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Found 6289 publications

Comparison of Italian and Hungarian Black Spot Ranking

D. Miletics A. Borsos S. Cafiso C. D'Agostino

Publication Name: Transportation Research Procedia

Publication Date: 2016-01-01

Volume: 14

Issue: Unknown

Page Range: 2148-2157

Description:

Black spot ranking is an important tool for finding the sites with potential safety improvement on the road network. The EU Directive on Road Infrastructure Safety Management also demands the ranking of high accident concentration sites. This paper gives an introduction to localizing high accident concentration sites and the indicators used by Italy and Hungary. Accident and traffic volume data are gathered for motorway sections from both countries. Safety ranking is made using two conventional indicators, absolute number of accidents and accident rate. A more sophisticated ranking using the Empirical Bayes method is applied. Expected average crash frequency with Empirical Bayes adjustment is calculated. Based on the estimation of the crash frequency, the Critical Crash Rate (CCR) was added to identify and rank black spots. This additional performance measure is able to take into account traffic volume as required by the EU Directive. Results of the Empirical Bayes method are compared with the conventional procedures. It is concluded that the results are not comparable; inasmuch as there are modifications in the order of black spots. Based on the comparison of results recommendations are given to change the practice in both countries.

Open Access: Yes

DOI: 10.1016/j.trpro.2016.05.230

Bending stiffness measurement of wounded piano strings

P. Szalai P. Horváth

Publication Name: Proceedings of ISMA 2016 International Conference on Noise and Vibration Engineering and Usd2016 International Conference on Uncertainty in Structural Dynamics

Publication Date: 2016-01-01

Volume: Unknown

Issue: Unknown

Page Range: 2233-2240

Description:

Bass notes of pianos exhibit high degree of inharmonicity that means that frequencies of overtones depart from integer multiples of the fundamental frequency. Small amount of inharmonicity is tolerable for musicians and listeners, but higher ones cause unpleasant metallic tone. Reducing inharmonicity the first step is to investigate all influencing factors. This paper deals with effects of bending stiffness and nonuniform winding of wounded strings. As there is no reliable information in literature on bending stiffness data, a measuring procedure has been elaborated that is based on analysis of frequencies of overtones and the mathematical model of a vibrating string. Gained bending stiffness data opens the door to further quantitative investigations to reduce inharmonicity and improve sound generation methods of digital pianos.

Open Access: Yes

DOI: DOI not available

Evaluation and improvement of parallel discrete event simulation performance predictions: A rough-set-based approach

László Muka István Derka

Publication Name: Acta Polytechnica Hungarica

Publication Date: 2016-01-01

Volume: 13

Issue: 6

Page Range: 125-145

Description:

Simulation performance prediction methods make possible the realization of performance improvement potentials of Parallel Discrete Event Simulation (PDES) methods, important in the analysis of complex systems and large-scale networks. Currently, high performance execution environments (emerging clusters and computing clouds) advance the development of quality/cost analysis capabilities of performance prediction methods. In this paper, for the evaluation and management of prediction correctness/cost, the efficacy, efficiency and effectiveness coefficients and improvement operations are defined for predictions. The performance coefficients and improvement operations are embedded in the rough-set-modeling and learning process and presented as an enhancement approach of the conventional Coupling Factor Method (CFM). A case study based on the CFM analysis of PDES of a closed queuing network model is presented. In the example, after rough-modeling and train-and-test analysis, the correctness/cost evaluation and effectiveness improvement operations are shown for series of predictions and the feedback connection to modeling refinement phase is demonstrated too.

Open Access: Yes

DOI: DOI not available

Getting an Insight into the Effects of Traffic Calming Measures on Road Safety

Csaba Koren Mattias Juhász

Publication Name: Transportation Research Procedia

Publication Date: 2016-01-01

Volume: 14

Issue: Unknown

Page Range: 3811-3820

Description:

The objective of this paper is to assess the significance of urban traffic calming and to get an insight into the safety impacts of local and area-wide traffic calming interventions enabling a better understanding and therefore 'better-informed' decisions on different schemes. Safety effects of traffic calming initiatives have been analysed on a city-level for larger Hungarian cities and an in-depth research has also been carried out for a more detailed case from the capital of Hungary. Results show that traffic calming initiatives have a very significant role in enhancing road safety of urban areas. Meanwhile the case study of Budapest explains observed effects in detail allowing for more accurate appraisal tools to be developed.

