Current status and prospects of research on safety situation awareness of high speed railway operation environment

Purpose–The safety of high-speed rail operation environments is an important guarantee for the safe operation of high-speed rail.The operating environment of the high-speed rail is complex,and the main factors affecting the safety of high-speed rail operating environment include meteorological disasters,perimeter intrusion and external environmental hazards.The purpose of the paper is to elaborate on the current research status and team research progress on the perception of safety situation in high-speed rail operation environment and to propose directions for further research in the future.Design/methodology/approach–In terms of the mechanism and spatio-temporal evolution law of the main influencing factors on the safety of high-speed rail operation environments,the research status is elaborated,and the latest research progress and achievements of the team are introduced.This paper elaborates on the research status and introduces the latest research progress and achievements of the team in terms of meteorological,perimeter and external environmental situation perception methods for high-speed rail operation.Findings–Based on the technical route of“situational awareness evaluation warning active control,”a technical system for monitoring the safety of high-speed train operation environments has been formed.Relevant theoretical and technical research and application have been carried out around the impact of meteorological disasters,perimeter intrusion and the external environment on high-speed rail safety.These works strongly support the improvement of China’s railway environmental safety guarantee technology.Originality/value–With the operation of CR450 high-speed trains with a speed of 400 kmper hour and the application of high-speed train autonomous driving technology in the future,new and higher requirements have been put forward for the safety of high-speed rail operation environments.The following five aspects of work are urgently needed:(1)Research the single factor disaster mechanism of wind,rain,snow,lightning,etc.for high-speed railways with a speed of 400 kms per hour,and based on this,study the evolution characteristics of multiple safety factors and the correlation between the high-speed driving safety environment,revealing the coupling disastermechanism ofmultiple influencing factors;(2)Research covers multi-source data fusion methods and associated features such as disaster monitoring data,meteorological information,route characteristics and terrain and landforms,studying the spatio-temporal evolution laws of meteorological disasters,perimeter intrusions and external environmental hazards;(3)In terms of meteorological disaster situation awareness,research high-precision prediction methods for meteorological information time series along high-speed rail lines and study the realization of small-scale real-time dynamic and accurate prediction of meteorological disasters along high-speed rail lines;(4)In terms of perimeter intrusion,research amulti-modal fusion perception method for typical scenarios of high-speed rail operation in all time,all weather and all coverage and combine artificial intelligence technology to achieve comprehensive and accurate perception of perimeter security risks along the high-speed rail line and(5)In terms of external environment,based on the existing general network framework for change detection,we will carry out research on change detection and algorithms in the surrounding environment of highspeed rail.

Robust Damage Detection and Localization Under Complex Environmental Conditions Using Singular Value Decomposition-based Feature Extraction and One-dimensional Convolutional Neural Network

Ultrasonic guided wave is an attractive monitoring technique for large-scale structures but is vulnerable to changes in environmental and operational conditions(EOC),which are inevitable in the normal inspection of civil and mechanical structures.This paper thus presents a robust guided wave-based method for damage detection and localization under complex environmental conditions by singular value decomposition-based feature extraction and one-dimensional convolutional neural network(1D-CNN).After singular value decomposition-based feature extraction processing,a temporal robust damage index(TRDI)is extracted,and the effect of EOCs is well removed.Hence,even for the signals with a very large temperature-varying range and low signal-to-noise ratios(SNRs),the final damage detection and localization accuracy retain perfect 100%.Verifications are conducted on two different experimental datasets.The first dataset consists of guided wave signals collected from a thin aluminum plate with artificial noises,and the second is a publicly available experimental dataset of guided wave signals acquired on a composite plate with a temperature ranging from 20℃to 60℃.It is demonstrated that the proposed method can detect and localize the damage accurately and rapidly,showing great potential for application in complex and unknown EOC.

