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The paper deals with the analysis of long-term development of GDP, while it is per 1 capita in Slovakia and neighboring countries. This development will be further compared with the economies of developed countries. This paper also parse the vehicle fleet of road transport and examines the burden on the road network. This is based on statistical data from the Slovak Road Administration and information from the toll system since 2009. The paper also examine the load of roads in the factory Kia Motors Slovakia by road freight transport. The output of paper are recommendations for the development of transport infrastructure, road and rail transport in terms of sustainable development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The urgency of recording and preserving the physical evidence of Slovakia's disappearing industrial heritage is prompted by the recent dramatic demolitions of many production buildings and even whole industrial sites. Accompanying architectural discussion confirmed the lack of systematic mapping and evaluation of our industrial heritage and furthermore that the traditional heritage conservation approaches do not offer sufficient tools to preserve and evaluate this remains of our industrial history. This study is focused on the industrial architecture of historical iron and steel plants that were in operation in the territory of Slovakia between the years 1800 – 1948. The aim of this paper is to analyse the architectural and urban characteristics and common features of observed historical ironworks as a support for the protection and interpretation activities. The paper is divided into several parts: 1. A description of the architectural and urban development of the iron industry in Slovakia with regard to the development of technical and technological processes; 2. A categorisation and an analyse of typological characteristics; 3. A report on the current state of 127 historical locations of iron production. For many centuries, iron production was contributing to a social and economic development of all of the current Slovak state formations. Although the history of this industry in Slovakia is relatively well explored and published, the architectural and urban characteristic of these industrial sites is practically unknown. Nowadays, the abandoned buildings and sites of this production sector are a new attribute of our settlements. All of them offer the opportunity for reuse. The potential of their successful urban reintegration is subject to the understanding of their historic and heritage values accompanied by the complex research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Innovation potential development with the support of new knowledge creation and presentation and its consequent transfer to business practice represents a part of knowledge society building. Experiences acquired abroad indicate that systematic support of invention application, technical solutions and knowledge acquired via research & development in business and social practice is necessary for maintaining sustainable development of a knowledge society. Building of platform for transfer of knowledge and technology support has just recently started in Slovakia. However, some of its activities have already been carried out mainly thanks to the EU structural funds. Sustainable economic growth must be based on latest knowledge. University's innovation potential is crucial. Specialised institutions focusing on knowledge and technology transfer have just started to emerge in Slovakia. Today, a very good example of technology transfer realization is the Broker Centre of Air Transport. This paper proposes a case study which was prepared in order to gain all the necessary information from the field of used technology and knowledge transfer model and spin-off companies in significant academic centres in Taiwain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Excise taxes are one of the oldest taxes in the world. Countries have used these taxes to ensure profits of public finances. However, countries also have used these taxes as an indirect tool for removing negative externalities which cause damage the environment. One of the most significant excise taxes is the excise tax on mineral oils. This tax generates circa 10 per cent of all taxes coming to the public budget of the Slovak Republic. In Slovakia, the tax burden is the highest in our region. The state can influence the final price of gasoline products; however, it does not want to lose tax profits. It is due to the fact that these taxes generate remarkable profit in the Slovakian budget. We believe that there is a space for decreasing this tariff what would cause the decrement of gas and diesel prices. In this paper authors suggest a way how to use statistical methods based on linear regression and neural networks for modelling the decrement of excise tax tariff on gasoline with the same tax profits. We also suggest methodology of identification and modelling of these factors influencing the excise tax revenue. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The precast prestressed bridges represent the major part of all highways bridges that were built last decade in Slovakia. This is mainly due to the technical and economic advantages of this type of structures. Despite the well know advantages of precast bridges, there exists a demand for innovative solutions that would improve the competitiveness of this type of structures. The paper focuses on the recent changes during the last years in design and fabrication process and describes some failures of the first precast prestressed girders in Slovakia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a framework for scaling climate change adaptation in cities in the Slovak Republic. The framework specifically focuses on the requirements of financial resources mobilizing for climate change adaptation and other urban risk reduction. An article is elaborated through the resilient city concept, an ability of urban areas and their individual assets to perform a basics service for stakeholders under a wide range of condition. The purpose of the article is to identify and analyze funding resources for disaster resilient city in the European Union. