O consumo e a degradação dos recursos naturais no ritmo em que está sendo realizado pode comprometer seriamente a sobrevivência das gerações futuras. Neste contexto, uma das atividades onde a boa prática operacional poderia fazer diferença no que diz respeito aos impactos ao meio ambiente é o transporte, setor que merece destaque, pois tem grande participação nas práticas impactantes para o meio ambiente, dada a quantidade de produtos que são movimentados. A indústria química utiliza em larga escala os serviços logísticos oferecidos por terceiros para armazenar, manusear e transportar matérias-primas, intermediários e produtos químicos industrializados. Com objetivo de reduzir riscos envolvidos nos serviços logísticos de produtos químicos, foi criada uma ferramenta denominada Sistema de Avaliação de Saúde, Segurança, Meio Ambiente e Qualidade - SASSMAQ, utilizada como ferramenta de avaliação compulsória para os serviços logísticos prestados a esse setor. Das questões abordadas pelo SASSMAQ 16% estão relacionadas aos cuidados ambientais, sendo 14% classificadas como mandatórias. A questão a ser analisada por esta pesquisa é de tentar identificar, por meio de um estudo de caso voltado ao transporte de produtos perigosos, se não poderiam ter mais elementos que indicariam a possibilidade de inserir indicadores ambientais no SASSMAQ. Para tanto, foi realizado um estudo de caso utilizando trinta e quatro caminhões durante o processo de carga-transporte-descarga visando identificar, por meio de dados gerados durante quatro anos, quais as possíveis ações a serem realizadas tendo como foco a prevenção da poluição e minimização da utilização de recursos não renováveis. Os dados coletados foram gerados desde a aquisição dos caminhões até o final de vida produtiva e sua baixa no sistema, sendo considerados o abastecimento, revisões, manutenções corretivas e preventivas, trocas de pneus, testes de ruídos e opacidade, geração de resíduos sólidos e líquidos produzidos durante este período de análise. Como resultado pretende-se identificar oportunidades de inserção de parâmetros que possam auxiliar na formatação de indicadores de ecoeficiência e que também possam ser propostos no SASSMAQ. / The consumption and degradation of natural resources at the current rate being held may be seriously compromising the survival of future generations. In this context, one of the activities where good operating practice could make a difference with regard to the impacts on the environment is the transportation sector, which is noteworthy since a large role in impacting practices for the environment, given the amount of products are moved. The chemical industry uses large-scale logistics services offered by third parties for storing, handling and transporting raw materials, intermediates and industrial chemicals. SASSMAQ used as a compulsory assessment tool for logistics services to this sector - aiming to reduce risks involved in logistics services for chemicals, a tool called Assessment System Health, Safety, Environment and Quality was created. The subjects addressed by SASSMAQ 16% are related to environmental care, 14% are classified as mandatory. The question to be addressed by this research is trying to identify, through a case study focused on the transportation of dangerous goods, it could not have more elements that indicate the possibility of including environmental indicators SASSMAQ. Thus, a case study using thirty-four trucks during the load-haul-dump was performed to identify, through data generated during four years what possible actions to be undertaken with a focus on pollution prevention and minimizing the use of nonrenewable resources. Data were generated from the acquisition of trucks by the end of their productive life and low in the system, being considered supplies, reviews, corrective and preventive maintenance, tire changes, noise and opacity tests, generation of solid and liquid waste produced during this analysis. As a result we intend to identify opportunities for insertion of parameters that can assist in formatting eco-efficiency indicators and can also be offered on SASSMAQ.