Study of Intelligent Approaches to Identify Impact of Environmental Temperature on Ultrasonic GWs Based SHM:A Review

Structural health monitoring(SHM)is considered an effective approach to analyze the efficient working of several mechanical components.For this purpose,ultrasonic guided waves can cover long-distance and assess large infrastructures in just a single test using a small number of transducers.However,the working of the SHM mechanism can be affected by some sources of variations(i.e.,environmental).To improve the final results of ultrasonic guided wave inspections,it is necessary to highlight and attenuate these environmental variations.The loading parameters,temperature and humidity have been recognized as the core environmental sources of variations that affect the SHM sensing mechanism.Environmental temperature has the most significant influence on SHM results.There is still a need for extensive research to develop such a damage inspection approach that should be insensitive to environmental temperature variations.In this framework,the current research study will not only illuminate the effect of environmental temperature through different intelligent approaches but also suggest the standard mechanism to attenuate it in actual ultrasonic guided wave based SHM.Hence,the work presented in this article addresses one of the open research challenges that are the identification of the effect of environmental and operating conditions in practical applications of ultrasonic guided waves and impedance-based SHM.

Practice parameters for the use of actigraphy in the military operational context: the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research Operational Research Kit-Actigraphy(WORK-A)

Background: The Walter Reed Army Institute of Research(WRAIR) Operational Research Kit-Actigraphy(WORK-A) is a set of unique practice parameters and actigraphy-derived measures for the analysis of operational military sleep patterns. The WORK-A draws on best practices from the literature and comprises 15 additional descriptive variables. Here, we demonstrate the WORK-A with a sample of United States Army Reserve Officers’ Training Corps(ROTC) cadets(n=286) during a month-long capstone pre-commissioning training exercise.Methods: The sleep of ROTC cadets(n=286) was measured by Philips Actiwatch devices during the 31-day training exercise. The preliminary effectiveness of the WORK-A was tested by comparing differences in sleep measures collected by Actiwatches as calculated by Philips Actiware software against WORK-A-determined sleep measures and self-report sleep collected from a subset of ROTC cadets(n=140).Results: Actiware sleep summary statistics were significantly different from WORK-A measures and self-report sleep(P≤0.001). Bedtimes and waketimes as determined by WORK-A major sleep intervals showed the best agreement with self-report bedtime(22:21±1:30 vs. 22:13±0:40, P=0.21) and waketime(04:30±2:17 vs. 04:31±0:47, P=0.68). Though still significantly different, the discrepancy was smaller between the WORK-A measure of time in bed(TIB) for major sleep intervals(352±29) min and self-report nightly sleep duration [(337±57) min, P=0.006] than that between the WORK-A major TIB and Actiware TIB [(177±42) min, P≤0.001].Conclusions: Default actigraphy methods are not the most accurate methods for characterizing soldier sleep, but reliable methods for characterizing operational sleep patterns is a necessary first step in developing strategies to improve soldier readiness. The WORK-A addresses this knowledge gap by providing practice parameters and a robust variety of measures with which to profile sleep behavior in service members.

The Need to Create and Apply High-Precision Operational Remote Environmental Monitoring in the Face of Modern Challenges

The paper formulates new principles that should form the basis for the development and creation of new environmental monitoring based on heavy UAVs and high-altitude so-called pseudo-satellites capable of operating for a long time at altitudes of 25 - 30 km. In order to develop such principles, this paper analyzes the radioecological situation in the territories of Donetsk and Luhansk regions of Ukraine for rapid and high-quality environmental cleanup and rehabilitation of areas with detected critical levels of environmentally hazardous pollutants. In order to quickly obtain fundamentally new environmental information, it is necessary to conduct multi-parameter, high-precision integrated monitoring of the Earth’s geospheres based on the latest methods and equipment for ground and remote environmental measurements, and new methods and technological means of clean, environmentally safe processing and final disposal. As the most appropriate technology, we propose mobile installations for plasma-chemical pyrolysis of medical waste directly at the place of its generation.

Fuzzy Comprehensive Assessment of Transnational Operation Environment for Chinese Oil Companies

A comprehensive method was developed to assess the transnational operation environment in host countries for Chinese oil companies. This method includes an assessment criterion system of the environment, which is to be scored by the experts. Analytical Hierarchy Process （AHP） and fuzzy mathematical methods were used to make evaluation and get the assessment result and ranking of three host countries.

