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The utilization of a mechanically stabilized earth wall (MSE wall) is prevalent due to its stability and cost-effectiveness compared to conventional earthwork construction methods. In addition, the railway transportation infrastructure has played a vital role in connecting Thailand's numerous regions. The behavior of a 6-m-high MSE wall constructed on a hard ground foundation, which was reinforced with high-density polyethylene on one side and a metallic strip on the other side, was studied in this research. The purpose of this MSE wall is to support the railway structure under dynamic train loads at 100, 150, and 200 km/h. The three-dimensional finite-element method was used to simulate and investigate the behavior of the MSE wall in terms of lateral displacement, settlement, and strain of reinforcement materials. The findings of the study demonstrate that there is a positive correlation between train speed and both lateral displacement and settlement. This relationship is most pronounced at the top of the MSE wall, which is primarily attributable to the influence of surface waves. The MSE wall's behavior under the influence of dynamic train loads was most prominently displayed by the surface waves, which were a curved wavefront at 150 km/h and a Mach cone at 200 km/h. The settlement profile increased when the speed of dynamic train loads increased. The impact of velocity fluctuations on the strain of the reinforcement material was insignificant. Due to the hard ground foundation, the behavior of the MSE wall on both types of reinforcement materials exhibited similar tendencies. Moreover, it was observed that the maximum tension lines closely follow the bilinear coherent gravity method with a standard distance of 0.3H from the facing, where H represents the equivalent height of the MSE wall. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In response to land use challenges, major urban centers have started implementing over-track building constructions above metro lines as a means of accommodating residents and workers. However, the continuous operation of trains can generate excessive vibrations that may negatively impact the overall living conditions for occupants residing in these structures. In this paper, vibration measurements were conducted on the soil and within a three-story frame structure building. Additionally, a three-dimensional finite element model of the track–soil–building was established. The wheel–rail contact force was incorporated as a dynamic load that varies with time to accurately simulate the vibration response induced by trains. According to the construction process of the over-track building, four construction stages were set up using the finite element model to study the impact of the construction stages on the vibration propagation from the soil to building structure. The results indicate that the presence of existing structures exerts a mitigating influence on soil vibrations. Pile foundation construction can effectively mitigate soil vibration to a significant extent. The findings provide references for the future development and design of over-track buildings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Nucleotide‐binding domain and leucine‐rich repeat (NLR) proteins are important intracellular immune receptors that activate robust plant immune responses upon detecting pathogens. Canonical NLRs consist of a conserved tripartite architecture that includes a central regulatory nucleotide‐binding domain, C‐terminal leucine‐rich repeats, and variable N‐terminal domains that directly participate in immune execution. In flowering plants, the vast majority of NLR N‐terminal domains belong to the coiled‐coil, Resistance to Powdery Mildew 8, or Toll/interleukin‐1 receptor subfamilies, with recent structural and biochemical studies providing detailed mechanistic insights into their functions. In this insight review, we focus on the immune‐related biochemistries of known plant NLR N‐terminal domains and discuss the evolutionary diversity of atypical NLR domains in nonflowering plants. We further contrast these observations against the known diversity of NLR‐related receptors from microbes to metazoans across the tree of life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of VLC Arquitectura is the property of VLC Arquitectura and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The dynamic characteristics of a multi-span double-curved brick arch thin-shell factory of Changleyuan in Baoji City and the dynamic response to train vibration load were studied using field dynamic tests and finite-element numerical simulations, and a vibration evaluation of the thin-shell factory was carried out. The results showed that the first-order frequency of the thin-shell factory was 6.24 Hz in the horizontal direction (east–west) and 9.31 Hz in the vertical direction. Moreover, it was established that the horizontal vibration is the overall vibration of the factory, while the vertical vibration is the individual vibration of the double-curved brick arch. In addition, the self-oscillation frequency obtained from the numerical simulation results was greater compared with the field measurements, with a maximum error rate of 7.14%. Both in acceleration and velocity, the vertical vibration for each measurement point was larger than the horizontal vibration, and the farther away from the railroad, the smaller the vibration. The vibration of the velocity at the bottom of the arch was almost the same as that at the top of the arch, while the acceleration vibration at the bottom of the arch was significantly larger than that at the top of the arch, with an average amplitude of 40.64%. For every 20 km/h increase in train running speed, the average increase in vertical acceleration amplitude, vertical velocity amplitude, horizontal acceleration amplitude, and horizontal velocity amplitude for each measurement point of the thin-shell factory was 35.4%, 29.8%, 23.7%, and 