Rozprawy doktorskie na temat „Railroad lines”

Railway tracks experience elevated rail deflections when the supporting soil is soft and/or the train speed is greater than approximately 50% of the wave propagation velocity in the track-soil system (i.e. the critical velocity). Such vibrations are undesirable, so soil replacement or soil improvement of the natural soil (or alternatively mini-piles or lime-cement treatment) is often used to increase track-ground stiffness prior to line construction. Although areas of existing soft subgrade might be easily identified on a potential new rail route, it is challenging to determine the type and depth of ground remediation required. Therefore, major cost savings can be made by optimising ground replacement/improvement strategies. This paper presents a numerical railway model, designed for the dynamic analysis of track-ground vibrations induced by high speed rail lines. The model simulates the ground using a thin-layer finite element formulation capable of calculating 3D stresses and strains within the soil during train vehicle passage. The railroad track is modelled using a multi-layered formulation which permits wave propagation in the longitudinal direction, and is coupled with the soil model in the frequency-wavenumber domain. The model is validated using a combination of experimental railway field data, published numerical data and a commercial finite element package. It is shown to predict track and ground behaviour accurately for a range of train speeds. The railway simulation model is computationally efficient and able to quickly assess dynamic, multi-layered soil response in the presence of ballast and slab track structures. Therefore it is well-suited to analysing the effect of different soil replacement strategies on dynamic track behaviour, which is particularly important when close to critical speed. To show this, three soil-embankment examples are used to compare the effect of different combinations of stiffness improvement (stiffness magnitude and remediation depths up to 5 m) on track behaviour. It is found that improvement strategies must be carefully chosen depending upon the track type and existing subgrade layering configuration. Under certain circumstances, soil improvement can have a negligible effect, or possibly even result in elevated track vibration, which may increase long-term settlement. However, large benefits are possible, and if detailed analysis is performed, it is possible to minimise soil improvement depth with respect to construction cost.

Master of Science
Department of Civil Engineering
Eric J. Fitzsimmons
The rail industry's recent shift towards larger and heavier railcars has influenced Class III / short line railroad operation and track maintenance costs. Class III railroads earn less than $38.1 million in in annual revenue and generally operate first and last leg shipping for their customers. In Kansas, Class III railroads operate approximately 40 percent of the roughly 2,800 miles (4,500 km) of rail; however, due to the current Class III track condition they move lighter railcars at lower speeds than Class I railroads. The State of Kansas statutorily allots $5 million to support rail improvement projects, primarily for Class III railroads. Therefore, the objective of this study was to conduct an inventory of Kansas’s Class III rail network to identify the track segments in need of this support that would be most beneficial to the rail system. Representatives of each railroad were contacted and received a survey requesting information regarding the operational and structural status of their systems. The data collected were organized and processed to determine the sections of track that can accommodate the heavier axle load cars that are currently being utilized by Class I railroads. This study identified that Class III railroads shipped over 155,000 carloads of freight in 2016 and 30 percent of Kansas’s Class III track can currently accommodate heavy axle cars. The increased load from the increased railcar size has also increased the risk of damage to railroad’s track structure. Railroad ballast is the free draining granular material that supports the track structure. As the track ages, small particles can fill the voids of the granular material which is a process known as fouling. Established methods for determining the fouling of a section of ballast are destructive tests that usually require the railroad to restrict or reroute traffic on its network. Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) is a nondestructive geophysical surveying method that measures the time required for electromagnetic wave impulses to reflect off differing subsurface interfaces. Historically, GPR surveys of track structures primarily determine the depth of ballast and track geometry. The objective of this study was to determine the viability of utilizing the laboratory’s existing GPR equipment to develop a methodology of measuring ballast fouling nondestructively. A 48 x 48 x 48 in (1.2 x 1.2 x 1.2 m) test box was built. The test box was filled with 48 in (1.2 m) of clean and ballast. Tests were run on dry and partially saturated material, wetted using 6 gallons (22.7 L). GPR data were collected hourly for the first 6 hours, then at the multiples of 12 and 24 hour marks for one week. Sand was chosen as an absorbent geologic material for the second stage of testing since no fouled ballast could be acquired at the time of the study. A 27 x18 x 18 in (0.69 x 0.46 x 0.046 m) box was filled with sand and wetted with water in one gallon (7.5 L) increments. GPR scans and samples to determine the water content were collected after the addition of each gallon. The data collected were processed to determine soil properties. Preliminary results from this research indicate that the GPR set up utilized can effectively determine the dielectric constant of geologic materials including ballast, although the dielectric constant is highly dependent on the volumetric moisture content of the material.