The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation is conducting a study focusing on risk assessment associated with movement of hazardous materials, and determination of corresponding vulnerable areas in the state. A goal of this research is to make the hazardous material risk assessment an integral part of accident analysis find risk management functions in transportation agencies. To achieve these objectives, the authors developed an interactive, user friendly microcomputer package. The risk assessment model behind this package relies on the notion that data can be obtained easily and updated over time. This package, therefore, employs existing data on accident reports, traffic information, and geometric parameters that is transferred from a mainframe database to the microcomputer. The modelling framework consists of several modules: LEVEL, EDIT, INFO, ZOOM, ANALYZE, MITIGATE, PRINT, HELP, RESET, and QUIT Module. It employs a color coding of streets, municipalities, counties, and states for easy and clear interpretation. To enhance graphic display capabilities of the model, shape points are digitized for each network link. In the LEVEL module three different scales are defined ranging from a small scale county level to a large scale street level, namely, 1)County, 2)Municipality, and 3)Street Any scale may be selected for analysis at any time in the procedure. All other modules are, then, performed on the basis of chosen scale. The EDIT module can be used for data input or investigating hypothetical changes in order to determine the best strategies for problem alleviation. Creating or deleting techniques are included to avoid redigitizing the whole map provided link geometries will be changed over time. Edited data can either be saved on diskette files or be used temporarily in memory without altering original flies. The INFO module employs dialogue boxes with bar graphs or color shadow maps to facilitate depicting numeric values of input and output statistics. The ZOOM module allows user to see the area in question in more detail. The ANALYZE module comprises the main part of this package. Two primary features include : 1) vulnerability and risk assessment at the macro level which provides a ranking of the most affected counties, municipalities and streets (Macro analysis), and 2) risk analysis at the micro level (i.e. street level) which determines corridors of least risk between fixed origins and destinations (Micro analysis). The MITIGATION module is provided for evaluation of mitigating measures. The HELP module uses pop-window techniques to provide quick information with minimal program disruption. The RESET module exits ZOOM module and resets screen. Finally, QUIT module shells out to DOS or exits the package. / Ph. D.

Safety is a major concern for tunnel operators. Local authorities responsible for tunnel facilities are concerned with developing restrictions for hazardous materials passing through the facility that will reduce the risk of death and injury, to an extent that these restrictions do not burden commerce unnecessarily. Hazardous material regulatory controls for tunnels are extensive, detailed, and subject to constant changes. The general lack of expertise in tunnel personnel and the lack of a scientific basis leading to the development of these regulations have created problems to local tunnel authorities when updating the restrictions, or when faced with new materials introduced by the industry. Traditionally, most regulatory restrictions enforced both at the federal and the local level are based exclusively on subjective estimation by a panel of experts and on political influence. Experts, however, are not readily available and are expensive to maintain. The need for immediate decisions has constrained tunnel operators to rely on their own intuition in addressing real time transport safety problems in tunnel facility. To address some of these problems, this research investigates the application of knowledge engineering tools to develop a consultative regulatory control system. Specifically, this study presents a structural framework for developing a knowledge-based expert system as an aid to decision-making in tunnel transport safety. The regulatory problem is modeled as a classification type of problem, which lends itself neatly to an expert system application. Heuristic problem solver which is commonly used in solving classification problem involves the systematic matching of the attributes of an unknown entity to a set of pre-defined solutions. For this study's application, the regulatory groupings inherent in existing tunnel regulations are the basis for developing the solution space. The computer program developed uses knowledge which specifies the appropriate regulation applicable to a new commodity based on the material's physical and chemical properties. / M.S.

The transportation of anhydrous ammonia, which is classified as a hazardous material, poses risk to the transporter, surrounding communities, and the environment. The commercial transportation of anhydrous ammonia is highly regulated, while the private transport is not subject to the same degree of mandates. Given the regulatory policies, the current locations of licensed dealers of anhydrous ammonia within North Dakota may be leading to a scenario where a private transporter has an incentive to disobey these policies and thereby expose him/herself, the surrounding communities, and the environment to unnecessary risk. Three stylized counties were constructed to represent the attributes of the eastern, central, and western counties of North Dakota. Attributes included transportation infrastructure, population distribution, and crop composition. Mathematical programming techniques were then utilized to determine the number and optimal location of licensed dealers of anhydrous ammonia within these counties. The results were then compared and contrasted with the current locations of licensed dealers throughout North Dakota to determine if the regulatory policies are sufficient in that they are not encouraging unsafe actions of the transporters and thereby endangering the transporters, surrounding communities, and the environment. The results indicated that the current regulatory structure associated with the transportation of anhydrous ammonia is sufficient to limit incidents.

The goal of this research is to develop a mathematical model for determining a route that attempts to reduce the risk of low probability, high consequence accidents by trying to minimize the conditional expected risk given that an accident has occurred. However, if this were the only objective of the model, then poor decisions could result. Therefore, the model formulated is a bicriterion network optimization model that considers trade-offs between the conditional expectation of a catastrophic outcome and more traditional measure of risk dealing with the expected value of the consequence. More specifically, the problem we wish to address involves finding a path that minimizes the conditional expectation of a catastrophic outcome such that the expected risk is lesser than or equal to a pre-determined value, v. The value v, is user-prescribed and is prompted by the solution to the shortest path problem which minimizes the expected risk. Two approaches are investigated. First, we apply a suitable k-shortest path algorithm to rank the extreme points for which the objective function value remains lesser than or equal to v. This enables the selection of a best path with respect to the conditional expectation objective function Second, we develop a fractional programming branch-and-bound approach that IS more robust with respect to the selected value of v. A simple numerical example is provided for the sake of illustration, and the model is also tested using real data Both data acquisition issues as well as algorithmic computational Issues are discussed. / Master of Science

