Travel-Limiting Disabilities in the United States: Why Accessibility Matters?

This study evaluates the distribution of travel-limiting disabilities across genders and geographic locations in the United States. This study aims to describe and compare the socioeconomic and demographic variables of the people with and without travel-limiting disabilities across geographic locations and gender. The study further evaluates the trip purpose and impact of Covid-19 fourth wave pandemic on the use of public transit and travel to physical workplace for the people with and without travel-limiting disabilities across gender and geographic locations. The study uses the 2022 weighted National Household Travel Survey dataset and employs descriptive statistics. Results reaffirm the findings from previous literature that there are more people with travel-limiting disabilities in urban areas and among women. Over 50 percent of people aged 65 and above have a form of travel-limiting disabilities. The most trip for people with travel-limiting disabilities is made for shopping and medical purposes. Across all categories, rural areas, urban areas, male and female for the people without travel-limiting disabilities, COVID-19 fourth wave did not change the pattern of trips made to physical workplace as pre-COVID-19 era. This pattern is also observable for the people with travel-limiting disabilities in rural and urban areas. Females with travel-limiting disabilities reported making less trips to physical workplaces while male reported doing the same as before COVID-19 era. The study concludes that the quantification of travel-limiting disabilities across geographic location and gender is vital in disability study and could drive policy implementation for improved accessibility for the vulnerable population.

Precision bounds for quantum phase estimation using two-mode squeezed Gaussian states

Quantum phase estimation based on Gaussian states plays a crucial role in many application fields.In this paper,we study the precision bound for the scheme using two-mode squeezed Gaussian states.The quantum Fisher information is calculated and its maximization is used to determine the optimal parameters.We find that two single-mode squeezed vacuum states are the optimal Gaussian inputs for a fixed two-mode squeezing process.The corresponding precision bound is sub-Heisenberg-limited and scales as N^(-1)/2.For practical purposes,we consider the effects originating from photon loss.The precision bound can still outperform the shot-noise limit when the lossy rate is below 0.4.Our work may demonstrate a significant and promising step towards practical quantum metrology.

Forming limit and failure behavior of fiber metal laminates under low-constraint conditions

Fiber Metal Laminates(FMLs),as high-performance composite materials,demonstrate exceptional potential in a wide range of applications,such as aeronautical and astronautical industries.However,the traditional cured FMLs possess complex interlayer stresses and low forming limits,restricting further promotion and application of FMLs.Low-constraint FMLs exhibit a lower forming resistance and better formability due to no curing during the forming process;however,the formation mechanism and response are not clear.This paper presents the Forming Limit Diagram(FLD)of low-constraint GLARE(glass fiber reinforced aluminum laminates)based on the forming limit test,and compares it with the conventionally cured laminates to evaluate the differences in the forming limit.In addition,combined with the analysis of failure mechanism and micro-deformation mechanism of specimens,the influence of different temperatures(20–80℃)and forming states(width)on the deformation performance of laminates is further explored.The results reveal that the forming limit curve of low-constraint laminates shifts up with the increase of temperature,the forming limit initially increases with the increase of width,then followed by a gradual decrease,and the maximum principal strain of low-constraint laminates is increased by 29% at 80℃ compared to 20℃.The cured laminate has a principal strain range of 0–0.02,while the low-constraint laminates have a principal strain range of 0.03–0.14.Compared with cured laminates,low-constraint laminates possess a higher forming limit due to the improvement in deformable degree between layers by resin flow and fiber slippage,which enhances their formability.This study is expected to serve as a reference for establishing forming limit criteria and optimizing forming schemes for low-constraint laminates.

Seismic fragility analysis of highway bridges considering multi-dimensional performance limit state

Fragility analysis for highway bridges has become increasingly important in the risk assessment of highway transportation networks exposed to seismic hazards. This study introduces a methodology to calculate fragility that considers multi-dimensional performance limit state parameters and makes a first attempt to develop fragility curves for a multi-span continuous (MSC) concrete girder bridge considering two performance limit state parameters: column ductility and transverse deformation in the abutments. The main purpose of this paper is to show that the performance limit states, which are compared with the seismic response parameters in the calculation of fragility, should be properly modeled as randomly interdependent variables instead of deterministic quantities. The sensitivity of fragility curves is also investigated when the dependency between the limit states is different. The results indicate that the proposed method can be used to describe the vulnerable behavior of bridges which are sensitive to multiple response parameters and that the fragility information generated by this method will be more reliable and likely to be implemented into transportation network loss estimation.

