Rainwater harvesting in micro-catchments such as contour ridges and semicircular bunds is an option for utilizing the limited rainfall, improving productivity and combating land degradation in dry rangeland areas (Ba...Rainwater harvesting in micro-catchments such as contour ridges and semicircular bunds is an option for utilizing the limited rainfall, improving productivity and combating land degradation in dry rangeland areas (Badia). However, implementation of this practice using manual labor or traditional machinery is slow, tedious and costly, and often impractical on a large scale. These limitations can be overcome using the "Vallerani" plow for quickly constructing continuous and intermittent ridges. The plow (model Delfino (50 MI/CM), manufactured by Nardi, Italy) was tested and adapted to dry steppe (Badia) conditions in Jordan. The performance of the machine, its weaknesses and potential improvements were assessed in the 2006/07 season at three sites on 165 hectares of various terrain, slope and soil conditions. The performance parameters included effective field capacity (EFC), machine efficiency (ME) and fuel consumption (FC). Field tests were carried out at different tractor (134 HP) traveling speeds, pit sizes and contour spacings. Overall mean performance indicators gave an EFC of 1.2 ha/h, 51% ME and an average FC of 5.15 liter/ha. Increasing ridge spacing had a small effect on ME where, increasing traveling speed had a greater effect. A guide table was developed, relating performance parameters with ridge spacing, speed, and bund size setting. This could be a useful reference for the implementation and management of mechanized micro-catchment construction in the Badia. The system performed well in the construction of continuous ridges. However, it was unable to construct intermittent ridges at speeds over 4km/h; problems were encountered in properly staggering the bunds at successive contours.展开更多
This paper discusses some aspects of interdisciplinary problems of industrial automation curriculum in Virumaa College of Tallinn University of Technology at engineering level. The problems being faced by engineers ar...This paper discusses some aspects of interdisciplinary problems of industrial automation curriculum in Virumaa College of Tallinn University of Technology at engineering level. The problems being faced by engineers are increasingly interdisciplinary and complicated because the development of new products and processes depends upon the integration of many different technologies. Expansion of possibilities of already existing fieldbus systems is carried out by means of integration them into Profinet (PROcess Field NET) communications. The lab set-model of vertical integration-for data gathering from smart Profibus PA sensor, data transmission, controllers configuration for Profinet IO direct interfacing of distributed field devices on the Ethernet is discussed in this paper.展开更多
Delay in signalized intersections may constitute a significant part of bus journey times in urban environment. Providing priority for buses at traffic signals can be an effective measure to reduce this delay. Bus prio...Delay in signalized intersections may constitute a significant part of bus journey times in urban environment. Providing priority for buses at traffic signals can be an effective measure to reduce this delay. Bus priority in Swedish urban traffic signal systems are normally coordinated with fixed time plan selection. Within this framework local traffic actuated signal timing adjustments are applied based on detector inputs aimed to reduce the number of vehicles in the dilemma zone. Active bus priority is also achieved with the aim to display green signal at the arrival of the bus to the stop line. Due to lack of knowledge of traffic performance impacts of these techniques a major research study was undertaken funded by the Swedish Road Administration. The aim was to evaluate the following control strategies using Stockholm as case study: (1) Fixed time coordination (FTC); (2) Fixed time coordination with local signal timing adjustment (FTC-LTA); (3) FTC-LTA with active bus priority (PRIBUSS); (4) Self-optimizing control (SPOT) with active bus priority. The methodologies for the study included field data collection using mobile and stationary techniques, offiine signal timing calculations with TRANSYT, microscopic simulation modeling using the HUTSIM model. The study obtained the following results: (1) Local traffic adjustment with the manual FTC reduced total delay by 1%. (2) Signal timings determined using TRANSYT reduced the average intersection delay by 9% compared to manual signal settings. (3) Local traffic adjustment reduced total delay by a further 5%. (4) Bus travel time was reduced by 11% using PRIBUSS, and 28% using SPOT. (5) Travel time for all vehicles did not increase using PRIBUSS, and was reduced by 6.5% with SPOT. Results of comparing PRIBUSS and SPOT to FTC-LTA were shown to be statistically significant.展开更多
