Typescript (photocopy). / Digitized by Kansas Correctional Industries

published_or_final_version / Urban Planning / Master / Master of Science in Urban Planning

Då komponenter för tillståndsövervakning idag är billiga, små storleksmässigt och kraftfullare än tidigare, kan hårdvara byggas ihop, mjukvara programmeras och sedan appliceras på kritiska delar i ett system, mer kostnadseffektivt och i större omfattning än tidigare. I stor skala kallas detta sakernas internet, och är framtiden för underhållsarbete då personal inte längre behöver vara fysiskt närvarande i samma grad som tidigare. En proprietär lösning kostar idag vanligtvis över 5 000 kr. Detta projekt har behandlat prototyper till en kostnad av cirka 1 000 kr med öppen hårdvara och mjukvara, vilket stödjer affärsutveckling och bidrar till ett bredare spektra av leverantörer, vilket sätter press på marknaden gällande olika lösningar. Syftet med denna studie är att utveckla och testa mätningar i verklig miljö för tillståndsövervakning av utsatta delar av järnvägsinfrastrukturen, som punktfel i spårläge och spårväxlar. Projektet innefattar prototyper, energihantering, loggning av data och hur användbara dessa data är. Sensorerna är av typen MEMS accelerometrar och olika montage av dessa har testats. Målsättningen har varit att utvärdera hur dessa fungerar i verklig miljö och hur användarvänliga dessa är för att mäta rörelse av räls och sliper. Mer specifikt, avser detta fältprov av accelerometer för uppvakning och energihantering, sensor för insamling av vibrationer för rörelse i spår och analys av insamlad mätdata. Fälttest visade att en accelerometerbaserad uppvakningssensor kan väcka ett mätsystem genom vibrationer i rälsen ca: 70 meter innan tåget kommer fram till sensorn. Tydligaste mätdata för analys erhölls vid montage på slipers samt då ett avstånd på ca: 70 meter togs. Montering i direkt närhet till mätobjektet på rälslivet bidrog till en signal med inslag av högfrekventa vibrationer. Då tydlig mätdata erhölls kunde antal boogies och axlar identifieras vilket kunde verifieras med bild på loket. Mätdata som analyserades kunde via integration erhålla förskjutning i vertikal samt lateral riktning. Detta är användbart, både för infrastrukturförvaltare samt för underhållsentreprenörer, då degradering kan upptäckas i god tid och förebyggande underhållsåtgärder kan sättas in mot berörda feltyper. Den önskade livslängden enligt infrastrukturförvaltare var minst fem år, och efter mätning av strömåtgång enligt nuvarande specifikation så uppnås detta om mätningar sker sju gånger dagligen med litiumbatterier (1200 mAh) som strömkälla. Som ett första steg mot sakernas internet så har detta arbete skapat en god grund för att förverkliga detta. Fortsatt arbete efter detta projekt kan innefatta gprs och Wi-Fi för internetuppkoppling samt strömmätning för att se hur mycket förbrukningen ökar. Parallellkoppling av batterier kan vara en lösning för längre livslängd ifall förbrukningen påverkas markant. Olika varianter av filtrering för en tydligare signal kan också vara av intresse. Andra typer av sensorer, både för verifiering av resultat i denna rapport samt för att utprova alternativ. Detta kan innefatta geofoner, multi-depth deflectometers och andra typer av accelerometrar. / Since condition monitoring devices today are cheap, small size and more powerful than before, hardware can be built together, software programmed, and then applied to critical parts of a system, more cost-effective and to a greater extent than before. On a large scale this is called the Internet of Things, and is the future of today's maintenance work, as staff no longer needs to be physically present to the same extent as before. A proprietary solution today generally costs over 5,000 SEK. This project has processed prototypes at a cost of approximately 1,000 SEK with open hardware and software, which supports business development and contributes to a wider range of suppliers, which puts pressure on the market for different solutions. The purpose of this study is to develop and test measurements in real environment for condition monitoring of exposed parts of the railway infrastructure, such as point errors in track and railroad switches. The project includes prototypes, energy management, data logging and how useful these data are. The sensors are of the type MEMS accelerometers and various assemblies of these have been