Next Generation Web-Based Transportation Emissions Inventory Estimation Software Using MOVES and Activity-Based Travel Demand Models

The main outcome of our research is an integrated suite of fundamental methods/models, practical tools, metrics, and information structures to manage interdependent physical and social infrastructures, and planning and operational policy recommendations. Our research helps promote next-generation transportation systems by fostering sustainable system engineering that integrates urban cyber-information, advanced computing, distributed intelligence, innovative public-private partnership mechanisms, feasible business models, and optimal ownership structures that are most appropriate for private participation.

We have developed the nation’s first web-based emissions post-processing software, CU-PPS, using the EPA’s Motor Vehicle Emission Simulator (MOVES) in conjunction with the New York Metropolitan Transportation Council’s Best Practice travel demand model. The CU-PPS integrates the EPA’s state-of-the-art emission model and activity-based travel demand model for emissions inventory estimation at a finely resolved link-by-link scale. The most distinguished feature of the PPS includes its web-based software architecture and its full integration with a Database Management System (DBMS). The web-based architecture allows remote concurrent access to the same software from multiple users, increasing consistency and reducing client resource burden. The use of a DBMS facilitates effective scenario management, better programmability, and relational-algebra-based computational optimization techniques. This computational efficiency consequently enables the software to provide a highly resolved link or Traffic-Analysis-Zone-level emission inventory to support visualization on GIS systems. The software has gone through rigorous testing and evaluation procedures and has been approved by the inter-agency consulting groups for official use of transportation conformity assessment in New York City. The figure below shows the GIS maps of hourly link-based and TAZ-based transportation emissions inventory in the NYC Metro area.

Other Software Coming Soon

Smart Food Banks to Fight Nutrition Insecurity
We are working to develop a new system to help food banks optimize their collection and distribution operations to provide better service. The developed system will be translated into phone and web applications that can be used by donors, receivers, and food bank personnel.

Asset-Backed Securitization for Infrastructure Financing: Models and Applications
The idea is to securitize cash flows generated by infrastructure assets. To assist the design of the quantitative aspects of the process of securitization, we develop a series of analytical methods and companion software to model the project cash flow and allocate the risk between different stakeholders.

Life-Cycle Asset Planning & Management of Infrastructure Systems: Models and Applications

➥ Module 1: Input and Foundation
Input:

• Infrastructure asset network information
  A user-friendly interface for clients to import their GIS road network, structure network, OD network (location of high-density population area).

• Infrastructure asset current/past condition
  Client provides input information for the current and past condition of infrastructure, it can represent by IRI score for pavement, and condition rating for bridge.

• Disaster information
  Optimal input if the client wants to manage the infrastructures under disaster risk.
  Water length and depth in road network on all return periods; landslide information

• Budget, finance, and timeline plan information
  For client’s budget and life-cycle time horizon plan

➥ Module 2: Infrastructure Asset Life Cycle Management and Monitoring
Output:

• Asset condition assessment
  Based on the historical monitor data and current condition, the software generates the expected condition performance for different maintenance plans

• Optimal maintenance interval selection

• Optimal maintenance type selection: maintenance, rehabilitation, and reconstruction

• Life-Cycle economic analysis

• Life-Cycle environmental analysis

• Financial forecast and plan

• Optimal maintenance strategies under budget

• Algorithm and model
  Markov process, dynamic programming, knapsack modeling, or heuristic optimization (Matlab coded in first paper) done

➥ Module 3: Infrastructure Investment Prioritization With and Without Disaster Risk
Output:

• Criticality ranking of links and structures in the network

• Vulnerability ranking of link and structures in the network under disaster

• Expected annual user economic cost estimation under disaster

• From a network level, provided optimal investment strategies includes capacity expansion, structure strengthen, surface condition improvement

• Under budget, identify the optimal investment strategies for the network

• Algorithm and model
  Dijkstra shortest path algorithm, approximate algorithm for network design, economic cost and demand modeling, knapsack programming (world bank project python code) done

➥ Module 4: Investment Under Uncertainty and Real Options Strategies (Advance Module)
Output:

• Optimal investment timing strategies for predesign investment portfolio, given high uncertain environment such as travel demand, or climate change variance

• Strategies decisions under uncertainty: given the change of demand increase rate, volatility, discount rate, and construction duration

• Social benefit of investment evaluation

• Project-based optimal investment timing (analytical solution)

• Portfolio-based optimal investment timing (simulation)

• Algorithm and model
  Real option, least squared MC simulation (done with analytical solution, simulation is under development)