12.5%, respectively. When v = 150 km/h, the maximum velocity amplitude for each measurement point of the thin-shell factory was 1.163 mm/s, which is less than the security specification limit of 2.5 mm/s, such that the security of the thin-shell factory meets the requirement, and the maximum horizontal velocity amplitude was 0.272 mm/s, which is close to the integrity specification limit of 0.27 mm/s, such that the integrity of the thin-shell factory just exceeds the requirement; so it is suggested that train running speeds should not exceed 150 km/h and that the thin-shell factory needs to strengthen the monitoring and protection of its integrity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: With the rapid development of urban metro systems in the growing cities of China, a way to reduce metro train-induced track vibrations transmitted through ground to surrounding buildings has attracted the attention of engineering researchers. Using additional mass, damping and flexural stiffness to improve the dynamic performance of metro tracks, a Tuned Rail Damper (TRD) is developed to mitigate the vibrations of the metro tracks. Methods: In this paper, a laboratory hammer test is designed and carried out to assess the vibration performance of a 3-interval (of 3 × 0.6 m) metro track installed with the TRD sets. Results: The hammer test results indicated that depending on the position of a hammer impulse acting on the 3-interval track unit, different excitation frequencies would be measured. Conclusion: According to the experimental study, the TRD has advantages such as easy installation, convenient inspection by hammer test, and good vibration reduction performance for its flexural strengthening effect on metro tracks. Moreover, the composed TRD-track system has a robust ability to reduce vibrations and an increase of higher frequencies compared to conventional tracks. This dynamic feature can decrease the risk of clip failure in a fastening system subjected to intensive excitations from moving metro trains. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to solve the thorny problem of maintenance and repair of cast-in-place monolithic track slab, a new type of prefabricated slab ballastless track structure is developed for ordinary sections and damping sections. This study uses dynamics software to establish a vehicle-ballastless track coupling dynamics model, to explore the dynamic properties of the new type of prefabricated ballastless track structure in ordinary and damping sections. The model is verified using field measurement to prove its reliability. Based on the results obtained in the study, the following conclusions are deduced: (1) The vertical displacement of the floating slab in the damping section is increased by 82.95 times compared with the ordinary section. However, the vertical acceleration of the tunnel wall is reduced by 90.48%, while the insertion loss of vertical vibration acceleration of the tunnel wall is 11.08 dB, which meets the requirements of the code (CJJ/T 191-2012). (2) As the stiffness of the damping cushion increases, the vertical displacements of the rail and track slab are reduced by 43.25% and 56.68%, respectively, while the insertion loss of the vertical vibration acceleration is reduced by 31.28%. (3) As the damping increases, the vertical acceleration of the tunnel wall increases by 75.96%, whereas the insertion loss of the vertical vibration decreases by 30.51%. When the damping or the stiffness of rubber cushion is greater than 0.132 MN·s/m3 or 0.0231 N/mm3, the damping does not meet requirements. (4) When the thickness of the floating slab is increased from 200 mm to 350 mm, the vertical accelerations of the floating slab and the tunnel wall are reduced by 35.79% and 41.35%, respectively, whereas the insertion loss of the vertical vibration acceleration is increased by 37.36%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To predict and control the train-induced vibration in depot buildings, a case study of the depot of Tianjin Metro, Line 5, was conducted. The platform of the depot has been constructed and is in use, and the construction of over-track buildings has not been completed. Firstly, an in situ measurement was performed to obtain the train loads and validate the numerical model. Secondly, a finite element model of the track–soil–depot structure was established. The train was simplified as a series of two spring-mass models and the train load was simulated using the measured rail acceleration. The calculated results were validated by the measurement data. To predict the vibration responses of the over-track building to be built, a sub-system of the over-track building was added to the numerical model. Finally, the vibration control effect of vibration isolation bearings was discussed. The results indicate that vibrations exceeded guideline limits without mitigation measures in some rooms of the over-track building. The dominant frequency of the building floors is 31.5 Hz. Vibration isolation bearings effectively mitigated the vibrations, and the IL reached approximately 7–15 dB at about 31.5 Hz. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Railway Construction Technology is the property of Railway Construction Technology Editorial Office and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