Towards establishing practical multi-hazard bridge design limit states

In the U.S., the current Load and Resistance Factor Design （LRFD） Specifications for highway bridges is a reliability-based formulation that considers failure probabilities of bridge components due to the actions of typical dead load and frequent vehicular loads. Various extreme load effects, such as earthquake and vessel collision, are on the same reliability-based platform. Since these extreme loads are time variables, combining them with not considered frequent. non- extreme loads is a significant challenge. The number of design limit state equations based on these failure probabilities can be unrealistically large and unnecessary from the view point of practical applications. Based on the opinion of AASHTO State Bridge Engineers, many load combinations are insignificant in their states. This paper describes the formulation of a criterion to include only the necessary load combinations to establish the design limit states. This criterion is established by examining the total failure probabilities for all possible time-invariant and time varying load combinations and breaking them down into partial terms. Then, important load combinations can be readily determined quantitatively,

Estimation of drift limits for different seismic damage states of RC frame staging in elevated water tanks using Park and Ang damage index

Damage to elevated water tanks in past earthquakes can be attributed to the poor performance of their supporting frame staging. In order to ascertain the performance of these elevated water tanks, it is crucial to categorize the damage in quantifiable damage states. Among various parameters to quantify the damage states, the top drift of frame staging can be conveniently correlated to the different damage levels. In literature, drift limits corresponding to different damage states of the frame staging of the elevated water tank are not available. In the present study, drift limits for RC frame staging in elevated water tanks corresponding to different seismic damage states have been proposed. Various damage states of the elevated water tank have been determined using the Park and Ang damage index. The Park and Ang damage index utilizes results of both pushover analysis and incremental dynamic analysis. Twelve models of elevated water tanks have been developed considering variation in staging height and tank capacity. Incremental dynamic analysis has been performed using the suite of twelve actual earthquake ground motions. Based on the regression analysis between damage indexes and drift, limiting drift values for each damage state are proposed.

Probabilistic limit state design methodof the axial resistance of post grouting pile

The reliability of post grouting pile axial resistance was studied by proposing a design method for its probabilistic limit state,which is represented by the partial coefficients of load,end,and side resistance.The hyperbolic,modified hyperbolic,and polynomial models were employed to predict the ultimate bearing capacity of test piles that were not loaded to damage in field tests.The results were used for the calculation and calibration of the reliability index.The reliability of the probabilistic limit state design method was verified by an engineering case.The results show that the prediction results obtained from the modified hyperbolic model are closest to those obtained through the static load test.The proposed corresponding values of total,side,and end resistance partial coefficients are 1.84,1.66,and 2.73 when the dead and live load partial coefficients are taken as 1.1 and 1.4,respectively.Meanwhile,the corresponding partial coefficients of total,side,and end resistance are 1.70,1.56,and 2.34 when the dead and live load partial coefficients are taken as 1.2 and 1.4,respectively.

Evaluation of the Residual Capacity of a Submarine for Different Limit States with Various Initial Imperfection Models

The current design philosophy for submarine hulls,in the preliminary design stage,generally considers as governing limit states material yielding along with various buckling modes.It is common belief that,beyond the design pressure,material yielding of the shell plating should occur first,eventually followed by local buckling,while global buckling currently retains the highest safety factor.On the other hand,in the aeronautical field,in some cases structural components are designed in such a way that local instability may occur within the design loads,being the phenomena inside the material elastic range and not leading to a significant drop in term of stiffness.This paper is aimed at investigating the structural response beyond a set of selected limit states,using nonlinear FE method adopting different initial imperfection models,to provide the designers with new information useful for calibrating safety factors.It was found that both local and global buckling can be considered as ultimate limit states,with a significant sensitivity towards initial imperfection,while material yielding and tripping buckling of frames show a residual structural capacity.In conclusion,it was found that the occurrence of local buckling leads to similar sudden catastrophic consequences as global buckling,with the ultimate strength capacity highly affected by the initial imperfection shape and amplitude.