tested. The goal has been to evaluate how these works in a real environment and how user friendly these are to measure the movement of rails and grinders. Field test showed that an accelerometer-based wake-up sensor can wake a measuring system by vibration in the rail approximately 70 meters before the train reaches the sensor. Clearest measurement data for analysis was obtained when mounted on grinders and when a distance of about 70 meters was taken. Mounting in close proximity to the measurement object on the rail life contributed to a signal with high frequency vibration input. When clear measurement data was obtained, the number of boogies and axes could be identified, this could be verified by image on the train. Measurement data analyzed could through integration obtain displacement in vertical as well as lateral direction. This is useful, both for infrastructure managers and for maintenance entrepreneurs, as degradation can be detected in time and preventive maintenance actions can be set against the relevant failure types. The desired lifespan according to infrastructure managers was at least five years, and after measuring current consumption according to the current specification, this is achieved if measurements take place seven times a day with lithium batteries (1200 mAh) as the power source. As a first step towards the Internet of Things, this work has created a good foundation to make this reality. Continued work after this project may include gprs and Wi-Fi for internet connection as well as current measurement to see how much usage is increasing. Parallel coupling of batteries can be a solution for longer service life if consumption is significantly affected. Different variants of filtering for a clearer signal may also be of interest. Other types of sensors, both for verification of results in this report and for testing alternatives. This may include geophones, multi-depth deflectometers and other types of accelerometers

Master of Science / Department of Civil Engineering / Robert J. Peterman / An experimental testing program was conducted at Kansas State University (KSU) to test the bond characteristics of various 5.32-mm-diameter steel wires and smaller diameter (less than 0.5 in.) strands used in prestressed concrete railroad ties. A total of 13 wires and six strands produced by seven different steel manufacturers were used during this testing. Since no wire bond pullout test currently exists, one was developed and its validity tested. This un-tensioned pullout test could serve as a quality control test similar to the standard test for strand bond (ASTM A1081) that has been developed for pretensioned strands. This strand test is currently not verified for strands less than 0.5-in. in diameter, so the procedure was also scrutinized using strands common in the concrete railroad tie industry. Some of the wires and strands contained surface indentations. It is generally accepted that indentations in the reinforcements improve the bond between the steel and concrete. To further complicate the issue, reinforcements with different surface conditions (rust, oils, lubricants) are allowed to be used in the concrete ties which further affects the bond quality of the reinforcements. However, no standardized indentation patterns (shape, size, depth of indent, etc.) or surface conditions (degree of rusting, amount of surface lubricants, etc.) are utilized by all wire and strand manufacturers. Thus, the corresponding bond behavior of these different reinforcements when placed in various concrete mixtures, in terms of average transfer lengths and typical variations, is essentially unknown. The purpose of this testing program was to develop (in the case of wires) or verify/develop (in the case of strands) a pullout testing procedure predictive of the reinforcement’s bond performance in a prestressed application. The test should be relatively inexpensive, demonstrably repeatable, and easily reproducible. Results from the un-tensioned pullout tests were compared to transfer length measurements from accompanying pretensioned concrete prisms in the lab. Additionally, pullout tests and transfer length measurements were obtained at an actual concrete railroad tie manufacturing plant. The obtained data was compared to the lab data and analyzed to further understand the relationship between un-tensioned pullout tests and pretensioned concrete members.