A type of short-pitch rail corrugation on tracks with resilient fasteners called 'Vanguard' fasteners is widely found on different metro lines in China. Field measurements and numerical calculations are used to investigate the cause of the corrugation formation. The corrugation with wavelengths of 30–60 mm occurs on both the curved and straight tracks through field measurements. Corrugation passing frequencies are in the range of 340–700 Hz. The frequencies of pinned-pinned resonance, the P2 resonance and the wheelset torsional resonance are far away from the corrugation passing frequencies. The investigated results show the vertical dynamic characteristic of the track is the main factor for occurrence of the short-pitch rail corrugation. The short-pitch rail corrugation arises by a wavelength-fixing mechanism of rail vertical bouncing on the resilient fasteners. The corrugation wavelength mainly is related to the vertical stiffness of the rail fasteners. Rail corrugation with wavelengths of 25–63 mm easily occurs on tracks with resilient fasteners with the vertical stiffness of less than 20 MN/m. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Scholars have shown increasing interest in sustainable urban development; however, there has been a lack of analysis on transition of Saudi Arabian architectural designs from traditional to modern in the context of cultural and climatic functions. In this meta-analysis, I considered the case of sustainable development in Saudi Arabia, specifically the transition of its traditional architectural designs based on cultural and climatic functions for residential areas. With a conceptual framework focused on the integration of traditional methods with modern technologies in the context of sustainable architectural design that preserves cultural-religious identity, I found that values and ideals related to Islam have had a thorough impact on the architectural developments in Saudi Arabia. I discussed the cultural and climatic functions of such elements of traditional Saudi Arabian architecture as the central courtyard, mashrabiya, shenashir, colored glasses and meshes, canopy and railings, multiple openings within the interior, roof, and wind catchers. Overall, I concluded that there is a fundamental link between sustainability and culture in the traditional architectural design of Saudi Arabia, which must be recognized and integrated with modern technology for built environments in Saudi Arabia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to further theoretical and experimental research on adhesion recovery, an innovative new test-rig for wheel–rail contact experiments under large slip conditions was developed. The wheel-on-ring category of test-rig was determined to preserve surface conditions on rail. A scale factor of 1/4 and a circling diameter of 2 m were adopted considering the power limit in the laboratory and wheel–rail contact similarity. The test-rig consisting of wheel assemblies, ring track, gearbox, motors and sprinkler system was specially designed for motor decoupling and precise slip control. Then, the accuracy of slip under PID control was verified by simulation and experimental validation. Thereafter, experimental observations with different speeds, axle loads and surface contaminants showed the potential of the new test-rig for exploring adhesion recovery under various surface conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Road infrastructure plays a critical role in the support and development of the Cooperative Intelligent Transport Systems (C-ITS) paradigm. Roadside Units (RSUs), equipped with vehicular communication capabilities, traffic radars, cameras, and other sensors, can provide a multitude of vehicular services and enhance the cooperative perception of vehicles on the road, leading to increased road safety and traffic efficiency. Moreover, the central C-ITS system responsible for overseeing the road traffic and infrastructure, such as the RSUs, needs an efficient way of collecting and disseminating important information to road users. Warnings of accidents or other dangers, and other types of vehicular services such as Electronic Toll Collection (ETC), are examples of the types of information that the central C-ITS system is responsible for disseminating. To remedy these issues, we present the design of an implemented roadside and cloud architecture for the support of C-ITS services. With the main objectives of managing Vehicle-to-Everything (V2X) communication units and network messages of a public authority or motorway operator acting as a central C-ITS system, the proposed architecture was developed for different mobility testbeds in Portugal, under the scope of the STEROID research project and the pan-European Connected Roads (C-Roads) initiative. RSUs, equipped with ETSI ITS-G5 communications, are deployed with a cellular link or fiber optics connection for remote control and configuration. These are connected to a cloud Message Queuing Telemetry Transport (MQTT) broker where communication is based on a geographical tiling scheme, which allows the selection of the appropriate coverage areas for the dissemination of C-ITS messages. The architecture is deployed in the field, on several Portuguese motorways, where road traffic and infrastructure are monitored through a C-ITS platform with visualization and event reporting capabilities. The provided architecture is independent of the underlying communication technology and can be easily adapted in the future to support Cellular-V2X (PC5 interface) or 5G RSUs. Performance results of the deployed architecture are provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: Individuals with gait disturbances, such as that post-stroke, are discharged home to undergo outpatient rehabilitation. Rehabilitation in the community is not as effective as that in hospital, due to long travel times and short program duration. OBJECTIVE: This study analyzed rail unit structure, with the aim of assisting home indoor assistive mobility system (HIAMS) development, allowing patients to undergo gait-related rehabilitation training at home. METHODS: The HIAMS consists of a mobile rail running around the whole room, a turn-table for movement between rails, and a weight-supporting component. Structural analysis was performed using the Abaqus/CAE solution (Version 6.14, Dassault systems, Inc.) to verify device safety, according to the load applied to the rail and turn-table units. The load was applied vertically at 150 kg to reflect the weight of potential users. RESULTS: Structural analysis was performed on the weight-supporting components, which was consist of turn-table case, bearing components (center, left), connective bracket and rail rollers. The safety factors of each components were estimated as 1.31, 5.39 (bearing, center), 8.45 (bearing, left), 1.43 and 3.61 in sequence. CONCLUSION: We demonstrated a safety factor of ⩾ 1.3 for the key system units, suggesting this technology is safe for use in the home rehabilitation training of individuals with gait impairment post-ICU stay. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Railway Standard Design is the property of Railway Standard Design Editorial Office and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Due to the location of Kerman city on the border of mountains and plains, there are several faults in its vicinity, some of which can cause very destructive earthquakes. The city has a very old central core in terms of architecture and is mainly made of brick and mud buildings that have a high level of vulnerability. Based on this, detailed and scientific studies of seismic vulnerability are among the necessities of Kerman urban management. Therefore, this city was chosen as the study area in this study. The information research and analysis methods were database-based methods and ELECTRE FUZZY model. In this study, quality of buildings, household density in a residential unit, width of passages, distance from the faults, distance from medical centers, access to the fire-fighting station, access to green space, access to temporary accommodation centers, and land use were examined. The results indicated that the 4th and 5th urban areas of Kerman City were the most vulnerable areas against earthquakes. The vulnerability zoning of earthquake risk in this city revealed that the areas of high vulnerability were 28 and 23% in Zones 4 and 5, respectively. More than 50% of the area with high vulnerability rating was located in these areas. Also, Urban Areas 1, 3, and 2 were in the next ranks of high vulnerability zone, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Modern rail-road container terminals serve as important consolidation nodes in intermodal transportation networks where containers are transferred between freight trains and trucks. Among the most important decision problems in these yards is the crane scheduling problem, which decides on the sequences of container moves executed by each of the parallel gantry cranes. This paper treats a rich crane scheduling problem, which considers plenty relevant constraints and is directly applicable in Chinese intermodal terminals. For solving this problem, we propose a fix-and-optimise procedure, which is easy to implement and shown to successfully solve even large-sized instances with 100 container moves in reasonable time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent times, the shape of the beams evolved from wooden sleepers and then to steel sleepers until they reached concrete sleepers. These sleepers play a significant role in transferring the loads from the train wheels to the subgrade layers fixed by the railway. This development took place in concrete sleepers until we reached mono-block concrete sleepers. This paper discusses, through laboratory experiments, the effect of ultra-high performance concrete mixtures on the behavior of mono-block concrete sleeper B70. The ability of these new sleepers to resist train loads was also studied compared to its conventional concrete sleepers. This research aimed to determine through experiment if these sleepers' behavior fulfilled the European requirements standers for prestressed concrete sleepers and make comparisons between the UHPC sleepers and conventional concrete sleepers. These sleepers were tested under static load tests at the rail seat and center section and pull-out tests for cast-in fastening components. These initial results suggest that a new generation of Ultra-high performance concrete sleepers can be created; the long-term efficiency of this category of sleeper will need to be confirmed by dynamic and fatigue tests and practical use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, a number of water disasters, such as side wall cracking, inverted arch uplift and ballastless track bed deformation, have occurred during the operation of tunnels along the Guiyang-Liuzhou, Guangtong - Kunming, and Shanghai - Kunming railways, which directly affected the normal service functions and duration of such structures as lining and tracks. Serious damages have resulted in severe threats to railway tunnels, especially high-speed railway tunnels. Thus, to effectively reduce the risk of water disaster to tunnel engineering in complicated Karst areas, recent problems in lining water drainage systems are analyzed based on researches on latest major types of water hazards, and a new type of lining structure applicable to karst tunnels is proposed. The stress of lining structure is compared and analyzed by setting up a finite element model. The main conclusions are as follows: ( 1 ) The proposed new hydrophobic box-type lining structure has several specialties like convenience to tunnel excavation works, high adaption to multiple unfavorable geological conditions, effectiveness of drainage routes, fast water draining at tunnel bottom, high degree of freedom of drainage section, which satisfy the draining and loading requirements of complicated Karst tunnels. (2)Compared with existed inverted arch lining structure, the hydrophobic box-type lining structure provides a more balanced load condition without increasing structure thickness and adding reinforcing bars,. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The conversion of ballasted railway tracks into slab tracks using the preplaced aggregate concrete (PAC) technology over the bridges and in the tunnels has been introduced by many researchers but the flexural behavior of this composite system has not yet been studied. Therefore, in the first stage, a series of mortar and concrete mixture designs were proposed and evaluated. Subsequently, a concrete beam mold with dimensions of 3 * 0.6 * 0.5 m, which represented the track conditions, was developed and the bending behavior of the constructed beams in both conditions of the presence and absence of the concert B70 sleeper were investigated. The maximum bending force in the middle of the concrete beam without a sleeper (SE) equaled 177.5 kN. In addition, the average values of bending tolerance by the sleeper including a PAC beam for three specimens in the four modes of the positive moment of midspan (SPM), negative moment of midspan (SNM), positive moment of rail seat (SPR), and negative moment of rail seat (SNR) were 55.25 kN m, 32.5 kN m, 91.84 kN m, and 38.21 kN m, respectively, which met the requirements of the AREMA regulations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article summarizes the research results related to our own conducted extensive laboratory tests of polymer composite and steel fishplated glued insulated rail joints (GIRJs), namely axial tensile tests as well as vertical static and dynamic tests. The investigation dealt with the examination of GIRJs assembled with steel and special glass-fiber reinforced plastic (polymer composite) fishplates, both of them for CWR railway tracks (i.e. so-called gapless tracks or, in other words, railway tracks with continuously welded rails). The exact rail joint types were MTH-P and MTH-AP, consistently. The MTH P types have been commonly applied for many years in the CWR tracks in Europe, mainly in Hungary. The MTH-AP rail joints consist of fishplates that are produced by the APATECH factory (Russia). They are made of a fiberglassamplified polymer composite material at high pressure and controlled temperature. This solution can eliminate electrical fishplate lock and early fatigue failures just as it can ensure adequate electrical insulation. The advantage of such rail joints can be that they are probably able to ensure the substitution of the glued insulated rail joints with relatively expensive steel fishplates currently applied by railway companies, e.g. Hungarian State Railways (MÁV). The aim of the mentioned research summarized in this paper is to formulate recommendations on technical applicability and on the technological instructions that are useful in everyday railway operation practice on the basis of the measurements and tests carried out on rail joints in laboratory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Xinbaishiyan tunnel in the reconstruction Chengdu–Kunming railway Ermeishan-Mipan section mainly runs through dolomite with dolomitic limestone, with an excavation area of 260 m2, a maximum span of 22.3 m, a maximum height of 14.4 m, a vector height of 7 m, and a rise-span ratio of 0.31. The tunnel has an extra-large cross section, and it is a low flat-ration railway tunnel. This paper mainly describes the finite element analysis for this tunnel excavation that was used to guide the construction. Finite element software was used to model the tunnel according to the engineering geological conditions of the tunnel. These engineering geological conditions included the rock mass, system bolts, middle pipe shed, steel arch and shotcrete, grouting layer, second lining and so on. Nonlinear construction phase analysis was adopted. The results showed that the maximum vertical deformation of the tunnel vault and the middle of the invert was about 34 mm. The vertical deformation of the tunnel could be divided into an acceleration deformation section, linear deformation section, deceleration deformation section, and stable deformation section. The maximum horizontal deformation in the middle of the side wall was about 12.3 mm. Under the effect of the initial support, the equivalent stress of the side wall gradually increased with the excavation of the steps and the increase in the support structure. The axial force of the bolt in the middle of the side wall was larger than that in other places and the axial force of the middle pipe shed went along with the excavation of the tunnel in waves. The steel arch and the shotcrete had the maximum effective stress at the arch shoulder, which played the role of the deformation and pressure for the surrounding rock. During the construction, the length and height of the three-step method had to be set reasonably. The middle pipe shed and the system bolt supported the rock mass together. In the construction of the extra-large cross section and the flat tunnel, there was no need to set up temporary support, which was convenient for mechanical excavation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A growing number of environmental, technological, and cultural reasons support the case for greater attention to the existing building stock and expanding practices of building alteration. And with it, renewed attention to architecture's central instrument for documenting existing buildings: the as-built. Commonly overlooked as a sterile service instrument, the as-built is exposition for new architectural acts. Presented here are a series of experiments and investigations into expanding the narrative value of the as-built, carried out as part of a graduate course taught at Tulane University, and an accounting of the professional, historic, and disciplinary contexts informing the work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Geranium robertianum is a herbaceous plant that prefers shady and fertile forest habitats. However, it also occurs on railway tracks, where there are difficult conditions for plant growth and regular herbicide spraying (in high concentrations, twice a year). One of the most commonly used herbicides in railway areas is glyphosate. The effect of the glyphosate on the G. robertianum plants found on railway tracks and in nearby forests in north-eastern Poland was checked. The aim of the study was to explain how G. robertianum can survive on railway tracks despite spraying with the glyphosate. Increased tolerance to the glyphosate of the G. robertianum plants from track populations was demonstrated compared to the plants from forest populations that had not previously