Target reliability index for serviceability limit state of single piles

The objective is to develop an approach for the determination of the target reliability index for serviceability limit state(SLS) of single piles. This contributes to conducting the SLS reliability-based design(RBD) of piles. Based on a two-parameter,hyperbolic curve-fitting equation describing the load-settlement relation of piles, the SLS model factor is defined. Then, taking into account the uncertainties of load-settlement model, load and bearing capacity of piles, the formula for computing the SLS reliability index(βsls) is obtained using the mean value first order second moment(MVFOSM) method. Meanwhile, the limit state function for conducting the SLS reliability analysis by the Monte Carlo simulation(MCS) method is established. These two methods are finally applied to determine the SLS target reliability index. Herein, the limiting tolerable settlement(slt) is treated as a random variable. For illustration, four load test databases from South Africa are compiled again to conduct reliability analysis and present the recommended target reliability indices. The results indicate that the MVFOSM method overestimates βsls compared to that computed by the MCS method. Besides, both factor of safety(FS) and slt are key factors influencing βsls, so the combination of FS and βsls is welcome to be used for the SLS reliability analysis of piles when slt is determined. For smaller slt, pile types and soils conditions have significant influence on the SLS target reliability indices; for larger slt, slt is the major factor having influence on the SLS target reliability indices. This proves that slt is the most key parameter for the determination of the SLS target reliability index.

New algorithm of mine slope reliability based on limiting state hyper-plane and its engineering application

Due to the influence of joint fissure, mining intensity, designed slope angle, underground water and rainfall, the failure process of mine slope project is extremely complicated. The current safety factor calculation method has certain limitations, and it would be difficult to obtain the reliability index when the performance function of reliability analysis is implicit or has high order terms. Therefore, with the help of the logistic equation of chaos theory, a new algorithm of mine slope reliability based on limiting state hyper-plane is proposed. It is shown that by using this new reliability algorithm the calculation of partial derivative of performance function is avoided, and it has the advantages of being simple and easy to program. The new algorithm is suitable for calculating the reliability index of complex performance function containing high order terms. Furthermore, the limiting state hyper-plane models of both simplified Bishop's and Janbu's method adaptive to slope project are obtained, and have achieved satisfactory effect in the study of mine slope stability in Dexing copper open pit.

THE AUTOMATIC GENERATION OF LIMIT STATE FUNCTION OF HINGED STRUCTURE

In this paper, the theorem of structure continual variation of truss structure in the analysis of structure reliability is derived, and it is used to generate limit state function automatically. We can avoid repeated assembly of global stiffness matrix and repeated inverse operations of the matrix caused by constant changes of structure topology. A new criterion of degenerate of the structure into mechanism is introduced. The calculation examples are satisfactory.

LIMIT BEHAVIOR OF GROUND STATES OF 2D BINARY BECS IN STEEP POTENTIAL WELLS

We study the ground states of attractive binary Bose-Einstein condensates with N particles,which are trapped in the steep potential wellsλV(x)inℝ2.We show that there exists a positive number N*such that if N>N*,the system admits no ground state for anyλ>0.Moreover,there exist two positive numbers,M*andλ*(N),such that if N<M*,then for anyλ>λ*(N),the system admits at least one ground state.Asλ→∞,for any fixed N<M*,we give a detailed description for the limit behavior of both positive and semi-trivial ground states.

Recent Industrial Developments of Marine Composites Limit States and Design Approaches on Strength

To further exploit the potential of marine composites applications in building ship hulls,offshore structures,and marine equipment and components,design approaches should be improved,facing the challenge of a more comprehensive and explicit assessment of appropriately defined limit states.The structure ultimate/limit conditions shall be verified in principle within the whole structural domain and throughout the ship service life.What above calls for extended and reliable materials characterization on the one hand and for accurate and wide-ranging procedures in structural analyses.This paper presents an overview of recent industrial developments of marine composites limit states assessments and design approaches,as available in open literature,focusing on pleasure crafts and yachts as well as navy ships and thus showing a starting point to fill the gap in this respect.After a general introduction about composites characterization techniques,current design practice and rule requirements are briefly summarized.Both inter-ply and intra-ply failure modes and corresponding limit states are then presented along with recently proposed assessment approaches.Three-dimensional aspects in failure modes and manufacturing methods have been identified as the main factors influencing marine composite robustness.Literature review highlighted also fire resistance and hybrid joining techniques as significant issues in the use of marine composites.

Magnetic Field Measurement with Heisenberg Limit Based on Solid Spin NOON State

The maximum entangled number state （NOON state） can improve the sensitivity of physical quantity measure- ment to the Heisenberg limit 1/N. In this work, the magnetic field measurement based on the individual solid spin NOON state is investigated. Based on the tunable effective coupling coefficient, we propose a generation scheme of the three-spin NOON state, i.e, the Creenberger-Horne-Zeilinger （CHZ） state, and discussed the mea- surement resolution reduction due to decoherence. It is unnecessary to entangle spins as many as possible when decoherence exists. In practice, defect spins in diamond and alp donors with long coherence time can be applied with current techniques in the nano-scaled high resolution magnetic measurement.