Doctor of Philosophy / Civil Engineering / Robert J. Peterman / A study was conducted to determine the effect of different concrete properties and prestressing steel indentation types on development length and flexural capacity of pretensioned members. Wires and strands commonly used in the manufacturing of prestressed concrete railroad ties worldwide were selected for the study. Thirteen different 5.32-mm-diameter prestressing wire types and six different strands (four, seven-wire strands and two, three-wire strands) were used to cast prisms with a square cross section. The ratio of concrete to prestressed steel in the test prism’s cross section was representable of typical concrete railroad ties. Thus, geometrical and mechanical properties of test prisms were representative of actual ties in the railroad industry. To understand the effect of concrete-release strengths and slumps on development length, all parameters were kept constant in the prisms except concrete-release strength and slump. To manufacture prisms with different release strengths, all four wires/strands were pulled and detensioned gradually when the concrete compressive strength reached 3500 (24.13 MPa), 4500 (31.03 MPa), and 6000 (41.37 MPa) psi. To determine the effect of different slumps on development length, prisms with different slumps of 3 in. (7.6 cm), 6 in. (15.2 cm), and 9 in. (22.9 cm) were manufactured and all other parameters were kept constant in prisms. All prisms were tested in three-point bending at different spans to obtain estimations of development length based on type of reinforcement, concrete-release strength, and concrete slump. Lastly, a design equation was developed based on experimental data for prediction of development length. In the last phase of load tests, cyclic-loading tests were conducted on the prisms manufactured with wires to evaluate the bond performance of wires with different indentation types under cyclic loading. A total of 210 load tests, including 14 cyclic tests, were conducted. The monotonic-load tests revealed a large difference in the development length of pretensioned concrete members manufactured with different wire/strand types and different concrete-release strengths. Also, the cyclic-load tests revealed a significant difference in bond performance of different wire types under cyclic loading compared to monotonic loading.

Master of Agribusiness / Department of Agricultural Economics / Christine Wilson / The objective of this thesis is to examine the opportunity cost, both financial and efficiency, of inbound railcars of wheat that are not optimally loaded and shipped to ConAgra Mills’ facilities. In performing an analysis of data showing actual versus optimal weights, a cost will be assigned to determine how much “dead freight” or extra freight is being paid to railroads for space not utilized. Throughout the analysis, it can be determined which shippers are lacking efficiencies in loading as well as those who are meeting ConAgra Mills’ expectations. To accomplish this objective, data were extracted from various sources for an entire fiscal year and 22,351 data observations were analyzed. The information was specific to both individual railcars as well as the shipments as a whole. These data points were analyzed in two ways, financial and capacity/efficiency. Financially, a cost was assigned to each railcar that was under the railcar’s goal weight. From a capacity perspective, railcars were analyzed on a shipment basis to indicate if equipment could be saved by more efficient loading. The study determined that savings could be found in every situation analyzed. It was determined that in addition to inbound shipments from outside shippers, inter-mill shipments between ConAgra Mills facilities were affected by loading inefficiencies. There could be an opportunity for further analysis to determine the full scope of savings beyond the limitations of this study. The main limitation of this thesis was the primary source of data.

Digitalisering genomsyrar fler och fler delar av dagens samhälle. Ett område där man nyligen börjat bedriva forskning är digitalt underhåll. Detta område är särskilt intressant när det gäller komponenter med lång livslängd som i exempelvis gruv- och transportindustrin då tiden för driftstopp av enheten kan minskas och rätt typ av underhåll kan ske genom rätt typ av diagnos. Detta leder till sänkta kostnader för företagen som implementerar digitalt underhåll. Fördelar med digitalt underhåll finns beskrivna i litteratur, men de viktiga faktorerna som behöver bearbetas för att kunna implementera det finns det i dagsläget inte mycket forskning kring. Syftet med denna studie var att utforma ett ramverk för vilka viktiga faktorer som bör tas i beaktning och dess samband då en organisation vill implementera digitalt underhåll, samt identifiera det resultat som uppstår då övergången till digitalt underhåll har genomförts. För att uppnå syftet genomfördes en abduktiv fallstudie kring digitalisering av järnvägsunderhåll på Sweco Rail AB, med fokus på deras största kund Trafikverket. En litteraturstudie genomfördes för att skapa en bild av problemet och data samlades in genom insamling av dokumenterat material och 26 intervjuer i tre faser; explorativa, semistrukturerade och uppföljande. Den data som samlades in analyserades sedan genom komparativ analys och tematisk kodning för att bidra till studiens resultat. Slutligen validerades resultatet med hjälp av experter inom området. Resultatet av studien var ett ramverk där fem faktorer som identifierats som viktiga att bearbeta för att implementera digitalt underhåll presenteras, deras samband samt det resultat som uppstår av att implementera det digitala underhållet visas. Ramverket innehåller faktorerna Digital teknik, Organisatorisk utveckling, Förändrade arbetssätt, Regelverk och Informationssäkerhet. I varje faktor identifierades även underkategorier. Ramverket visade även vad resultatet blir av att implementera digitalt underhåll.  Det praktiska bidraget är att ramverket hjälper organisationer att fokusera på de delarna som identifierats som viktiga. Detta för att implementeringen av digitalt underhåll ska bli så lyckad som möjligt, samtidigt som det visar de resultat som går att uppnå som en tydlig målbild. Det teoretiska bidraget är en fördjupad förståelse för området digitalt underhåll. Framtida forskning kan undersöka faktorerna hos företag som redan har genomfört en implementering av digitalt underhåll för att på så sätt verifiera resultaten från denna studie.

