail. The probes are designed as artificial hailstones in order to study both the physical properties of the portion of atmosphere where the formation of hail occurs and the modification of atmospheric conditions while the hailstones are falling to the ground. The basic idea is to realize sensors with a similar fluid-dynamic behavior with respect to hailstones;the density, the weight and the size of the probes are determined. Consequently, the specification of the electronic boards, sensors, and material to realize the probes are studied and presented. The hail sensing probes can be dropped by a plane, or potentially a UAV (Unmanned Aircraft Vehicle), which fly above and through the clouds where the hail formation occurs. During their falling to the ground, the sensors installed on the probe measure directly different parameters such as humidity, temperature, pressure, acceleration. All data are sent to a receiver located on the ground. The study of the sampling frequency of each sensor is presented, together with the analysis of the propagation channel, in order to assure a robust communication link between probes and the ground receiver. The energy balance is also computed. The work demonstrates that a set of this kind of disposable sensors can be realized. They can be used for efficient monitoring operations and studies of hail formation dynamics and conditions, thus increasing the set of instruments for the monitoring and remote sensing of hail.

Climatic Characteristics of Hail and Risk Zoning of Its Disaster Factor in Anhui Province

[ Objective] The research aimed to study climatic characteristics of hail and dsk zoning of its disaster factor in Anhui Province. [Method] Based on the hail-day records from 82 weather stations in Anhui Province, Chinese Meteorologica/Disaster Dictionary （1951 to 2005） and The Yearbook of Meteorological Disaster in Anhui Province （2006 to 2009）, we discussed the climatic characteristic and dsk zoning of hail disaster in Anhui Province. [Result] The hail days exhibited significant interdecadal variability, and it had a significant negative correlation with annual mean minimum temperature. The hail usually occurred from March to August, most frequently in June but less in autumn and winter. It most likely took place from aftemoon to sunset. The spatial distribution showed that the hail occurred more in northeast of Huaibei, south of Dabie Mountain and some areas of Huangshan Mountain, but less in Jianghuai region. The index of hail intensity was defined by three factors, the diameter, duration and gust grade, and the percentile method was used to grade the intensity of the hail disaster. This work provided a possibility for quantitative assessment of the intensity of hail disaster. The results of hail disaster risk zoning in Anhui Province showed that high dsk zones were concentrated in northeast of Huaibei, and low risk zones were mainly in south of Huaihe River. Finally, vedfied by historic disaster, it showed that the results of risk zoning had a certain rationality and feasibility. Conclusion The research could provide reference basis for hail disaster defense and assessment.

The Role of Initial Cloud Condensation Nuclei Concentration in Hail Using the WRF NSSL 2-moment Microphysics Scheme

The effects of the initial cloud condensation nuclei （CCN） concentrations （100-3000 mg-1） on hail properties were investigated in an idealized non-severe hail storm experiment using the Weather Research and Forecasting （WRF） model, with the National Severe Storms Laboratory 2-moment microphysics scheme. The initial CCN concentration （CCNC） had obvious non-monotonic effects on the mixing ratio, number concentrations, and radius of hail, both in clouds and at the surface, with a CCNC threshold between 300 and 500 mg-1. An increasing CCNC is conducive （suppressive） to the amount of surface hail precipitation below （above） the CCNC threshold. The non-monotonic effects were due to both the thermodynamics and microphysics. Below the CCNC threshold, the mixing ratios with the increasing CCNC, resulting in more latent heat released of cloud droplets and ice crystals increased dramatically from condensation and frozen between 4 and 8 km and intensified updraft volume. The extent of the riming process, which is the primary process for hail production, increased dramatically. Above the CCNC threshold, the mixing ratio of cloud droplets and ice crystals increased continuously, but the maximum updraft volume was weakened because of reduced frozen latent heating at low level. The smaller ice crystals reduced the formation of hail and smaller clouds, with decreased rain water reducing riming efficiency so that graupel and hail also decreased with increasing CCNC, which is unfavorable for hail growth.