基于容许应力法的钢柱刚接柱脚底板设计研究

外露式钢柱刚接柱脚将钢柱下端的内力通过柱脚底板传递给基础,是钢结构的重要节点,在大跨度钢结构厂房的应用极为广泛。现有技术关于柱脚底板的计算是基于承载能力极限状态法,同时在计算柱脚底板受压区长度时需借助一元三次方程求解或借助查图确定,计算过程较繁琐,导致设计人员的设计效率较低。为了解决现有技术的不足,提出一种外露式钢柱刚接柱脚的柱脚底板计算方法,其考虑柱脚底板小偏心和大偏心2种状态,且基于容许应力法,同时根据塑性屈服强度理论,假定基础反力均匀分布,采用塑性截面模量,计算柱脚底板在轴力标准值和弯矩标准值共同作用下的计算厚度。新技术既可以大大简化计算工作量,提高设计效率,又可以优化柱脚底板的计算厚度,降低工程成本。新技术具有较好的推广价值,可供类似工程参考。

外露式钢柱铰接柱脚的柱脚底板设计研究

钢柱柱脚是钢结构的重要节点,其中外露式钢柱铰接柱脚应用较为广泛,其作用是将柱下端的内力通过柱脚底板传递给基础。通过对外露式钢柱铰接柱脚的柱脚底板设计研究,发现现有技术基于承载能力极限状态法,容易造成设计人员设计效率低下。为解决现有技术的不足,考虑到柱脚底板受到竖向压力标准值和竖向拉力标准值作用2种工况,且基于容许应力法,同时根据塑性屈服强度理论,假定基础反力均匀分布,采用塑性截面模量,计算柱脚底板的计算厚度,新技术可以大大简化计算工作量,提高设计效率,可供类似工程参考。

Limits to foundation displacement of an extra high voltage transmission tower in a mining subsidence area

Given the background of a transmission tower erected on a particular mining subsidence area,we used finite element modeling to analyze the anti-deformation performance of transmission towers under a number of different load conditions,including horizontal foundation displacement,uneven vertical downward displacement,wind loads and icing conditions.The results show that the failure in stability of a single steel angle iron represents the limit of the tower given ground deformation.We calculated the corresponding limits of foundation displacements.The results indicate that compression displacement of the foundation is more dangerous than tension displacement.Under complex foundation displacement conditions,horizontal foundation displacement is a key factor leading to failure in the stability of towers.Under conditions of compression or tension displacement of the foundation,wind load becomes the key factor.Towers do not fail when foundation displacements are smaller than 1% (under tension) or 0.5% (under horizontal compression or single foundation subsidence) of the distance between two supports.

A new slope optimization design based on limit curve method

A new method is proposed for slope optimization design based on the limit curve method, where the slope is in the limit equilibrium state when the limit slope curve determined by the slip-line field theory and the slope intersect at the toe of the slope. Compared with the strength reduction (SR) method, finite element limit analysis method, and the SR method based on Davis algorithm, the new method is suitable for determining the slope stability and limit slope angle (LSA). The optimal slope shape is determined based on a series of slope heights and LSA values, which increases the LSA by 2.45°-11.14° and reduces an invalid overburden amount of rocks by 9.15%, compared with the space mechanics theory. The proposed method gives the objective quantification index of instability criterion, and results in a significant engineering economy.

Critical State Sedimentation Line of Soft Marine Clays

The compression behavior responsible for unity sensitivity is very valuable in quantitative assessment of the effects of soil structure on the compression behavior of soft marine sediments. However, the quantitative assessment of such effects is not possible because of unavailability of the formula for the compression curve of marine sediments responsible for unit sensitivity. In this study, the relationship between the remolded state and the conventional critical state line is presented in the deviator stress versus mean effective stress plot. The analysis indicates that the remolded state is on the conventional critical state line obtained at a relatively small strain. Thus, a unique critical state sedimentation line for marine sediments of unit sensitivity is proposed. The comparison between the critical state sedimentation line proposed in this study and the existing normalized consolidation curves obtained from conventional oedometer tests on remolded soils or reconstituted soils explains well the

GROUND STATE SOLUTIONS FOR A SCHRODINGER-POISSON SYSTEM WITH UNCONV ENTIONAL POTENTIAL

We consider the Schrodinger-Poisson system with nonlinear term Q(x)|u|^p-1u,where the value of |x|→∞ lim Q(x)may not exist and Q may change sign.This means that the problem may have no limit problem.The existence of nonnegative ground state solutions is established.Our method relies upon the variational method and some analysis tricks.