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O estudo objetivou levantar as possibilidades de requalificação da Linha Tronco Centro de Pernambuco (LTCPE), um ativo ferroviário secular, em bitola métrica, com 608 km de extensão, desenvolvidos ao longo da linha dorsal do Estado de Pernambuco. Sua relevância se justifica pela solicitação da Concessionária ao Governo federal de devolução do patrimônio ferroviário. A operadora destaca que a linha ferroviária será substituída por outra linha férrea, a Ferrovia Nova Transnordestina, em bitola larga, de alto desempenho, que liga os estados de Pernambuco, Piauí e Ceará. Ambas as ferrovias desenvolvem um longo paralelismo em toda a extensão da LTCPE. Pretendeu-se, pois, identificar outras utilidades para o referido ramal ferroviário que não a de transporte de carga, vez que esta requalificação não deveria se dar em posição concorrencial com a Transnordestina. A pesquisa foi desenvolvida com base na compreensão de seu contexto histórico, da análise do quadro nacional do setor e na análise dos diversos ambientes socioeconômicos em que está inserido esse ramal ferroviário. Para obtenção dos resultados, foram aplicados questionários com profissionais dos setores de serviços públicos de planejamento e logística, operadores e outros ligados à consultoria e engenharia. Com base no rol de intervenientes identificados, foi construída uma Matriz Institucional em que se apresentou o caminho crítico de ação e as interrelações entre os intervenientes públicos. Na mesma perspectiva, foi elaborada uma Matriz de SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities e Threats) de forma a articular o conjunto de dados e ações, indicando atividades e inversões financeiras que subsidiarão os estudos técnicos para a requalificação. Como resultados, o estudo identificou os trechos requalificáveis, sua destinação e novas alternativas de uso do patrimônio ferroviário remanescente.
The study aimed to raise possibilities of reclassification for the Trunk Line of Pernambuco (LTCPE), a 100-year-old medium gauge railroad, which is 608 km long, and was developed along the dorsal line of the State of Pernambuco in Brazil. Its relevance is justified by the request made by the Concessionaire to the Federal Government for the return of the railroad patrimony. The operating company highlights that the railroad will be substituted by the New Transnordestina Railroad, built in broad gauge, with high performance which connects the States of Pernambuco, Piauí and Ceará. Both railroads are situated in parallel throughout the length of the LTCPE. The purpose was to identify other uses for that railroad extension than that of cargo transport, as this reclassification should not be done in a competitive position in relation to the Transnordestina. The survey was developed based on the understanding of its historical context, analysis of the national industry and the analysis of different socioeconomic environments in which the railway is situated. To obtain these results, professionals from the sectors of public planning and logistics operators and others involved in consultancy and engineering answered questionnaires. Based on the list of identified stakeholders, an institutional matrix that showed the critical path of action and the interrelationships between public stakeholders was built. From the same perspective, a SWOT matrix (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) was developed to articulate a set of data and actions, indicating activities and financial investments that will subsidize the technical studies for the reclassification. As a result, the study identified the sections which could go under a reclassification , its purpose and new alternatives for the use of the remaining railroad patrimony.