Prevalence of intestinal parasite infections among patients in local public hospitals of Hail,Northwestern Saudi Arabia

Objective:To evaluate the prevalence of intestinal parasites among patients in Hail,Northwestern Saudi Arabia.Methods:Stool samples were collected from 130 patients(69females and 61 males) in Hail General Hospital.Each sample was examined by direct wet mount microscopic examination using both normal saline and Lugol's iodine preparation and concentration techniques using salt and formol-ether solutions.Permanent stained smears were performed for intestinal coccidian using modified Ziehl-Neelsen technique.Results:The overall prevalence of intestinal parasitic infection was 45.38%(59 cases).Forty-four(33.84%)were found to be infected with one or more intestinal protozoa.5(3.84%) were infected with helminthes and 10(7.69%) had mixed infection with both helminthes and protozoa.The most common intestinal helminth detected was Ancyloxtoma duvdenale(n=5.3.84%),followed by Ascaris lumlmcnidex.Taenia sp.and Trichuris trichiura(n=2 for each species,1.5%).For intestinal protozoa,the coccidian Cryptosporidium parvum(n=25,19.23%) was the most common followed by Entamoeba histolytica/dispur(n=21,16.15%),Giurdia lamblia(n=15,11.54%),Entamoeba coli(n=5.3.85%) and Blastocysts hominis(n=3,2.30%).The prevalence of intestinal parasitic infections in females was significantly higher than in males(P<0.05).Conclusions:This is the first study highlighting that intestinal parasites are still an important public health problem in Northwestern Saudi Arabia Therefore,health education would be the best way to prevent from intestinal parasite infections which are mainly food borne diseases.

Climatic Characteristics of Hail Disaster and Division of Defense Region in Guizhou Province

[Objective] The aim was to study the climatic characteristics of hail disaster from 1984 to 2006 in Guizhou Province,China.[Method] Through statistical analysis,the climatic characteristics and disaster characteristics of hail from 1984 to 2006 in Guizhou Province were annalyzed and compared with previous results,then the classification standards of hail disaster were established,finally the defense zoning map of hail disaster in Guizhou Province was made.[Result] According to the statistical analysis on the historical data of hail disaster from 1984 to 2006,the frequency hail was 1 243 times in Guizhou in 23 years,that is,annual average frequency reached 54 times;annual average hailing days were 0.1-2.7 d in Guizhou Province,and the average frequency of hail was 3.8 times during each hail process;the frequency of hail was below 30 times in 52% of years and 30-80 times in 35% of years among 23 years.Hail could appear in the whole year,and 74% of hails occurred in spring,while winter had the fewest times.The results above were basically consistent with those of previous studies.Hail disaster mainly resulted in casualties and direct economic loss,and was divided into four grades according to direct economic loss,namely Grade I(extremely severe hail disaster),Grade II(severe hail disaster),Grade III(comparatively severe hail disaster) and Grade IV(medium hail disaster).The defense zoning map of hail disaster in Guizhou Province was made based on the frequency of hail and severe hail disaster,that is,the defense region at Grade I mainly distributed in Liupanshui City(in western Guizhou) and southern Guizhou;the defense region at Grade II was in the west,south and northeast of Guizhou Province,while the rest was at Grade III.[Conclusion] The study was of reference value for the defense of hail disaster in Guizhou Province.

Analysis on the Climatic Characteristics of Hail in the South Mountain Area of Ningxia

[Objective] The research aimed to study the climatic characteristics of hail in the southern mountain area of Ningxia in recent 50 years. [Method] Based on the hail observation data of 5 surface meteorological stations (Guyuan, Xiji, Jingyuan, Longde, Liupanshan) in the south of Ningxia during 1960-2009, the spatial distribution rule, the interannual and monthly climatic characteristics and variation trends of hail in the south mountain area of Ningxia were analyzed by using the statistical method. Moreover, the hail disaster prevention and reduction measures in Guyuan were put forward. [Result] The hail in the south mountain area of Ningxia in recent 50 years had the obvious annual, seasonal, monthly and daily variation characteristics. The hail might occur from March to October and mainly concentrated during May-August which occupied 72% in the whole year. The occurrence probability of hail in June was the biggest and occupied 21.7% in the whole year. It was the typical multi-hail zone in summer. The interannual variation of hail occurrence in Guyuan was big and had 3-year periodicity. The secondary-order time trend of hail in Guyuan was the anti-parabolic type, and the hail occurrence times during the 1960s-1980s presented the increase trend. It was the hail multi-occurrence period in the 1970s and 1980s. After the 1990s, the hail presented the decrease trend. In recent 20 years, the hail significantly decreased. The hail in Guyuan mainly concentrated during 12:00-21:00, and the hail occurrence times occupied 85% of total times. The hail distribution in Guyuan area had the obvious regional characteristics. The hail in the mountain area, hilly area was more and in the stream valley, north Pingchuan area was less. The hail cloud mainly derived from the mountain areas, such as Liupanshan, Nanhua Mountain, Yueliang Mountain, Xifeng Mountain and Yunwu Mountain, etc. The move direction of hail cloud was mainly from northwest to southeast or from north to south. Part of hail cloud disappeared in the original place. According to the regional distribution of hail, the hail risk in Guyuan City was divided into the high, moderate and low occurrence zones by combining with the hail disaster data. [Conclusion] The research provided the scientific basis for the forecast, early-warning of hail weather and the artificial hail suppression.

