Abstract

Abstract
Till nowadays, the Controller Area Network (CAN) has been a de facto standard for communication in automotive applications. To meet the requirements of new high-end vehicular systems, new communication protocols such as the FlexRay Communication System and the CAN with Flexible Data-rate (CAN-FD) has been developed. In the near future, it is expected the coexistence of those protocols in the same vehicle, with electronic control units (ECUs) connected to different network buses exchanging information through gateways. In this paper we investigate the following problem: "how to schedule the communication in a vehicular system, considering that a message is transmitted through a network that is composed of CAN-FD, FlexRay and CAN segments interconnected by gateways." We propose a method for the schedulability analysis of such systems, focusing on the case where a message is generated in a ECU connected to a CAN-FD segment is used by an ECU connected to a CAN bus.

Abstract

Abstract
A silicone rubber-coated Mach-Zehnder interferometer (MZI) is proposed and applied to temperature measurement. The MZI is fabricated by splicing single mode fiber between a short section of no-core fiber (NCF) and the ultra-abrupt taper region. The sensing length of MZI is coated with liquid silicone rubber to enhance the temperature sensitivity. Here, NCF is used to excite the higher order cladding mode, the ultra-abrupt taper region acts as a optical fiber coupler, and the silicone rubber coating on sensing length is used as solid cladding material instead of liquid. The enhancement of the sensitivity of a device is due to the high refractive index (1.42) and thermo-optic coefficient (-1.4×10-4/°C) of silicone rubber as compared to liquid cladding temperature sensors. The experiment was performed for both coated and uncoated MZI and the results were compared. The MZI exhibits a high temperature sensitivity of 253.75 and 121.26 pm/°C for coated and uncoated sensing probes, respectively, in the temperature range from 30°C to 75°C. © 2016 Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE).

Abstract
Eco-routing has been shown as a promising strategy to reduce emissions. However, during peak periods, with limited additional capacity, the eco-friendliness of various routes may change. We have explored this issue empirically by covering about 13,300 km, in three different areas, using GPS-equipped vehicles to record second-by-second vehicle dynamics. This study has confirmed the importance of the eco-routing concept given that the selection of eco-friendly routes can lead to significant emissions savings. Furthermore, these savings are expected to be practically unchanged during the peak period. However, some potential negative externalities may arise from purely dedicated eco-friendly navigation systems.

Abstract
The Container Loading Problem (CLP) literature has traditionally guaranteed cargo static stability by imposing the full support constraint for the base of the box. Used as a proxy for real-world static stability, this constraint excessively restricts the container space utilization and has conditioned the algorithms developed for this problem. In this paper we propose a container loading algorithm with static stability constraints based on the static mechanical equilibrium conditions applied to rigid bodies, which derive from Newton's laws of motion. The algorithm is a multi-population biased random-key genetic algorithm, with a new placement procedure that uses the maximal-spaces representation to manage empty spaces, and a layer building strategy to fill the maximal-spaces. The new static stability criterion is embedded in the placement procedure and in the evaluation function of the algorithm. The new algorithm is extensively tested on well-known literature benchmark instances using three variants: no stability constraint, the classical full base support constraint and with the new static stability constraint a comparison is then made with the state-of-the-art algorithms for the CLP. The computational experiments show that by using the new stability criterion it is always possible to achieve a higher percentage of space utilization than with the classical full base support constraint, for all classes of problems, while still guaranteeing static stability. Moreover, for highly heterogeneous cargo the new algorithm with full base support constraint outperforms the other literature approaches, improving the best solutions known for these classes of problems.