文摘Rainwater harvesting in micro-catchments such as contour ridges and semicircular bunds is an option for utilizing the limited rainfall, improving productivity and combating land degradation in dry rangeland areas (Badia). However, implementation of this practice using manual labor or traditional machinery is slow, tedious and costly, and often impractical on a large scale. These limitations can be overcome using the "Vallerani" plow for quickly constructing continuous and intermittent ridges. The plow (model Delfino (50 MI/CM), manufactured by Nardi, Italy) was tested and adapted to dry steppe (Badia) conditions in Jordan. The performance of the machine, its weaknesses and potential improvements were assessed in the 2006/07 season at three sites on 165 hectares of various terrain, slope and soil conditions. The performance parameters included effective field capacity (EFC), machine efficiency (ME) and fuel consumption (FC). Field tests were carried out at different tractor (134 HP) traveling speeds, pit sizes and contour spacings. Overall mean performance indicators gave an EFC of 1.2 ha/h, 51% ME and an average FC of 5.15 liter/ha. Increasing ridge spacing had a small effect on ME where, increasing traveling speed had a greater effect. A guide table was developed, relating performance parameters with ridge spacing, speed, and bund size setting. This could be a useful reference for the implementation and management of mechanized micro-catchment construction in the Badia. The system performed well in the construction of continuous ridges. However, it was unable to construct intermittent ridges at speeds over 4km/h; problems were encountered in properly staggering the bunds at successive contours.
文摘This paper discusses some aspects of interdisciplinary problems of industrial automation curriculum in Virumaa College of Tallinn University of Technology at engineering level. The problems being faced by engineers are increasingly interdisciplinary and complicated because the development of new products and processes depends upon the integration of many different technologies. Expansion of possibilities of already existing fieldbus systems is carried out by means of integration them into Profinet (PROcess Field NET) communications. The lab set-model of vertical integration-for data gathering from smart Profibus PA sensor, data transmission, controllers configuration for Profinet IO direct interfacing of distributed field devices on the Ethernet is discussed in this paper.
文摘Delay in signalized intersections may constitute a significant part of bus journey times in urban environment. Providing priority for buses at traffic signals can be an effective measure to reduce this delay. Bus priority in Swedish urban traffic signal systems are normally coordinated with fixed time plan selection. Within this framework local traffic actuated signal timing adjustments are applied based on detector inputs aimed to reduce the number of vehicles in the dilemma zone. Active bus priority is also achieved with the aim to display green signal at the arrival of the bus to the stop line. Due to lack of knowledge of traffic performance impacts of these techniques a major research study was undertaken funded by the Swedish Road Administration. The aim was to evaluate the following control strategies using Stockholm as case study: (1) Fixed time coordination (FTC); (2) Fixed time coordination with local signal timing adjustment (FTC-LTA); (3) FTC-LTA with active bus priority (PRIBUSS); (4) Self-optimizing control (SPOT) with active bus priority. The methodologies for the study included field data collection using mobile and stationary techniques, offiine signal timing calculations with TRANSYT, microscopic simulation modeling using the HUTSIM model. The study obtained the following results: (1) Local traffic adjustment with the manual FTC reduced total delay by 1%. (2) Signal timings determined using TRANSYT reduced the average intersection delay by 9% compared to manual signal settings. (3) Local traffic adjustment reduced total delay by a further 5%. (4) Bus travel time was reduced by 11% using PRIBUSS, and 28% using SPOT. (5) Travel time for all vehicles did not increase using PRIBUSS, and was reduced by 6.5% with SPOT. Results of comparing PRIBUSS and SPOT to FTC-LTA were shown to be statistically significant.