[pt] Este estudo buscou apreender a experiência laboral dos sujeitos que trabalham como vendedores ambulantes nos trens urbanos de passageiros que circulam na Região Metropolitana do Rio de Janeiro (RMRJ). Tais sujeitos, em algum momento de suas vidas, não conseguiram se alocar no mercado de trabalho considerado formal e, para obter os meios para garantir a própria sobrevivência e de sua família, foram trabalhar como ambulantes na ferrovia. Essa alternativa encontrada pelos ambulantes que, inicialmente, possui um caráter provisório, com o decorrer do tempo torna-se permanente. Trata-se de um trabalho precário, cuja dimensão atinge diversos âmbitos da vida social desses trabalhadores. O universo de trabalhadores ambulantes dos trens urbanos de passageiros da RMRJ é bastante heterogêneo. É composto desde jovens a idosos, tanto do sexo masculino quanto feminino e, dentre eles, há pessoas com deficiência. A maioria não possui permissão da SuperVia, concessionária que atualmente administra a ferrovia da RMRJ, para trabalhar naquele espaço. Para a elaboração do presente estudo, observamos o trabalho dos ambulantes no espaço ferroviário por, aproximadamente, três anos e, desde junho de 2013, dialogamos com alguns deles a respeito do seu trabalho. O trabalho de campo consistiu na entrevista de dois trabalhadores ambulantes em cada um dos cinco principais ramais dos trens urbanos da RMRJ (Deodoro; Santa Cruz; Japeri; Belford Roxo e Saracuruna), totalizando 10 entrevistas semiestruturadas, realizadas nas plataformas da ferrovia, no cotidiano de trabalho dos mesmos. A observação participante também foi amplamente utilizada durante a pesquisa empírica. Tais estratégias objetivaram conhecer a trajetória de trabalho destes sujeitos, os motivos que os levaram a trabalhar no espaço ferroviário e suas expectativas em relação ao futuro. No decorrer das observações realizadas cotidianamente foi possível apreender a dinâmica de trabalho desses ambulantes. Foi traçado o perfil desses sujeitos e analisadas as condições de trabalho dos mesmos. Além disso, foram realizadas reflexões sobre as experiências de trabalho que eles adquiriram no decorrer da vida. Para isso, buscamos resgatar os trabalhos desenvolvidos pelos ambulantes entrevistados e até mesmo dos seus pais. A partir dessas experiências abordamos as lutas travadas no cotidiano por esses trabalhadores, assim como as estratégias de sobrevivência e possíveis formas de resistências engendradas por eles. Com isso, percebemos que os ambulantes batalham para garantir o pão de cada dia, porém acabam não se articulando coletivamente para lutar por melhores condições de trabalho. / [en] This study sought to apprehend the labour experience of the subjects who work as hawkers at the urban trains used in the Rio de Janeiro Metropolitan Region (RJMR). At some point of their lives such subjects couldn’t allocate themselves in the formal work market and, therefore, to provide ways of assuring theirs own family survival. For this reason they went to work as hawkers at the railroad, an alternative that initially had a temporary character but in time it became permanent. This is a precarious work, whose dimension affects several spheres of the social lives of these workers. The scope of the hawkers is highly heterogeneous. It is composed of young and old people from both sexes and among them there are even handicapped people. Most of them don’t have permission to work in the train’s area from the SuperVia, the company that actually administrates the RJMR’s railroad. To preparete this study, we observed the work of the hawkers for approximately three years and since june of 2013 we engaged in dialogues with some of them about their work. The field work consisted in an interview of two hawkers of each of the five main lines of the RMRJ’s urban trains (Deodoro; Santa Cruz; Japeri; Belford Roxo and Saracuruna), totalizing 10 semi-structured interviews conducted at the train platforms during they daily work routine. The participant observation was also highly used during the empirical research. Such strategies aimed to understand this subjects’ work trajectory, the reasons that led them to work on the railroad area and theirs expectations towards the future. In the course of the daily observations, it was possible to apprehend the work dynamics of these hawkers. A profile of these subjects was traced and their work conditions analyzed. Beyond that, reflections were made about the work experience they acquired in the course of their lives. In order to do this, we sought to rescue the history of the interviewed hawkers as workers and even their parent’s history. From this experiences, we approaches the everyday struggles fought by these workers, such as the survival strategies and possible resistance forms engendered by them. In this sense, it was possible to observe the hawkers in their daily struggle to survive, but in the end they were not able to organize themselves collectively in order to fight for better work conditions.

