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Rail transport plays a crucial role in promoting sustainability and reducing the environmental impact of transport. Ongoing efforts to improve the sustainability of rail transport through technological advancements and operational improvements are further enhancing its reputation as a sustainable mode of transport. Autonomous obstacle detection in railways is a critical aspect of railway safety and operation. While the widespread deployment of autonomous obstacle detection systems is still under consideration, the ongoing advancements in technology and infrastructure are paving the way for their full implementation. The SMART2 project developed a holistic obstacle detection (OD) system consisting of three sub-systems: long-range on-board, trackside (TS), and Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV)-based OD sub-systems. All three sub-systems are integrated into a holistic OD system via interfaces to a central Decision Support System (DSS) that analyzes the inputs of all three sub-systems and makes decision about locations of possible hazardous obstacles with respect to trains. A holistic approach to autonomous obstacle detection for railways increases the detection area, including areas behind a curve, a slope, tunnels, and other elements blocking the train’s view on the rail tracks, in addition to providing long-range straight rail track OD. This paper presents a demonstration of the SMART2 holistic OD performed during the operational cargo haul with in-service trains. This paper defines the demonstration setup and scenario and shows the performance of the developed holistic OD system in a real environment.

The selection of a rubber compound has a determining influence on the final characteristics of rubber-metal springs. Therefore, the correct selection of a rubber compound is a key factor for development of rubber-metal vibration isolation springs with required characteristics. The procedure for the selection of the rubber compound for vibration isolation of rubber-metal springs has been proposed, so that the rubber-metal elements have the necessary characteristics, especially in terms of deflection. The procedure is based on numerical simulation of spring deflection with Bergström-Boyce constitutive model in virtual experiment, with a goal to determine which parameters of the constitutive model will lead to spring required deflection. The procedure was verified by case study defined to select rubber compound for a rubber–metal spring used in railway engineering.

The modeling of thermal effects has become increasingly important in product design in different transport means, road vehicles, airplanes, railway vehicles, and so forth. The thermal analysis is a very important stage in the study of braking systems, especially of railway vehicles, where it is necessary to brake huge masses, because the thermal load of a braked railway wheel prevails compared to other types of loads. In the braking phase, kinetic energy transforms into thermal energy resulting in intense heating and high temperature states of railway wheels. Thus induced thermal loads determine thermomechanical behavior of the structure of railway wheels. In cases of thermal overloads, which mainly occur as a result of long-term braking on down-grade railroads, the generation of stresses and deformations occurs, whose consequences are the appearance of cracks on the rim of a wheel and the final total wheel defect. The importance to precisely determine the temperature distribution caused by the transfer process of the heat generated during braking due to the friction on contact surfaces of the braking system makes it a challenging research task. Therefore, the thermal analysis of a block-braked solid railway wheel of a 444 class locomotive of the national railway operator Serbian Railways is processed in detail in this paper, using analytical and numerical modeling of thermal effects during long-term braking for maintaining a constant speed on a down-grade railroad. nema

The temperature of rubber or rubber-metal springs increases under cyclic loading, due to hysteresis losses and low rubber thermal conductivity. Hysteresis losses correspond to energy dissipation from the rubber, which is primarily converted into heat. This well-known phenomenon, called heat build-up, is the primary reason for rubber aging. Increase in temperature within the rubber compound leads to degradation of its physical and chemical properties, increase in stiffness and loss of damping capability. This paper presents a novel procedure of heat generation prediction in rubber or rubber-metal springs. The procedure encompasses the prediction of hysteresis loss, i. e. dissipated energy within the rubber, by finite element analysis and application of a modern visco-plastic rubber constitutive model. The obtained dissipated energy was used as an input for transient thermal analysis. Verification of the proposed procedure was performed by comparison of simulation results with experimentally obtained data during the dynamic loading of the rubber specimen. The proposed procedure is highly computationally efficient and it enables time integration, which can be problematic in coupled mechanical thermal analysis.

This paper presents an innovative method for determining the distribution of the friction generated heat from the contact of a locomotive wheel and rail, as well as the heat partition factor, during wheel slipping of an accelerating locomotive. The new method combines the finite element analysis simulation and experimental determination of the temperature distribution in a downsized model of a wheel and rail. As a result of a virtual experiment by the finite element analysis, an empirical dependence between the temperature distribution and the heat partition factor was established. The determination of the dependence enabled finding of the exact value of the heat partition factor by the optimization procedure based on matching temperatures obtained by the virtual and real experiment. nema