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents partial results of chemical analysis of concrete structures exposed to a long-term aggressive environment. The results characterize chloride load of the concrete elements. As the samples for analysis, fragments of the existing concrete ceiling panels and beams stored in a skylight of one of the monitored structures for a long time were used. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Declining of the storage capacity and the lifetime of water storage reservoirs, significantly reduced by the inflow of sediments, are at present major sediment-related problem. The possible outcome in sediment management is sediment dredging. Sediments are classified as waste by legislation frameworks generating a negative image for sediment. Nevertheless sediments can represent a valuable material and should be increasingly regarded as a resource rather than as a waste. Regarding sediment perpetual availability and specific chemical and physical characteristics, their use in construction applications and concrete production is promising. This paper summarizes the results of the case study about the potential use of the sediments dredged from the Ruzin reservoir (Slovakia) as a partial (40%) substitute of Portland cement in concrete. The experiments were carried out with sediment mechanically activated by dry milling and chemically activated sediment milled together with NaOH. The effect of the sediment as a binder on the compressive and flexural strength of blended concrete specimens after 28 and 90 days is determined. The results confirmed the beneficial effect of sediment mechanical activation on achieved strengths of prepared concrete specimens. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Project management presents the management and the coordination of human and material resources throughout the life of project by using the modern techniques of management for achievement of predetermined objectives in particular scope, costs, time, quality and the satisfaction of projects stakeholders. The construction project is unique summary of activities which resulted in product meeting the required quality parameters limited by time and costs. These parameters can be managed only through the carefully planning. The wide range of plans is the result of construction planning. The plans allow the effectively manage the achievement of planned construction parameters. Not only the time, costs and quality are important for construction project management, but also the plans in the field of safety, construction equipment and measures for eliminating the impact of the winter season for construction as a part of construction management documentation. For effective planning and the management of construction process by the plans, it is currently necessary to use more sophisticated ICT tools. The paper presents the results of longitudinal research focused on the opinion of construction companies in Slovakia related to their approaches to processing these important plans for management of their construction projects. The survey was repeated in 1996, 2003, 2008 and 2013, therefore it is possible to examine the trends in the field of plans processing and then their using for construction management. The aim of research is to find out the trend in processing of construction management documentation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper was to evaluate the possible impact of climate change on the runoff regime of the Hron River basin up to the Banská Bystrica profile until the year 2100. The daily rainfall-runoff model Hron which was developed at the Department of Land and Water Resources Management, SUT Bratislava, was used. The model was calibrated on a period between 1981-1995 and validated on 1996-2010 For the simulation of the possible impact of climate change, the KNMI and MPI climate change scenarios, which illustrate changes in daily precipitation, daily air temperature and the average air humidity in the river basin for future periods, were used. In conclusion the average monthly flows for the future time horizons of 2011-2040, 2041-2070 and 2071-2100 with a reference period (1981-2010) were compared. Based on the results of the two hydrological models and the two different climate change scenarios, we can expect an increase in long-term mean monthly discharges for the winter and spring periods and a decrease for the summer period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Generously designed broad green open spaces belong to the most characteristic features of the large scale socialist housing estates in Slovakia, designed and built in the second half of the 20th century. Open spaces were designed to satisfy the requirements of the socialist society and were well equipped with roads, parking places, pedestrian walkways, waste collection sites, and also vast green spaces with children playgrounds and sport grounds. Many of these spaces, equipped by artworks and fountains, represented architectural qualities of the modernism of the second half of the 20th century. However, the concept of large scale socialist housing estates and their broad green