The thesis Mounted on a Pedestal, chronicles the life of Bertha Honoré Palmer. The focus of her story are the years after 1910, when she traveled to Sarasota, Florida and heralded the flight to the southernmost state, leading the pack in the purchase and development of land in the Sarasota/ Tampa Bay area. The totality of her years prior to that time serve as a prelude to her accomplishments and the vicissitudes of her life in the sleepy little fishing village she found. Born in Louisville, Kentucky, in 1849, she was provided with a privileged, comfortable childhood and a sheltered academic education at the most prestigious schools for young ladies of the day. She excelled academically and won high praise for her exemplary demeanor. She was beautiful, intelligent, musically gifted, a competent linguist and writer, an astute businesswoman, a paragon of graciousness, and politically savvy. She married business mogul, Potter Palmer, when she was twenty-one and he forty-four. Bertha Palmer was a pacesetter of haute couture; the society pages of the newspapers were filled with detailed descriptions of her gowns, her jewels and her lavish parties. Her Chicago homes were architectural masterpieces and she furnished them with treasures from renowned artisans. In 1900, she was appointed by President William McKinley as the only woman on the national commission to represent the United States at the Paris Exposition. Mrs. Palmer's most prominent position was as president of the Board of Lady Managers at the Chicago World's Fair of 1893. She had close personal relations with the elite of American Society and European royalty. Following the death of her husband Potter, in 1902, Mrs. Palmer combined her life of splendor, advocacy, and mobility while pursuing every opportunity to increase the value of her holdings, principally with real estate investments. She had been bequeathed an estate worth eight million dollars. Before her death, she would more than double her net worth. She would invest in thousands of acres of land, build more homes and amass a fortune in possessions.

O aumento da produtividade das ferrovias, observado no período pós-concessão da operação à iniciativa privada, é decorrente da utilização de composições com grandes comprimentos e elevadas cargas por eixo, aplicação de tecnologias para o gerenciamento do sistema e investimentos na infra-estrutura. Entretanto, a intensificação do tráfego na malha ferroviária resultou no aumento do desgaste da via permanente, que aliada às restrições geométricas exigiu a imposição de limites operacionais de velocidades, comprometendo significativamente a capacidade de processamento de trens. Esta pesquisa apresenta um método de identificação dos trechos de uma rede ferroviária que necessitam de prioridade de investimentos, visando o aumento da capacidade de processamento, através de um modelo de análise da circulação dos trens com base em diagramas espaço-tempo. Os dados de entrada do modelo são os tempos de viagem nos arcos e a proporção de trens que partem de cada um dos terminais da rede, em relação ao total que converge para um terminal de concentração de cargas. O modelo fornece o número de trens diários que circulam em cada ramal da rede, o arco que restringe o aumento da capacidade do sistema e o intervalo de tempo entre trens sucessivos, no sistema. A aplicação do modelo em uma rede formada pelos ramais do sistema ferroviário do Estado de São Paulo permitiu a identificação dos arcos que restringem o aumento da capacidade dos trens, cujas cargas são destinadas ao Porto de Santos, e reforçou a hipótese de que a falta de conservação da infraestrutura ferroviária é o fator que impõe maiores restrições à circulação dos trens, seguido dos parâmetros geométricos (raio das curvas e rampas) da via permanente.
Increasing the productivity of the railways, after the system\'s operation concessions, is due to usage of long trains with high loads per axis, the application of technologies to properly manage the system and investments on infrastructure. However, the intense traffic on railroad caused an increase on track\'s waste which, attached the geometric limitations, required the imposition of operational limits of speeds, that significantly spoiled the railway capacity. This research presents a method that identify the stretches on a railway network that need priority of investments in order to improve capacity, based on a model that analyses space-time diagrams. The input data of this model are travel times on arches and the proportion of trains that leave each terminal of the network related to all the trains that reach a terminal that concentrates the load. The model provides the number of daily trains traveling on each branch of the network, the arc that restricts the improvement on capacity and the time interval between successive trains in the system. Its application on a network of the State of São Paulo allowed identifying the arcs that restrict the improvement of system\'s capacity, and reinforced the hypothesis that lack of maintenance on railway infrastructure is the greatest restriction on the movement of trains, followed by geometrical parameters (radius of curves and slopes) of the track.