Open Access: Yes

DOI: 10.1016/j.trpro.2016.05.466

Breaking and Making Constitutional Rules: The Constitutional Effects of the Financial Crisis in Hungary

Zoltán Szente

Publication Name: Constitutions in the Global Financial Crisis A Comparative Analysis

Publication Date: 2016-01-01

Volume: Unknown

Issue: Unknown

Page Range: 245-262

Description:

No description provided

Open Access: Yes

DOI: 10.4324/9781315573571-14

Evaluation of Human Behaviour at Pedestrian Crossings

Petra Szakonyi Emese Mako

Publication Name: Transportation Research Procedia

Publication Date: 2016-01-01

Volume: 14

Issue: Unknown

Page Range: 2121-2128

Description:

Road traffic crashes result from a combination of factors related to the road layout, the vehicles, the road users and the way they interact. First the main causes of pedestrian fatalities and the safety effects of road measures (traffic lights, roundabouts and refuge islands) at pedestrian crossings before and after implementation were investigated. The results indicate that there is a strong evidence for the positive effect of these measures especially on the number of the pedestrian related accidents. In the next phase a site survey was conducted in order to estimate the irregular crossing manoeuvres of car drivers and pedestrians at designated pedestrian crossings. Having analysed the irregular movements according to the type of crossing it was found, that car drivers behave the most irregularly at crossings without a refuge island. Crossings equipped with flashing yellow lights, refuge islands and traffic lights require a much more appropriate behaviour from car drivers. In the next phase of the research the waiting time of pedestrians and the delay of vehicle drivers again at pedestrian crossings were surveyed. Our results suggest that there is a need for a strong contribution of the human and the engineering fields to obtain an even more positive change in the safety of vulnerable road users.

Open Access: Yes

DOI: 10.1016/j.trpro.2016.05.227

Minkowski's inequality based sensitivity analysis of fuzzy signatures

Ádám Bukovics István Harmati L. T. Kóczy

Publication Name: Journal of Artificial Intelligence and Soft Computing Research

Publication Date: 2016-01-01

Volume: 6

Issue: 4

Page Range: 219-229

Description:

Fuzzy signatures were introduced as special tools to describe and handle complex systems without their detailed mathematical models. The input parameters of these systems naturally have uncertainties, due to human activities or lack of precise data. These uncertainties influence the final conclusion or decision about the system. In this paper we discuss the sensitivity of the weigthed general mean aggregation operator to the uncertainty of the input values, then we analyse the sensitivity of fuzzy signatures equipped with these aggregation operators. Finally, we apply our results to a fuzzy signature used in civil enginnering.

Open Access: Yes

DOI: 10.1515/jaiscr-2016-0016

The measurement of social capacity / deficit in the regions of the Scandinavian and Visegrad countries

Jenő Zsolt Farkas Róbert Péter Bódi Ferenc

Publication Name: Teruleti Statisztika

Publication Date: 2016-01-01

Volume: 56

Issue: 2

Page Range: 158-182

Description:

The focus of the research was to measure and compare social capacity and anomie between four Scandinavian states (Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden) and four post-socialist countries (the Visegrad Group: Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia) in order to analyze similarities and differences. The analysis was conducted utilizing both micro and macro approaches. Four new complex indicators were developed from the social well-being module of the 2012 6. ESS survey. These new complex indicators were used to measure the quality of the society, the quality of life and subjective wellbeing. Macro level analysis consisted of indicators from the database of Eurostat Regions and the 2011 Census that are most used in professional literature. The characteristics of each country then the features of the regions (60 NUTS2 field units) were analyzed using data obtained from micro level surveys utilizing the newly created complex indicators. Following this step, a regional analysis of the aforementioned macro level indicators was completed. The results of these two levels of analysis were compared cross-nationally and regionally. Significant differences were found between the Scandinavian group and the Visegrad group revealing underlying connections supporting the results of other European studies. Namely that the 2008 crisis with respect to subjective well being created far more trauma for individuals in countries with a weak social safety net. The analysis also demonstrated that using complex indicators as well as both a micro and macro approach complement each other bringing about an understanding of nuances and subtle differences not found in singular approaches thus creating a more accurate assessment of the status of the society.

Open Access: Yes

DOI: 10.15196/TS560204

Soil shear modulus from resonant column, torsional shear and bender element tests

Péter Hudacsek Zsolt Szilvágyi Richard P. Ray

Publication Name: International Journal of Geomate

Publication Date: 2016-01-01

Volume: 10

Issue: 2

Page Range: 1822-1827

Description:

This study compares results from three different testing methods: Resonant Column, Torsional Simple Shear, and Bender Element tests to determine shear modulus. The resonant column and torsional shear tests were performed on the same hollow cylinder specimen. The bender element test was performed on a triaxial specimen with the same void ratio and confining stress as well as others. Several effects were studied, among them confining stress, shear strain amplitude and for the bender element, anisotropic confinement. Testing methods and data analysis are discussed in the paper because data interpretation is very important in these tests. Results showed that the shear modulus values were almost identical between the resonant column and torsional shear but varied somewhat with the bender element results. Further research will focus on influence of stress anisotropy preparation methods.

Open Access: Yes

DOI: 10.21660/2016.20.39871