Neste trabalho estudam-se modelos matemáticos e computacionais do transporte de múltiplas espécies em cenários de contaminação subsuperficial, que constituem meios porosos saturados. Deste modo, combinam-se os efeitos de sorção em condições de equilíbrio e não-equilíbrio, representadas pelas isotermas do tipo de Freundlich, com os processos de biodegradação dados pelas cinéticas de Monod. Matematicamente, o problema é descrito por um sistema de equações diferenciais parciais não lineares de convecção-difusão-reação acopladas pelos termos de reação. Do ponto de vista numérico esta é a primeira vez na literatura que são tratadas sorções não-lineares em condições de equilíbrio e não-equilíbrio acopladas com biodegradação não linear no transporte fortemente convectivo de múltiplas espécies. Primeiramente, apresenta-se um algoritmo completamente acoplado, no sentido que em cada equação do sistema os operadores diferenciais são discretizados e resolvidos simultaneamente como um sistema completo. Em seguida, desenvolve-se um método de decomposição de operadores,o qual trata de uma maneira seqüencial os termos de elementos finitos estabilizado combinado com um esquema de diferenças finitas na aproximação das equações de transporte. Para tratar-se as não linearidades, em geral, foram usados algoritmos do tipo Newton-Raphson e um método de Runge-Kutta na segunda etapa de decomposição de operadores. Os diversos resultados obtidos das simulações computacionais demonstraram a eficiência das metodologias propostas, apresentando de forma clara a influência dos efeitos não lineares de sorção sobre a biodegradação na localização espacial e na forma da pluma. O conhecimento destas interações é bastante importante para ajudar nas escolhas de biorremediação in situ em regiões subsuperficiais contaminadas.

This diploma thesis elaborates on dangers of intentional misuse of transported hazardous substances. Introduction part is about legislation which determines conditions for hazardous substances treatment and their transportation. There are several types of transportation, they are described in separated chapter. Road transportation dominates in Czech Republic. Focus is put on motivation factors for misuse of hazardous substances. Factors increasing risk of misuse of hazardous substances follow. Based on it, suggestions for precautions and means to lower the risk were created. Separated chapter is dedicated to methodology for determining attractiveness of hazardous substances. To map situation in Czech Republic, I did survey in several companies. Results are summarized in last chapter.

Made available in DSpace on 2015-03-04T18:51:03Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Apresentacao e resumos.pdf: 92299 bytes, checksum: 957bb50a66505cf631cffee02a010cfc (MD5) Previous issue date: 2006-07-14 / Coordenacao de Aperfeicoamento de Pessoal de Nivel Superior / Neste trabalho estudam-se modelos matemáticos e computacionais do transporte de múltiplas espécies em cenários de contaminação subsuperficial, que constituem meios porosos saturados. Deste modo, combinam-se os efeitos de sorção em condições de equilíbrio e não-equilíbrio, representadas pelas isotermas do tipo de Freundlich, com os processos de biodegradação dados pelas cinéticas de Monod. Matematicamente, o problema é descrito por um sistema de equações diferenciais parciais não lineares de convecção-difusão-reação acopladas pelos termos de reação. Do ponto de vista numérico esta é a primeira vez na literatura que são tratadas sorções não-lineares em condições de equilíbrio e não-equilíbrio acopladas com biodegradação não linear no transporte fortemente convectivo de múltiplas espécies. Primeiramente, apresenta-se um algoritmo completamente acoplado, no sentido que em cada equação do sistema os operadores diferenciais são discretizados e resolvidos simultaneamente como um sistema completo. Em seguida, desenvolve-se um método de decomposição de operadores,o qual trata de uma maneira seqüencial os termos de elementos finitos estabilizado combinado com um esquema de diferenças finitas na aproximação das equações de transporte. Para tratar-se as não linearidades, em geral, foram usados algoritmos do tipo Newton-Raphson e um método de Runge-Kutta na segunda etapa de decomposição de operadores. Os diversos resultados obtidos das simulações computacionais demonstraram a eficiência das metodologias propostas, apresentando de forma clara a influência dos efeitos não lineares de sorção sobre a biodegradação na localização espacial e na forma da pluma. O conhecimento destas interações é bastante importante para ajudar nas escolhas de biorremediação in situ em regiões subsuperficiais contaminadas.