been in contact with the herbicide. After 35 days after treatment with the herbicide, 75% of the plants from the observed forest populations withered, while only 38% did from the track populations. Ultrastructure of plant leaf cells from forest populations was strongly disturbed, which was not observed in plants from track populations. It was also shown that plants from track populations accumulated more glyphosate and AMPA in their tissues than plants from forest populations. The obtained results indicate that long-term use of herbicides may cause formation of biotypes of plants resistant to a given herbicide. This fact explains the possibility of G. robertianum occurring on railway tracks, despite spraying with the glyphosate. It is also a manifestation of microevolutionary processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A tunnel-type anchorage (TTA) is one of the main components in suspension bridges: the bearing mechanism is a key problem. Investigating the deformation characteristics, development law, and failure phenomenon of a TTA under load can provide the theoretical basis for a robust design. Utilizing the TTA of the Jinsha River suspension bridge at Lijiang Shangri-La railway as a prototype, a laboratory model test of the TTA was carried out for three different contact conditions between the anchorage body and the surrounding rock. The stress and deformation distribution law of the anchorage body and its surrounding rock were studied, and the ultimate bearing capacity and failure mode of the TTA were analyzed. The test results show that the compressive stress level is highest at the rear part of the anchorage body. Moving away from the rear portion of the body, the stress decays in a negative exponential function. Based on the load transfer curve, the calculation formula for the shear stress on the contact surface between the anchorage body and the surrounding rock was derived, which shows that the distribution of the shear stress along the axial direction of the anchorage body is not uniform. The distance from the maximum value to the loading surface is approximately 1/3 of the length of the anchorage body, and the stress decreases as the distance from the loading surface increases. Furthermore, the contact condition between the anchorage body and surrounding rock has a great influence on the bearing capacity of the TTA. The increase in the anti-skid tooth ridge and radial anchor bolt can improve the cooperative working capacity of the anchorage body and the surrounding rock, which is approximately 50% higher than that of the flat contact condition. The main function of the anchor bolt is to increase the overall rigidity of the TTA. The contact condition between the anchorage body and the surrounding rock will lead to a change in the failure mode of the TTA. With an increase in the degree of contact, the failure mode will change from shear sliding along the interface to trumpet-shaped inverted cone-shaped failure extending into the surrounding rock. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Current crisis management approaches to protect soft targets make assumptions about average visitors/listeners/viewers or passengers. They do not give much consideration to impacts of diversity of potentially evacuated persons with regard to socio-psychological parameters/factors that may lead to practical problems and complications during the evacuation itself. At the same time, the soft target operators have various means of machine vision tools at their disposal, but do not use these records for more thorough analysis of evacuation planning needs. Based on this observation, the article identifies and analyzes the socio-psychological aspects that may significantly affect behavior and decisions of persons during the evacuation and thus total evacuation time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: To investigate the effectiveness of public-access automated external defibrillators (AEDs) at Tokyo railroad stations.Methods: We analysed data from a population-based registry of out-of-hospital cardiac arrests in Tokyo, Japan (2014-2018). We identified patients aged ≥18 years who experienced bystander-witnessed cardiac arrest due to ventricular fibrillation of presumed cardiac origin at railroad stations. The primary outcome was survival at 1 month after cardiac arrest with favourable neurological outcomes (cerebral performance category 1-2).Results: Among 280 eligible patients who had bystander-witnessed cardiac arrest and received defibrillation at railroad stations, 245 patients (87.5%) received defibrillation using public-access AEDs and 35 patients (12.5%) received defibrillation administered by emergency medical services (EMS). Favourable neurological outcomes at 1 month after cardiac arrest were significantly more common in the group that received defibrillation using public-access AEDs (50.2% vs. 8.6%; adjusted odds ratio: 11.2, 95% confidence interval: 1.43-88.4) than in the group that received defibrillation by EMS. Over a 5-year period, favourable neurological outcomes at 1 month after cardiac arrest of 101.9 cases (95% confidence interval: 74.5-129.4) were calculated to be solely attributable to public-access AED use. The incremental cost-effectiveness ratio to gain one favourable neurological outcome obtained from public-access AEDs at railroad stations was lower than that obtained from nationwide deployment (48.5 vs. 2133.4 AED units).Conclusion: Deploying public-access AEDs at Tokyo railroad stations presented significant benefits and cost-effectiveness. Thus, it may be prudent to prioritise metropolitan railroad stations in public-access defibrillation programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, by drawing on the advanced experience and norms at home and abroad, the compilation and research of "intelligent technical guidelines" for Chongqing east railway station and its supporting hub area are completed. It includes "digital technology, intelligent construction," "accurate and