open spaces had its failings and shortcomings, too, manifested mainly by the deficiencies in maintenance, loss of control, or safety. Open public spaces are spaces intensively reflecting the cotemporary needs of the communities for their use. The new socio-economic conditions after the fall of the communist regime have created new societal demands that nowadays transform the open public spaces. The paper traces the transformations of open green spaces in the large scale socialist housing estates in Slovakia, generated by the new socio-economic conditions after the change of the regime and by the new demands, using the case studies of large scale socialist housing estates in Bratislava. Results of the research show the losses of green open spaces caused by densification of housing, civic amenities, and parking spaces. The cultural heritage values of open green spaces representing exceptional landscape architectural qualities of the modernism of the second half of the 20th century are not protected and maintained. Only few examples of successful green space regeneration have been found. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the present, the industrial heritage creates the identity of the contact area and the city. Also, it is an essential development potential. Many of these complexes include not only material capacities but also the intangible values. Their volumes and surfaces represent the economic potential for a development. Several of these spaces can be capitalized (sold or rented) so they form the territorial capital which can be economically used. Although a lot of spaces of the industrial heritage have such potential often these objects are abandoned or destroyed without acceptation of their significant values. The ports in Slovakia – Bratislava, Komárno and Štúrovo are located on a river Danube linking several European countries. They have performed not only as a station route but mainly as a source of innovation and economic incentives on this important traffic artery. An industrial activity is reduced by changing the social and economic situation in the country. The plans of an owner are to modernize the production activities and move them from the city centres to the periphery. Abandoned areas and buildings could be used for other function. Bratislava's port is the biggest and the most remarkable harbour in Slovakia, with a long history and several National Cultural Monuments. The paper will present the values and potentials of Danube ports in Slovakia that are useful for the development of the city/region. Also, the territorial capital will be presented on each port. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Streambeds of rivers and brooks should form the dominant features in the urbanized areas. However, the current river regulations were unilaterally focused on flood protection and riverbeds have generally the character of prismatic channel. This solution inhibits the aesthetic function of the watercourses and has the negative impacts on instream biota. Based on the results of the research that was carried out on the mountain streams of Slovakia the authors introduce the implementation of river restorations that maintain the flood protection of the area while retaining the landscaping features of the stream. The paper describes the procedure for restoring the regulated streams based on bioindication and documents the quality of aquatic habitat of regulated and natural streams in particular examples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The presented paper describes the overall design philosophy, the choice of construction technology and the construction itself of one of the longest bridge in Slovakia. The two post-tensioned prestressed concrete beam bridges with 30+ spans, with the largest span of 110,0 m are being built these days near the city of Žilina. Two separate bridge constructions are being built, each for one route direction. The bridge has been divided into four parts depending on different construction technology. The bridge cross section of technological parts Nr. 1, 2 & 4 consists of twin-T beam girder, whereas the part Nr. 3 is formed by box girder with continuously changed height of the cross-section. The overall width of the superstructure is the same for both bridges and equals 13,10 m. The superstructure is being built over dense area of the highway crossing, railway with frequent traffic and over the reservoir that serves as the energy source for water-based power station. Above the supports the cross-beams are designed with indirect support scheme. Internal post-tension prestress tendons are to be anchored in end cross-beams and in construction joints. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper informs about the process, methods and results of the diagnostic survey (material properties of the arch superstructure e.g. quality of concrete, quality of reinforcement etc.), which was realized on arched bridge in Krásno nad Kysucou during August 2014. Under the two-span arched bridge flows the river Bystrica. The diagnosed reinforced concrete bridge is probably one of the most well preserved reinforced concrete bridge in the present in Central Europe, dating from the early 90s of the 19 th century, i.e. from the time of the first major applications of reinforced concrete in bridge engineering in the world. Within the reconstruction of the bridge the material properties were verified by the non-destructive methods in-situ and on the cores of arches and parapets of the bridge. Material properties were investigated parallel in two independent laboratories at University of Žilina (UNIZA) and in laboratory of Building Testing and Research Institute (TSÚS) in Bratislava. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The first generation of precast prestressed girder bridges have been used in Czechoslovakia in the 1950s. Nowadays, many of this bridges are in insufficient condition and require extensive rehabilitation. Concrete bridge No. 59-090 on the important international route I/59 connecting Slovakia to Poland, was in failure condition before collapse. After visual inspection it was necessary to definitely eliminate traffic on the bridge. The diagnostic survey has confirmed the necessity to replace the superstructure of the bridge and repair the original abutments and bridge pier. The bridge was closed and the traffic was redirected on temporary bridge during the reconstruction time. This paper focuses on the diagnostic survey of this type of prestressed concrete bridge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple comparison of models for assessment of shear capacity has shown that EC2 model provides significantly lower shear capacity than models based on the theory of allowable stresses. Therefore, some existing concrete bridges designed according to previous standards in Slovakia have lower loading capacity than is required if Eurocodes are used for their assessment. The paper deals with comparison of shear capacity of slabs without shear reinforcement determined by using several models which are currently available in EC2 format with capacity assessed by using theory of allowable stresses. The comparison is then extended to an actual bridge deck slab subjected to traffic load that is used for assessment of loading capacity as well as for design of new bridges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper describes a multi-level solution for intelligent winter road maintenance management. The system is based on monitoring and forecasting of weather conditions and the road surface conditions at selected road locations. Automatic data collection and transmission is ensured by road weather stations, which provide early warnings about dangerous situations on the road (such as frost, ice, mist, wet or snow-covered surface). Data from these weather stations, together with weather forecasting models and date from weather radars and satellites are processed, presented and used for prediction of the pavement surface state and temperature. The result is information support for right maintenance decision and for effective and timely treatment of roads in the winter. Further part of the system is the winter maintenance dynamic dispatching which provides on-line fleet monitoring and management to ensure optimization and timely intervention. In addition, variable message signs are in the system for ensuring of information for drivers or even for traffic control on a dangerous road sections with the aim to improve traffic safety. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Quality and precision of geodetic work highly depends on technical equipment that can be used for measurement. In the last 20 years, we have started to use GNNS technology and here is uses the system ETRS-89 and its application to the national system. In this case, was used to determine the length and difference in elevation chairlifts static method, using data from permanent stations network SKPOS and SmartNet. Results and experiences from cableways construction in the Slovak Republic are presented in this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lighting conditions in industrial operations are currently at a level, which in many cases does not satisfy the requirements set out by legislation and standards. Slovakia has highly energy-intensive industrial structure, where dominates the engineering industry. The proportion of electricity attributable to lighting is significant and not negligible. Installation and operation of energy efficient lighting systems is in most cases not yet considered a major priority, because the available funds are primarily used for the operation, modernization of production process, and other related activities, that are directly related to the production, and the existence of industrial enterprises and institutions. This paper presents new trends and progressive strategies to reduce energy consumption of lighting systems. In new installations energy efficient lighting costs are little more to provide than the older less efficient kind, but consumption of energy are lower, economical and environmental friendly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper deals with differences in verification of spread foundation for serviceability limit states in Slovakia and Poland. The differences in settlement calculation by Slovak Technical Standard STN 73 1001:2010 and Polish Standard PN-81/B-03020 will be introduced. The differences in limiting values of foundation movement by the Standards will be also shown. Poorly-graded sand (SP) and clay of high plasticity (CH) as subsoil in an area of industrial and Technology Park belonging to territory of town Tarnobrzeg (Poland) and clay of extremely high plasticity (CE) from Niepołomice (Poland) will serve as example soils. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Traditionally the major part of highway bridges in Slovakia are realised using the precast concrete technology. According to latest plans around 200km of highways are going to be built in Slovakia in the following years. New precast prestressed girders of the I shape from the 24 till to 42m spans have been recently designed using the Eurocodes. Combined pretensioning and post- tensioning have been applied for the girder which consists of three elements. Some of experiences from the girders design procedures will be presented in this paper. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]