Temporal-spatial Distribution and Short-range Prediction Indicators of Hail Weather in East Central Haixi Prefecture of Qinghai Province

[ Objective] The study aimed to discuss the temporal-spatial distribution and short-range prediction indicators of hail weather in east central Haixi Prefecture of Qinghai Province. [Method] Using hail data of six stations in east central Haixi Prefecture from 1960 to 2010, the temporal and spatial distribution of hail weather was analyzed firstly. Afterwards, based on the high-altitude factual data of 30 case studies of hail during 2006 -2010, its high-altitude and ground weather situation and physical quantity field were studied to summarize short-term circulation pattern and shod- range prediction characteristics of hail weather. [ Result] In east central Haixi, hail appeared from April to September, and it was most frequently from May to August. Meanwhile, hail was frequent from 14：00 to 20：00. Among the six stations, hail was most frequent in Tianjun but least frequent in Wulan. Moreover, hail disaster mainly occurred in Wulan and Tianjun. In addition, there were three typos of circulation pattern of hail weather at 500 hPa. Hail mainly occurred under the effect of northwest airflow, and it had shortwave trough, cold center or trough, jet stream core or one of the three. Hail appeared frequently under the situation of upper-level divergence and low-level convergence, and abundant water vapor and water vapor flux convergence at low levels were important conditions for hailing. [ Conclusion] The research could provide scientific references for improving the accuracy of hail forecast.

Study on Hail Weather Analysis and Forecast in Guilin

[Objective] The hail weather and forecast storm in Guilin were studied. [Method] In allusion to the occurrence of hailstorm in Guilin and considering the observation data of a new generation of Doppler weather radar in Guilin, the weather situation and radar echo characteristics in Guilin was summarized so as to explore the short time forecast method. [Result] There were one or two icy storms every year in Guilin. The occurrence of icy storm was distinctly influenced by terrain. A new generation of Doppler weather radar detection ice storm was very effective. The singular intensity of echo of icy storm in Guilin was above or equal to 50 dBz and the height of echo was above or equal to 10 km. The vertical liquid content was above or equal to 40 kg/m2, accompanied by mild cyclone. When there was strong icy storm, there were three flux characteristics. The forecast of icy storm was mainly short time forecast. [Conclusion] The study offered reference for the forecast of icy storm, artificial storm and disaster prevention and mitigation work.

Synoptic-Thermodynamic Analysis of Pervasive Hailstorm Case Study: Tehran, March 30, 2015

The objective here is to assess the atmospheric evaluations with respect to the perilous hailstorm phenomenon in Tehran. To accomplish this study, the available data regarding 9 (WW) present weather codes that reveal the hailstorm phenomenon with different intensities in 3 hrs observations for 6 meteorological stations of Tehran and vicinity for the period between 1985-2015 are applied. It is revealed that hail occurrence in Tehran is at its maximum in transition seasons of spring and fall between the hrs. 6 - 18 (UTC). It is found that the instability indexes intensify in the afternoon with a higher atmospheric flotation indicative of the possibility in occurrence of thunder hailstorm. Synoptic assessments point to the fact that the synoptic pattern created this thunder storm due to expansion of two: low-pressure cores over Arabia and North-Europe and the cold high-pressure over South Russia with a NS orientation have developed an intense pressure gradient over Tehran province. The study area being located at the left exit of sub-tropical jet stream has made a Baroclinic atmosphere condition on Tehran province. Access to great humidity resources of Mediterranean and Black seas and a drastic decrease of temperature at the upper level of the cloud verifies the hail occurrence on March 30th of 2015 in Tehran.