flexible, intelligent service," and "panoramic management and control, intelligent operation, and maintenance," and has formed the whole life cycle technical framework of "intelligent construction, intelligent service, intelligent management, and operation and maintenance." [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Assuring an uninterrupted high Quality of Service (QoS) of railway communications between on-board terminals and base stations creates challenges for the provider. This is partly explained by the inherent mobility and the high penetration loss of carriages. Deploying mobile relays in public transportation is possible with a 100%-compatible LTE/EPC architecture. This effectively ensures that the electromagnetic insulation is kept to a minimum as QoS on board can be dramatically affected and worsened within the railway vehicles. Yet all users' traffic congregates via the radio backhaul link and needs to take into consideration the extra packet-overhead and signaling messages that as a general rule get transmitted via the fixed links. The paper's aim is to analyze the performance of mobile relays in loaded conditions comparing this to the standard direct mode. We propose an analytical model to compute the signaling rate. We parametrize it with experiments done on a testbed with real radio transmissions and show that signaling has no major impact on performance. We then evaluate the QoS experienced by passengers by means of simulations for two representative services: Web browsing and voice communications. The packet loss ratio for voice communications is reduced at the expense of a slight end-to-end latency increase thanks to mobile relays. During the high load conditions there is a significant reduction in the load time of a Web page and the throughput is increased. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• This paper addresses a novel practical problem faced by a major North American railway. • The problem involves decisions such as how inbound trains are split, on which tracks the railcars are parked for loading and off-loading operations, and how the railcars are assigned to outbound blocks. • We propose a 2-step approach that considers all the decisions that must be made by terminal operators. • Tests based on realistic benchmark instances indicate that our approach is able to generate good quality solutions for all instances. In the last decades the intermodal transportation of containers has become a key component of the entire international trade system, as it allows safe and efficient intercontinental door-to-door movement of freight by combining land and sea transportation services. Intermodal railway terminals are special components of these systems that allow container traffic to be consolidated from different sources and to be transported by train over long distances. This paper addresses a practical problem faced by a major North American railway. On a daily basis, terminal operators must make several decisions such as how inbound trains are split into sequences of railcars, on which tracks these railcars are parked for loading and off-loading operations, and how the railcars are assigned to outbound blocks so as to fulfill the demand of each block. We introduce an approach that incorporates all these decisions to obtain improved solutions. In a first step, a mixed integer linear programming (MILP) model is used to create a set of patterns that specify how each inbound train is split and how the railcars are assigned to the blocks. Then, in a second step, another MILP formulation decides which patterns to use and where to park the railcars. Tests on generated benchmark instances based on realistic data from the railway indicate that our approach is able to generate good quality solutions for all instances and can be used by the company to assist decision makers in generating less costly and more efficient plans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Among the micro-logistic transport systems, railway stations should be highlighted, such as one of the most important transport infrastructure elements. The efficiency of the transport industry as a whole depends on the quality of their operation. Such systems have a complex multi-level structure, and the incoming traffic flow often has a stochastic character. It is known that the most effective approach to study the operation of such systems is mathematical modeling. Earlier, we proposed an approach to transport hub modeling using multiphase queuing systems with a batch Markovian arrival process (BMAP) as an incoming flow. In this paper, we develop the method by applying more complex models based on queuing networks that allow us to describe in detail the route of requests within an object with a non-linear hierarchical structure. This allows us to increase the adequacy of modeling and explore a new class of objects—freight railway stations and marshalling yards. Here we present mathematical models of two railway stations, one of which is a freight railway station located in Russia, and the other is a marshalling yard in the USA. The models have the form of queuing networks with BMAP flow. They are implemented as simulation software, and a numerical experiment is carried out. Based on the numerical results, some "bottlenecks" in the structure of the studied stations are determined. Moreover, the risk of switching to an irregular mode of operation is assessed. The proposed method is suitable for describing a wide range of cargo and passenger transport systems, including river ports, seaports, airports, and multimodal transport hubs. It allows a primary analysis of the hub operation and does not need large statistical information for parametric identification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using results from a design-research studio analysing rail station access in Melbourne, this article considers how differing Autonomous Vehicle (AV) deployment models might fit into a suburban landscape. The results challenge assumptions