Damage and deterioration mechanism and curing technique of concrete structure in main coal cleaning plants

Concrete structures in main coal cleaning plants have been rebuilt and reinforced in the coal mines of the Shanghai Datun Energy Sources Co. Ltd., the first colliery of the Pingdingshan Coal Co. Ltd. and the Sanhejian mine of the Xuzhou Mining Group Co. Ltd. In these projects, the operating environment and reliability of concrete structures in the main plants of the three companies were investigated and the safety of the structures inspected. Qualitative and quantitative analyses were made on the special natural, technological and mechanical environments around the structures. On the basis of these analyses, we discuss the long-term, combined actions of the harsh natural (corrosive gases, liquids and solids) and mechanical environments on concrete structures and further investigated the damage and deteriorating mechanisms and curing techniques of concrete structures in the main coal cleaning plants. Our study can provide a theoretical basis for ensuring the reliability of concrete structures in main coal cleaning plants.

Dynamic Analysis for the Global Performance of An SPM-Feeder-Cage System Under Waves and Currents

In the present study, the dynamic response of a coupled SPM-feeder-cage system under irregular waves and shear currents is analyzed. A numerical model is developed by using the commercial software Orca Flex. Hydrodynamics coefficients of the vessel are calculated by using a 3D diffraction/radiation panel program. First- and second-order wave forces are included in the calculations. Morison equation is used to compute the drag force on line elements representing the net. Drag coefficients are determined at every time step in the simulation considering the relative normal velocity between the structural elements and the fluid flow. The dynamic response of the coupled system is analyzed for various environments and net materials. The results of the study show the effects of solidity ratio of the net and vertical positions of the cage on the overall dynamic response of the system, confirming the viability of this type of configuration for future development of offshore aquaculture in deep waters.

Decentralized damage diagnostic technique for tall buildings using VARMAX model

Civil infrastructure,especially buildings,are becoming more slender,tall,and multipurpose,creating a need to continuously monitor their health to ensure the safety and security of human lives and assets.While the majority of structural health monitoring techniques use measurements from the entire structure,in this study,an output-only damage diagnostic technique using a decentralized concept(subdomain-based)for tall buildings and employing a vector form of the autoregressive moving average with exogenous input(VARMAX)model is proposed,which offers reduced instrumentation and data handling requirements.Unlike other decentralized approaches,this technique predicts more than one DOF at a time so the number of subdomains required for the diagnosis of the complete structure is minimized.The proposed subdomain-based damage diagnostic algorithm works with ambient loads and does not require any correlated numerical models since it is solely based on measured data.The proposed algorithm can identify the time instant of damage,spatial location(s)and characterize the damage intensity.Efforts have been made to account for confounding factors such as environmental and operational variabilities separate from measurement noise to avoid false positive alarms.The effectiveness of the proposed technique is illustrated using synthetic time history responses from a twenty-story framed structure under ambient loading and an experimental study on a ten-story framed structure.Both numerical and experimental investigations confirm the effectiveness of the method and its robustness to environmental/operational variabilities and measurement noise.

Ontology-Based Semantic Multi-agent Framework for Micro-grids with Cyber Physical Concept

The distributed hierarchical control based on multi-agent system(MAS) is the main control method of micro-grids.By allowing more flexible interactions between computing components and their physical environments,cyber physical system(CPS) presents a new approach for the distributed hierarchical engineering system,with micro-grids included.The object of this paper is to integrate the CPS concept with MAS technology and propose a new control framework for micro-grids.With the analysis of the operating mode and control method of micro-grids,the cyber physical control concepts of ontologybased semantic agent are discussed.Then an MAS-based architecture of cyber physical micro-grid system and an intelligent electronic device(IED) function structure are proposed.Finally,in order to operate and test the cyber physical micro-grid concept,an integrated simulation model is presented.

GOES-16 ABI Brightness Temperature Observations Capturing Vortex Rossby Wave Signals during Rapid Intensification of Hurricane Irma(2017)

Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite-16(GOES-16) Advanced Baseline Imager(ABI) observations of brightness temperature(TB) are used to examine the temporal evolutions of convection-affected structures of Hurricane Irma(2017) during its rapid intensification(RI) period from 0600 to 1800 UTC 4 September 2017.The ABI observations reveal that both an elliptical eye and a spiral rainband that originated from Irma's eyewall obviously exhibit wavenumber-2 TB asymmetries.The elliptical eye underwent a counterclockwise rotation at a mean speed of a wavenumber-2 vortex Rossby edge wave from 0815 to 1005 UTC 4 September.In the following about 2 hours(1025–1255 UTC 4 September),an inner spiral rainband originated from the eyewall and propagated at a phase speed that approximates the vortex Rossby wave(VRW) phase speed calculated from the aircraft reconnaissance data.During the RI period of Irma,ABI TB observations show an on–off occurrence of low TB intrusions into the eye,accompanying a phase lock of eyewall TB asymmetries of wavenumbers 1 and 2 and an outward propagation of VRW-like inner spiral rainbands from the eyewall.The phase lock leads to an energy growth of Irma's eyewall asymmetries.Although the eye remained clear from 1415 to 1725 UTC 4 September,an inner spiral rainband that originated from a large convective area also had a VRW-like outward propagation,which is probably due to a vertical tilt of Irma.This study suggests a potential link between convection sensitive GOES imager observations and hurricane dynamics.

Current status and development trends of innovative blast furnace ironmaking technologies aimed to environmental harmony and operation intellectualization

Blast furnace （BF） ironmaking is dominant for reducing pollution emission and energy consumption in iron and steel industry, Under the increasingly strict environmental pressure, some innovative tech nologies of BF ironmaking for environmental protection have been developed and applied in actual op- erating facilities. The current state of BF ironmaking in Europe, America, Japan, and China were briefly overviewed. Moreover, some innovative BF ironmaking technologies aiming at environmental harmony and operation intellectualization in the world, such as waste gas recycling sintering, BF op eration with coke oven gas injection, ferro coke, lime coating coke, BF visualization and intellectuali zation, were roundly summarized. Finally, some discussion on the technologies was carried out and the development trends of BF ironmaking were pointed out. The review could provide references and supports for the progress of environment friendly technologies of BF ironmaking, thereby promoting their practical applications and achieving sustainable development of BF ironmaking, especially for Chinese ironmaking industry.

Continuous dynamic monitoring of a centenary iron bridge for structural modification assessment

A multi-channel continuous dynamic monitoring system has been installed in a centenary iron arch bridge on late November 2011. The historic infrastructure, completed in 1889 and crossing the Adda river about 50 km far from Milan, is the most important monument of XIX century iron architecture in Italy and is still used as roadway and railway bridge. The monitoring project follows a series of preliminary ambient vibration tests carried out on the bridge since June 2009. The paper describes the bridge structure and its dynamic characteristics identified from the experimental studies developed since 2009, the installed monitoring system and the software developed in LabVIEW for automatically processing the collected data. Subsequently, the tracking of automatically identified natural frequencies over a period of about 18 months is presented and discussed, highlighting the effects of environmental and operational conditions on the bridge dynamic characteristics as well as the detection of structural changes, mainly based on natural frequencies shifts.

Mojave desert tortoise(Gopherus agassizii)thermal ecology and reproductive success along a rainfall cline

Desert resource environments(e.g.microclimates,food)are tied to limited,highly localized rainfall regimes which generate microgeographic variation in the life histories of inhabitants.Typically,enhanced growth rates,reproduction and survivorship are observed in response to increased resource availability in a variety of desert plants and short-lived animals.We examined the thermal ecology and reproduction of US federally threatened Mojave desert tortoises(Gopherus agassizii),long-lived and large-bodied ectotherms,at opposite ends of a 250-m elevation-related rainfall cline within Ivanpah Valley in the eastern Mojave Desert,California,USA.Biophysical operative environments in both the upper-elevation,“Cima,”and the lower-elevation,“Pumphouse,”plots corresponded with daily and seasonal patterns of incident solar radiation.Cima received 22%more rainfall and contained greater perennial vegetative cover,which conferred 5°C-cooler daytime shaded temperatures.In a monitored average rainfall year,Cima tortoises had longer potential activity periods by up to several hours and greater ephemeral forage.Enhanced resource availability in Cima was associated with larger-bodied females producing larger eggs,while still producing the same number of eggs as Pumphouse females.However,reproductive success was lower in Cima because 90%of eggs were depredated versus 11%in Pumphouse,indicating that predatory interactions produced counter-gradient variation in reproductive success across the rainfall cline.Land-use impacts on deserts(e.g.solar energy generation)are increasing rapidly,and conservation strategies designed to protect and recover threatened desert inhabitants,such as desert tortoises,should incorporate these strong ecosystem-level responses to regional resource variation in assessments of habitat for prospective development and mitigation efforts.