A presente dissertação aborda o papel da expansão da rede ferroviária e seus impactos numa formação territorial particular. O estudo em questão se insere num debate da Geografia Agrária e indica elementos para relacionar a modernização da rede de transporte com as transformações das formas de se produzir. As vias férreas para circulação de mercadorias voltaram a ganhar centralidade nas políticas públicas formuladas no Brasil neste início de século XXI. A atual expansão das malhas ferroviárias tem sido pautada pelo processo de mundialização da agricultura brasileira, bem como de intensificação da exploração mineral. Decorrem, portanto, das necessidades da reprodução capitalista contemporânea. Nesse processo atuam, também, as companhias concessionárias que obtiveram o direito de exploração das malhas ferroviárias mediante sua privatização, na década de 1990, além das próprias construtoras. Em consonância com a lógica capitalista, as novas vias de circulação são consideradas de utilidade pública e atravessam, após questionáveis processos de licenciamento ambiental, frações territoriais de comunidades rurais que, em geral, pouco ou nada são beneficiadas por este símbolo de desenvolvimento e modernização. Além disso, as vias férreas tendem a provocar o aumento da renda da terra, acentuando ainda mais os conflitos fundiários, cujo ápice se realiza através da legitimação legal das desapropriações parciais. Para a compreensão de tais processos, definimos como objeto de pesquisa a Ferrovia Nova Transnordestina, em construção no Nordeste, e o município de Ouricuri/PE, como recorte espacial para um estudo de caso. Deste modo, as pesquisas de campo foram intercaladas com estudo bibliográfico sobre a formação territorial do Nordeste e da área de estudo. Visamos, assim, analisar criticamente o desenvolvimento ferroviário como parte constitutiva do desenvolvimento do modo capitalista de produção e, por meio dele, processos de reprodução do campesinato ali presente. A Ferrovia Nova Transnordestina vem se constituindo como elemento importante para o entendimento das contradições dos processos mais amplos de desenvolvimento do capitalismo e das forças produtivas. Contudo, a realidade do campo em Ouricuri mostrou-se ainda mais complexa e conflituosa diante de outros elementos: as velhas e novas relações vinculadas ao enfrentamento e à convivência com a seca, a introdução de políticas estatais sociais de profundo impacto local e o intenso processo de parcelamento da área agropecuária naquele município. Nossa pesquisa passou, assim, a incorporá-los como elementos decisivos da reprodução camponesa em Ouricuri, deslocando, ao menos para o atual momento, a centralidade da Ferrovia Nova Transnordestina e da tendência às transformações socioterritoriais a ela associadas. / This dissertation examines the expansion of the railroad network, and its impacts in a particular territorial formation. It indicates elements to connect the modernization of the transport network and the changes in the modes of production; taking into consideration the existing debate in Agrarian Geography. Since the beginning of the 21st century, railroads have returned to the center of public policies related to circulation of commodities in Brazil. The current expansion of railroad networks is guided by the globalization of Brazilian agriculture, as well as the intensification of mineral exploitation. These railroads are a direct result of contemporary capitalist reproductions needs. Concessionaries, who have acquired the right to explore railroad networks as a result of privatization in the 1990s, together with large construction companies also have a role in such reproduction process. In line with the capitalist logic, new circulation routes are seen as public utilities. Based on questionable licensing processes, they end up crossing the territory of rural communities that are little or not at all benefited from what is considered a sign of development and modernization: the railroad. Moreover, railroads tend to increase land rent, therefore increase land tenure conflicts, and result in the legal legitimization of partial expropriations. To comprehend and discuss such processes, this study looks at the case of the Nova Transnordestina railroad, under construction in the Brazilian Northeast, and the municipality of Ouricuri, in Pernambuco state. In order to critically analyze the railroad development as a constitutive part of the capitalist mode of production