This paper proposes a continuous inspection method to assess the journey safety applied to aerial cable vehicles of mass transportation;a type of detachable gondola liftin terms of commercial operation in an urban area, specifically referring to the device coupling assembly on the track rope. The inspection method has been developed on the basis of a continual measurement process of the recorded strain conditions on a principal component of the coupling assembly. The selected component is commonly referred to as moving jaw. The proposed inspection procedure is structured based on the following set of consecutive stages: (i) Downloaded by [Simon Fraser University] at 02:56 17 March 2015 ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT 2 characterization of the load states generated by the commercial operation of the system; (ii) definition of the sections of greater sensitivity to the strains caused by the load states, by means of Finite Elements; (iii) development of a measurement system; (iv) calibration of the measuring system with controlled tests; and (v) implementation and continuous records data in commercial operation.

The low temperature, premixed combustion strategies are being investigated in the recent years as a mean to break the NOx-soot trade-off appearing during the diffusive conventional diesel combustion. This approach relies on promoting premixed combustion events with shortened duration, which reduces the heat transfer losses, improves the thermal efficiency, and allows a simultaneous reduction of engine-out NOx and soot emissions. However, since the combustion onset only depends on chemical kinetics, most of these strategies cannot be implemented at medium and high loads due to excessive pressure gradients, which lead to unacceptable noise levels and reliability issues. This experimental work investigates the potential of the Miller cycle as a strategy to minimize the aforementioned challenges when operating under reactivity controlled compression ignition combustion. Moreover, the coupled effect of the Miller cycle with the fuel reactivity modulation is also explored as a way for improving the combustion control. For this purpose, parametric studies varying the effective compression ratio and gasoline fraction have been done in a single-cylinder heavy-duty engine operating at 14 bar indicated mean effective pressure and 1200 rev/min as a baseline condition. The results show that this strategy allows better control of the in-cylinder thermodynamic conditions, enabling a simultaneous reduction of nitrogen oxides and soot emissions down to the EURO VI limits, while keeping a reduced fuel consumption and suitable incylinder maximum pressure gradients.

Different air management strategies, Miller timing and internal EGR (iEGR), have been studied on internal combustion engines with the objective of decreasing NO x emissions. This paper explores heavy duty diesel engine performance by the application of both strategies separately through two different camshaft configurations, mounted and tested in the same engine. On one side, in the case of Miller timing, the early intake valve closing is explored, and on other side, for iEGR, the study is carried out opening the exhaust valve during the intake process. The engine emission and performance study is achieved through the application of a methodology which begins with the selection of the operating points focusing on medium to high loads. It continues with the exploration of different camshaft profiles by mean of a 1D model. Through the 1D model, two camshaft profiles are selected and tested in the test cell, determining the intake valve closing conditions followed by the identification of the thermodynamic behavior during the compression stroke before the injection. Later on, the combustion and emissions formation analysis is performed to conclude with the fuel consumption study for each implemented strategy taking into consideration the important influence of each camshaft profile in the pumping loop. A short discussion on the transient performance effect of each air management strategy completes the scope of the study.