about AV deployment. If AVs are low occupancy, peak demands may require station carparks to be used entirely as pick-up/drop off zones. This suggests little opportunity to re-purpose car parks for non-transport uses. Further, with AVs uncoupling station demand from existing feeder bus and park-and-ride provision, a re-distribution of demand along rail corridors may occur. The work has broad applicability to the policy challenges of an AV future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research applied secondary data collection methods to predict passenger flows, which involved analyzing traffic flows at rail stations and statistical methods, which involved assessing the relationship between variables and regression. Observation methods were used to measure current passenger flows at the rail station entrances. Passengers' safety perception was assessed to understand the customer value of transport services. This assessment was based on an online survey, an analysis of official requests from passengers to the station directorates, and feedback from passengers and station visitors posted on the Internet. Traditional and content analysis methods were used to study passengers' requests and feedbacks. It was substantiated that due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the concept of transportation security and the role of health safety as a customer value in passenger service have become more prominent. The possibility for passenger flow simulation to ensure people's safe passage through a disinfection gateway is clearly shown. Public space management structures in transportation hubs can use the simulation results of this paper to solve the problem of passenger flow control along with installation of disinfection gateways at the station entrances for additional security. This is one of the few studies that explores the impact of using disinfection gateways to manage passenger flows in train stations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For months we have been locked out of Junkspace. So, who's complaining? Confined to domestic spaces, #stayhome has given many of us a forced opportunity to rethink the type of spaces that are not only functional and useful, but that make us feel comfortable. Our own residential arena may have felt restrictive and even – for some – oppressive at times, but who would say that they truly missed their daily passage through the endlessly stale air of check-in desks, departure gates, and duty frees at the airport; the epic journeys through low ceiling corridors and passageways of railway terminals and subway stations; and the blinding hallucinatory proliferation of brands and franchises in malls...? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper presents the issue of container handling processes at a railroad intermodal terminal. The main purpose of this paper is the assessment of the handling equipment utilization and the associated energy consumption. The authors analyze how the road vehicle availability at the moment specified in the containers loading schedule influences the total handling equipment operation time as well as the necessary number of handling equipment. It is assumed that vehicles planned for loading of import containers may be late for loading, which causes some interruptions in the loading schedule. Such interruptions are identified with the necessity to handle the next container for which the road vehicle is already waiting, which influences the handling equipment utilization and, finally, energy consumption. The general mathematical model of the problem developed in the FlexSim simulation software was presented. Based on the simulation research, it pointed out that proper road vehicles loading sequencing can significantly reduce handling equipment operation time, and thus energy consumption, costs, and CO2 emissions. The literature analysis presented in the paper indicates that most of the research in the field of intermodal transport is focused on operations optimization in container ports. There are differences between two types of intermodal terminals in operation procedures and rules. That is why the authors decided to undertake the problem of road vehicle sequencing including their random availability and its influence on handling device operation time, which has not been considered in the literature so far. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Railway station throats have the most stringent standards for permissible deformation caused by adjacent construction. This paper describes the case of a safely implemented shield tunneling project beneath the throat of a large railway station with more than 11 tracks in soft soil areas. By identifying major design constraints, the route scheme and line alignment were established to balance the engineering conditions, which have a potential impact on the railway switches. Finite element model simulations were performed to estimate the track displacements. These simulations demonstrated the need for ground improvement. The ground improvement strategy involved the use of compact machinery to operate in the small area between the tracks. Furthermore, the earth-pressure-balanced shield machine, tunnel segments, and synchronized slurry were optimized to the site conditions. A trial section of tunnel boring was used before reaching the railway to confirm appropriate shield machine parameters. An automatic monitoring system provided continuous feedback for precise control of the construction parameters. Ultimately, the construction project achieved its goals, causing a maximum track displacement of 8.4 mm. This report also describes our experience in organizing a joint workshop consisting of the railway administration and operation teams, the metro design team, and construction, survey, and consulting companies to enhance project planning. This study provides valuable insight and can serve as an important reference for similar future projects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]