We tested three theses on the construction of extramusical meaning in program music: (1) that some excerpts contain an “inherent” musical structure that facilitates the interpretation aligned with the composer’s intentions; (2) that “onomatopoeia” — musical imitation of natural sounds — is a frequent subclass of this “inherence”; and (3) that providing the title of the piece further facilitates the “proper” interpretation of intended meaning. Two hundred and one students were given six musical stimuli (three based on “inherent” and three on “arbitrary” association) and asked to write a one-sentence description of extramusical meaning associated with the examples. In the first trial, all participants provided descriptions without a suggestion. In the second, they were randomly assigned to three groups, receiving suggestions that were neutral, aligned with the composer’s program, or deliberately worded to contradict this program. Three raters then coded the responses on the basis of conformity with the composer’s intentions and presence of onomatopoeia. The result was (a) no difference in the numbers of conformant descriptions to “inherent” as opposed to “arbitrary” examples; (b) a negligible number of onomatopoeic descriptions; (c) a strong influence of “false” — but not “true” — suggestions. We discuss some implications for further studies of extramusical meaning.

The paper considers Percival Everett’s novel James (2024) and its peculiar technique as an example of resignification and a contemporary reworking of Twain’s Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and American minstrel shows. The theoretical framework is based on Judith Butler’s idea of resignification and Eric Lott’s considerations of the notion of minstrelsy, highlighting the connections between the two. As the key aspect of both Everett’s novel and a minstrel show is performativity/performance, this notion is discussed in detail with a special emphasis on its use in the novel. We argue that Everett’s innovative and subversive use of language, and his decision to tell the story of the birth of a hero from the point of view of Jim/James, the (in)famous stereotypical slave character of Twain’s narrative, represents an instance of anti-minstrel fiction and thus sets new standards in contemporary (African) American literature. We argue that Jim’s/James’ journey from a runaway slave and a comic relief in Twain’s classic to a hero of his own narrative can be interpreted as an example of resignification, i.e., ‘enacted critique’, a deliberate, deviant, mis-performance (Loxley, 2006, 127) which paves the way for new roles and meanings in contemporary (African) American literature.

The study investigates the relationship between syntactic structure and metaphor features – quality, aptness, familiarity, and comprehensibility – using metaphorical expressions collected from Serbian poetry. Although metaphor research has traditionally focused on nominal forms like ‘A is B,’ this study explores more complex syntactic structures, and includes Subject + Predicate (SP), Subject + Predicate (Aux. + Nominal) (SCopP), Subject + Predicate + Object (SPO), and Subject + Predicate + Adverbial (SPA). The study involved 140 participants who rated 76 metaphorical expressions across the four metaphor features. Findings suggest that complex structures (SPO and SPA) scored higher in quality and aptness than simpler ones (SP and SCopP), challenging the predominance of nominal metaphors in research. However, simpler structures were rated as more familiar, potentially reflecting their syntactic simplicity. Comprehensibility was not influenced by syntactic complexity, likely due to participants’ linguistic proficiency. The results indicate that syntactic structure can affect metaphor perception and suggest that reliance on nominal forms in metaphor research may overlook the richness of more complex syntactic realisations. This study confirms the importance of considering syntax in metaphor research and highlights the potential for diverse syntactic patterns to enrich our understanding of metaphor processing and interpretation.

This paper describes research aimed at the experimental determination of the influence of rubber hysteresis on the friction coefficient between rubber samples for making soles and granite tiles. In the experiments, four types of shoe rubber with similar hardness and different hysteresis properties and two granite tiles with different roughnesses (smooth and anti-slip) were used. The determination of rubber hysteresis was carried out experimentally on a uniaxial testing machine. The friction coefficient was measured using a device specially developed for this type of test, which was based on the pulling force method, while the measurement conditions were based on the EN 13893:2011 standard. The friction coefficient was measured at two different speeds, 50 mm/s and 300 mm/s, with different surface conditions. Using regression analysis and the Taguchi method, the data obtained from the experiments were analyzed to determine the influence of parameters on the friction coefficient. The experimental research shows that different rubber mixtures with the same or similar hardness could have different hysteresis properties but also different friction properties.

[...]the paper attempts to apply various elements of S.G. Pulman's (1983) model of prototype effect testing to a semantic analysis of the English motion verbs (as defined and selected in Miller 1972 and Levin 1993). [...]there is a steady semantic pattern related to the obtained category structure of motion verbs: the more generic verbs seem to be closer to the centre and, as we move towards the periphery, the verbs tend to be more specific. [...]Pulman did not reach a firm conclusion in regard to this on several grounds: he admitted that the number of selected category members in his study was too low and quite arbitrary, which led the statistical methods he used to unreliable results. [...]the number of subjects was much lower than in Rosch's experiments (20 as compared to 400) and, lastly, verbs proved to be quite delicate when it came to listing attributes and required a more comprehensive experimental design. [...]Pulman arrived at the conclusion that verbs, just like nouns, can be regarded as more or less prominent, prototypical or representative members of their semantic categories and that prototypicality probably derives from semantic closeness between a member and a category.