Physical Analysis of Hail Fall Risk in Iran and the Consequent Damages on Agricultural Crops

Hail is a meteorological phenomenon that directly concerns to agricultural sector in Iran. Hailstorms affect crop yield that depends on the crop species and the phonological time. In this investigation, climatological study of hail fall has been performed through the available dataset in 118 synoptic stations across the country during a period of 20 years (1985-2004) and hail event map was drawn. After analyzing the data and considering the produced maps, regarding the number of hail occurrence in the country, the following provinces respectively illustrate the highest annual mean of hail fall;Chaharmahal-e-bakhtiari, Ilam, Tehran and Kurdistan (about 4 times/yearly). In the next step, using the statistics of the agricultural insurance affairs during 1995-2005, cultivation areas damaged by hail fall in the farms of agricultural strategic products including;irrigated and rain fed wheat, grain, rice, cotton, sugar beet and potato have been studied, and then the classified maps of hail damage have been plotted for each province and crop. The produced maps indicate that most of the damaged area by hail fall has been related to irrigated wheat crop, with an annual average of 12690.8 hectares in the whole country, then the damaged crops were ordered respectively as following: rain fed wheat, sugar beet, potato, grain, cotton and rice.

Influence of Graupel/Hail Parameters on the Simulation of a Convective System over Coastal South China in Summer

This paper discusses the effect of graupel/hail parameters on a convective system in Yangjiang, Guangdong Province. The simulation results using the original model settings were similar to observations in terms of radar reflectivity and sea level pressure, as well as the identification of hydrometeor particle classification by X-band dual-polarization radar data. Sensitivity tests using changed parameters of graupel/hail indicated that a size distribution with larger and denser but fewer hail hydrometers resulted in a weaker development of the convective system in the horizontal and vertical directions. With a large terminal velocity of hail, the melting rate of graupel and evaporation rate of rain were the lowest. Hail could reach the ground and the mixing ratio of rain was the largest near the ground. Precipitation, including rainwater and hail, was the largest. However, a size distribution with smaller and lighter but numerous graupel hydrometers resulted in a stronger development of the convective system. The melting rate of graupel and evaporation rate of rain were the largest. More graupel particles were stranded in the air for a longer time—and the maximum mixing ratio of rain was the largest. The precipitation amount, including rainwater only, was the smallest. The changes to graupel parameters also led to differences in microphysical processes.

Analysis of Two Hailstorm Processes Accompanied with Weak Precipitation in the North of Shandong

Based on conventional observation data,wind profile radar data and data obtained by a microwave radiometer,the formation mechanisms of two hailstorm processes accompanied with weak precipitation in the north of Shandong Province on June 8 and July 1 in 2014 were analyzed. The results showed that energy accumulated before the occurrence of two hailstorm processes. That is,the height of 0 ℃ and-20 ℃ layer dropped rapidly in the period of hailing,and the height of 0 ℃ layer was around 2. 2 km. Echo clusters producing hail still belonged to meso-γ scale-meso-β scale,and the intensity of reflectivity factor exceeded 50 dBz; echo top was at 12-14 km,and vertically integrated liquid water content was over 30 kg/m^2; in the two processes,water accumulation zones were distributed at 0. 6-2. 0 km. In addition,the water vapor conditions of low-level environmental fields were poor,which resulted in small rainfall in the two processes. However,there were significant differences between the two processes in terms of influencing systems,motion path of hail,changes of ground meteorological elements and disasters. The influencing systems of the " 608" process were the cold vortex,transverse trough and cold front. Convective clouds moved from the northwest to the southeast,and ground temperature dropped,while dew point and ground pressure rose; wind direction changed suddenly with the movement of cold front,and there was no disaster. The influencing systems of the " 701" process were the upper trough,shear line and convergence line. Convective clouds moved from the south to the north. When convective clouds moved to the station,ground temperature dropped,and there was no obvious change in dew point; ground pressure declined sharply,and wind speed was small,but wind direction was changeable,so that the local direct economic loss was up to about 0. 2 billion yuan.

A New Approach in Hail Prevention Technique for a Locally Restricted Area

This article describes a new method for hail detection and an autonomous and automatically functioning complex for hail prevention, suppression or trapping for locally restricted application.