Titre de la Thèse : L'établissement des chemins de fer dans les Balkans à l'époque ottomane : structuration de l'espace et organisation des échanges (1856-1913)Rejoindre l'Orient, voici sans doute l'une des obsessions de l'Occident. Peut-être l'épopée d'Alexandre le Grand a t-elle contribué à construire cet objectif quasi mystique. Quoi qu'il en soit, le XIXe siècle est celui de sa rationalisation. L'invention de la locomotive et celle du navire à vapeur permettent d'amorcer un processus de mise en réseau du monde. Sur les cinq continents, les villages, les villes et les ports s'interconnectent progressivement, engendrant une mondialisation des flux commerciaux et humains. Ce mouvement est orchestré par les grandes puissances européennes, dont le pouvoir est fondé sur la conquête de nouveaux marchés et sur l'importation des matières premières essentielles à leur essor. Londres et Bombay forment alors deux pivots incontournables, permettant de rediriger les flux en circulation à l'échelle trans-continentale. Entre ces deux points, Suez joue le rôle d'interface entre la mer Rouge et la Méditerranée. Au cours de la seconde moitié du XIXe siècle, l'espace balkanique est progressivement intégré à ce système-monde. L'introduction du rail y induit une profonde redéfinition des rapports de force, que ceux-ci soient d'ordre économique, militaire ou politique. A ce titre, la mise en place de voies ferrées dans les Balkans, à l'époque sous domination de l'Empire ottoman, résulte d'une imbrication de stratégies d'influence, s'exprimant à différentes échelles. Cette thèse se propose de les mettre en lumière
Reaching the East : this is undoubtedly one of the obsessions of the West. Maybe Alexander the Great's conquests contributed to forge this quasi-mystical aim. Wherever it comes from, the XIXth century is the one of its rationalization. Inventions such as steam locomotive and steamship allow to begin a global networking process. On five continents, villages, cities and ports, are progressively interconnected, generating a globalization of human and trade flows. This movement is orchestrated by the major European powers, whose expansion is based on the conquest of new markets and on the importation of natural resources required for their development. London and Mumbay play at that time a pivotal role, allowing to reroute flows in circulation at the inter-continental scale. Between these two major cities, Suez is an unavoidable crossing point between the Mediterranean and the Red Sea. During the second half of the XIXth century, the Balkan space is progressively integrated to this world-system. In that region, the introduction of railway induces a radical restructuring of power relations, whether political, economical or military. For this reason, the establishment of railways in the Balkans results from an interlacing of influencing strategies, articulated at various scales. This thesis sets out to highlight them

This research puts forth an examination of the relationship between municipal planning and short line freight railroads. Methodologically, it employs a content analysis framework that explores local master plans and zoning bylaws for the presence of concepts relevant to short line railroads. A historically omitted topic, the railroads are found to be frequently omitted from plans, often conflicting with civic and recreational interests despite their increasingly efficient ability, economic and environmental, to service numerous industries. Zoning bylaws show a disfavor to these entities, and at times may exceed their authority. Moreover, they may create physical and legal limitations to new, rail-sustained industry, as well as the rehabilitation of former industrial clusters. Findings related to regulatory preemption, transportation and land use policy, corridor conversion, and shifting land use patterns are presented. Consequentially, daunting implications may resonate for both the railroad and municipalities. Recommendations encompass municipal, regional, and state policy, as well as opportunities for multi-agency collaboration, economic development initiatives, and revised regulatory structures.

This thesis develops a framework for analyzing the application of commuter rail and bus services between several small urban centers to enhance overall connectivity. The study includes analyzing specific performance criteria for commuter rail service and express bus service based on data from existing systems around the U.S. The study then compares these findings to the theoretical performance of commuter rail and express bus service in the U.S. Highway 20 corridor from Corvallis, OR to Lebanon, OR via Albany, OR. The study concludes that commuter rail rated higher in six of eight analysis criteria and would be the preferred mode to bus service in terms of the performance criteria used in the study. Further cost and operational analysis is necessary to analyze implementation of future commuter rail or express bus service in the Mid-Willamette Valley in Oregon.
Graduation date: 2013