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Highlights • Comparative analysis between two Brazilian sub-ballast specifications derived from American specifications. • Analysis of the requirements for sub-ballast materials. • Qualitative tests of granular materials and their results. • Analysis of the results obtained in current requirements from non-American sources. Abstract In the period 1975–1985 several new railway infrastructures were built in Brazil. After this period the construction of new railways stopped. With the new railway concessions in 1996, minor maintenance work was undertaken on the old railway infrastructures and only in the last six years have new railway infrastructures begun to be constructed. In São Paulo, between 1978 and 1985, some old railways infrastructures were also rebuilt using sub-ballast or platform with granular soils in the track layers. This paper presents a comparative analysis between two sub-ballast specifications, one used in the 1975–1985 period and another used nowadays for new railway constructions in Brazil. The main sub-ballast functions were identified, including the bearing capacity and the hydraulic conductivity. To assess the sub-ballast in terms of these technical criteria, samples were collected from two railways built more than 30 years ago, one on sandy soil and the other on stony fine aggregates. Samples of the typical fine silty soil of UNICAMP campus were also collected to evaluate the possibility of using the two types of sub-ballast on this type of soil. The samples collected in the field were tested in laboratory for evaluation of particle size, load capacity and hydraulic conductivity. Finally, the performance of each of the two granular mixtures used as sub-ballast layer in Brazilian railway infrastructures was analysed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Given the challenge of measuring corporate sustainability in practice, the aim of the present exploratory research is to investigate the incorporation of sustainability in corporate performance measurement systems, towards sustainability performance measurement system (SPMS). More specifically, the research seeks to explore the factors that affect the interaction between sustainability indicators regarding their relative priority for decision making and to investigate how firms include sustainability indicators into their corporate performance measurement systems. To address these objectives, cross-sector case studies were conducted in five firms located in Brazil. Data were collected based on semi-structured interviews and triangulated with published reports and internal documents. The results show four performance measurement systems that encompass sustainability indicators: (a) periodic performance measurement system of a specific area/department; (b) individual performance assessment; (c) sustainability reporting; and (d) project assessment. The paper value lies in bringing a structured view of integrating sustainability in a corporate performance measurement system, based on empirical evidence. However, further research is still needed to develop a more integrative and dynamic SPMS encompassing both leading and lagging indicators to better understand the priorities, interactions and tradeoffs between sustainability indicators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Following recent legislations and public policies on solid waste and product take-back, companies in Brazil are now impelled to incorporate reverse logistics practices in their business processes. The Brazilian National Policy of Solid Waste – NPSW, approved in 2010, obligates companies to implement reverse logistics. Considering this, many companies in Brazil have studied the possibility to outsource these activities by engaging third-party reverse logistics providers – 3PRLP. Considering these demands, it is important to define which systematic approaches can be used to select the most suitable 3PRLP. The objective of this article is to identify the main criteria, the systematic methods that can be used in order to select the most appropriate 3PRLP and also propose a framework based in multicriteria decision aid approach to select 3PRLP. Thus, a Systematic Literature Review was carried out and a conceptual framework for decision making in this context using Multicriteria Decision Aid – MCDA modeling was proposed. Therefore, this paper presents two contributions: i) a SLR covering the past decade based on the MCDA experiences in 3PRLP selection, highlighting the main criteria and systematic approaches used; ii) based on this SLR, a proposal for a conceptual methodological framework to help decision makers and researchers in performing a MCDA in the area of 3PRLP selection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current paper presents the evaluation of the ability of the SWAT hydrological model (Soil and Water Assessment Tool) to reproduce continuous daily streamflows of the upper Itapemirim River basin (Brazil). The model parameters were calibrated and validated with data collected from 1993 to 2000. The model was found to be highly sensitive to baseflow, its primary calibration variable. Validation analyses resulted in values of statistical indexes (NS = 0.67; NSlog = 0.68; PBIAS = 22% and RSR = 0.57) that show that SWAT performance was satisfactory in this application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The industrial electric motor is the most important load, considering its large number and associated energy consumption, being responsible for approximately 68% of the industrial energy consumption and 35% of the total electrical energy consumption in Brazil. This country, like others, is seeking to establish a regulation on the minimum efficiency index for electric motor equipment. This paper aims to present an overview of the installed park of industrial motors in Brazil and to evaluate the possible effects of such regulation. For this purpose, the measurement results obtained in the 2000–2012 period were used, which were extracted from the approximately 276 three-phase induction motors that had been sold and were being used in the Brazilian market, with a rated power in a large range from under 1 hp to over 150 hp. The analysis of the measurement results provided an overview of the average behavior of the induction motors in industry while considering energy efficiency and allowing estimates and proposals aiming at the improvement of the use of electrical energy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]