and hence the processes that reproduce peasantry in the region, the methodological approach interspersed field research and literature review on territorial formation of the Northeast and the specific region of study. The Nova Transnordestina railroad has constituted itself as an important element to the understanding of the contradictory processes of capitalism development and its productive forces. Nevertheless, the reality in Ouricuri appears to be more complex and conflictive due to additional elements, such as: the former and new relations that are associated to coping and living with drought; the introduction of social policies with deep local impact; and the intensively subdivision of agricultural land in the municipality. Therefore, this research regarded those elements as fundamental to understand local peasantry reproduction in Ouricuri, displacing, for now, the centrality of the Nova Transnordestina railroad to current transformation tendencies associated to it.

Este trabalho propõe um método de análise de risco aplicada ao descarrilamento (incidente no qual a roda perde a sustentação provida pelo trilho, podendo ser causado por diversos aspectos como imperfeições na via, falhas no material rodante, obstáculos na via, entre outras que pode acarretar possíveis acidentes e perdas materiais e humanas) de forma a tornar mais seguro o transporte ferroviário, que atualmente não apresenta diminuição da taxa de ocorrência dos descarrilamentos, complementando assim as simulações computacionais e simulações dinâmicas que podem ser aplicadas ao estudo deste evento. Risco pode ser definido como o potencial de perda resultante da exposição a um perigo, sendo relacionado à probabilidade de ocorrência de um evento ou combinação de eventos acarretando em um perigo e a conseqüência deste perigo. Este conceito pode ser utilizado para investigar e avaliar as incertezas associadas com um evento. Já Confiabilidade pode ser definida como a probabilidade de um item executar a sua função sob condições pré-definidas de uso e manutenção por um período de tempo específico. Assim, considerando estes dois conceitos, será apresentada uma metodologia de análise de risco e confiabilidade para análise e discussão do descarrilamento, discorrendo sobre os possíveis parâmetros que podem causar este evento bem como propondo uma alternativa para avaliação da probabilidade de ocorrência do descarrilamento; desta forma permite guiar o gerenciamento da segurança quanto a este evento já que no Brasil não existe a figura da autoridade ferroviária, órgão máximo e responsável final pela regulamentação para a operação de um sistema ferroviário, que poderia determinar o processo que deve ser seguido para a garantia de segurança. Os objetos de estudo serão veículos ferroviários e conseqüentemente os elementos de interface com este tipo de veículo, como por exemplo, os elementos de via. / This research proposes a risk analysis method applied to derailment event (characterized by the wheel overlap on the rail, which can be caused by many aspects: rail imperfections, rolling stock failures, obstacles etc and which can cause accidents, material and life loss) to increase the safety level on railway transport that actually does not present decrease of derailment rate. This method also complements computational and dynamic simulations, which can be applied to this event. Risk can be defined as the potential loss due to a hazard exposure, also related with the probability of occurrence of an event or combinations of events leading to a hazard and the consequence of this hazard. This concept can be applied to investigate and to evaluate the uncertainties related with this event. Reliability can be defined as the probability of an item to perform its function under predefined use and maintenance conditions during a specific period of time. Thus, considering these two concepts, it will be presented a risk and reliability analysis to study the derailment event, discoursing about the possible parameters that can cause this event and proposing alternatives to evaluate the derailment occurrence probability in order to guide safety management since a railway authority does not exist in Brazil (body with the overall accountability to a regulator for operation a railway system, that could determines the process to be followed to assure safety levels). This research will cover railway vehicles and consequently the interface, for example, the railroad elements.