Search results for "rail transport"
showing 10 items of 44 documents
Towards the Design of Robotic Drivers for Full-Scale Self-Driving Racing Cars
2019
Autonomous vehicles are undergoing a rapid development thanks to advances in perception, planning and control methods and technologies achieved in the last two decades. Moreover, the lowering costs of sensors and computing platforms are attracting industrial entities, empowering the integration and development of innovative solutions for civilian use. Still, the development of autonomous racing cars has been confined mainly to laboratory studies and small to middle scale vehicles. This paper tackles the development of a planning and control framework for an electric full scale autonomous racing car, which is an absolute novelty in the literature, upon which we report our preliminary experim…
The Current and Future Role of Carsharing in Palermo: Analysis of Collected Data and Results of a Customer Satisfaction Survey
2018
In recent years many cities, both in Italy and abroad, have adopted Sustainable Urban Mobility Plans, in which one of the key action is the developing of the sharing mobility. The aim of the paper is to define the role that carsharing plays in Palermo today and it will play in the future, thanks to the adoption of new strategies, such as the introduction of the free-floating system, and transport demand orientation policies, such as the increase in the parking fees for private cars or the expansion of the ZTL. The average user profile of carsharing in Palermo has been identified through a customer satisfaction survey and the potential demand of carsharing in Palermo has been studied using G…
Bitumen stabilized ballast: a potential solution for railway track-bed
2016
Railway ballast degradation under dynamic loads progressively leads to loss of mechanical performance and geometry of the track, so that maintenance interventions are frequently needed. In order to system- atically avoid this issue, recently solutions have been proposed to reinforce track-bed by using polyur- ethane and/or resins as well as asphalt layers among others. Nonetheless, their main limitations are related to the high initial cost and low productivity. To cope with these limitations, in this study, bitumen stabilized ballast (BSB) is proposed as a new solu- tion for ballast stabilization. This method aims at improving durability and reducing settlement by mod- ifying both stiffnes…
A Dynamic Model of Ballasted Rail Track with Bituminous Sub-Ballast Layer
2012
AbstractThe bituminous sub-ballast layer within the ballasted rail track allows some mechanical and environmental advantages. An analytical model of a ballasted rail track with sub-ballast layer has been proposed by considering the rail as viscous-elastic continuous beam discretely supported, at four levels of elasticity.The model was used to compare the mechanical performance of both ballasted track with and without bituminous sub-ballast layer. The results confirmed that the bituminous sub-ballast layer reduces the dynamic forces on the ground and achieves the technical objectives as reduction of ground borne vibrations and increase of the design life of the rail track.
Optimización de las propiedades de emulsión de betún para la estabilización de balasto
2017
Ballasted track, while providing economical and practical advantages, is associated with high costs and material consumption due to frequent maintenance. More sustainable alternatives to conventional ballasted trackbeds should therefore aim at extending its durability, particularly considering ongoing increases in traffic speed and loads. In this regard, the authors have investigated a solution consisting of bitumen stabilised ballast (BSB), designed to be used for new trackbeds as well as in reinforcing existing ones. This study presents the idea behind the technology and then focuses on a specific part of its development: the optimisation of bitumen emulsion properties and dosage in relat…
Novel performance-based technique for predicting maintenance strategy of bitumen stabilised ballast
2018
Abstract Despite being the most used worldwide, railway ballasted tracks presents high maintenance cost related to ballast settlement and particle degradation. With the aim of reducing life cycle costs, bitumen stabilised ballast (BSB) has been recently proposed as a relatively cheap alternative maintenance solution to be applied to existing tracks. This study aims at assessing the potential advantages of this technology, defining a novel maintenance strategy of traditional ballasted track-beds. A protocol for the application of the BSB technology and its associated maintenance strategy is defined. To estimate minor and major maintenance operations of BSB scenario in comparison to tradition…
High Performance Bi-Block Sleeper for Improvement the Performances of Ballasted Railway Track
2012
Abstract This article focuses on the performance of an innovative railway sleeper, recently patented in Italy and called “HP-BB” (High Performance Bi-Block sleeper), under different efficiency conditions of the ballast. The research is carried out through a comparative assessment of traditional mono- and bi-block sleepers, evaluating the lateral resistance of the single sleeper thought as independent of the other constituents of the track.
Use of bitumen-stabilised ballast for improving railway trackbed conventional maintenance
2018
Despite its many advantages, ballasted track needs frequent maintenance to ensure an adequate quality of service. However, tamping, traditionally used to correct geometry, causes ballast degradation and loosening of the already compacted ballast layer, which quickly returns the track to its pre-maintenance position. Then, other maintenance techniques such as stoneblowing, as well as diverse solutions that reinforce trackbed, have been developed to reduce ballast settlement and particles degradation. Given the need to further advance research in this field, bitumen-stabilised ballast (BSB) has started to be investigated by the authors as a feasible solution thanks to its easy and quick appl…
Digital image analysis technique for measuring railway track defects and ballast gradation
2018
Abstract In order to guarantee safety and driving comfort and to maintain an efficient railway infrastructure, the first step is to carefully monitor the track geometry and wear level of the materials constituting the superstructure. To that end diagnostic trains are widely used on main lines, in that they can detect several geometric track parameters and rail wear, but under no circumstances they can yet detect ballast gradation. Due to the practical implications for the planning of maintenance operations on the railway network, this article presents a “DIP” digital image processing technique for measuring the transverse profile and corrugations of the rails as well as ballast gradation. T…
A comparative life-cycle assessment of asphalt mixtures for railway sub-ballast containing alternative materials
2018
Abstract Bituminous sub-ballast in railway track-bed can mitigate the variation of the moisture content in the subgrade and reduce vertical stiffness variations of the track leading to a more durable infrastructure. Nevertheless, durability is only one of the aspects that affects the sustainability of an infrastructure. Other relevant aspects are related to the environmental and economic issues. This research work joins the worldwide effort towards a paradigm shift in civil engineering devoted to assess the sustainability of infrastructures at the design stage. With this in mind, in this study different alternative bituminous sub-ballast mixtures containing recycled materials, namely crumb …