Assessment of slope stability

The paper deals with the assessment of slope stability on the road II/595 near the village Zlatno before and after the landslide caused by floods in 2010. The calculation of factor of safety was made using GEO 5 software. For proposal comprehensive assessment and possible remedial work is necessary to know the geological conditions and choose the appropriate method for assessing slope stability. The critical factors of safety have been determined by Petterson, Bishop and Sarma Methods. After finding the most unfavorable slip surface a proposal of remediation measures has been made. The paper presents various solutions to ensure slope stability of the road. The most appropriate remedial action is Variant III - reinforced slope due to its greater factor of safety

Assessment of slope stability

The paper deals with the assessment of slope stability on the road II/595 near the village Zlatno before and after the landslide caused by floods in 2010. The calculation of factor of safety was made using GEO 5 software. For proposal comprehensive assessment and possible remedial work is necessary to know the geological conditions and choose the appropriate method for assessing slope stability. The critical factors of safety have been determined by Petterson, Bishop and Sarma Methods. After finding the most unfavorable slip surface a proposal of remediation measures has been made. The paper presents various solutions to ensure slope stability of the road. The most appropriate remedial action is Variant III - reinforced slope due to its greater factor of safety

Determination of deformation properties of soils as input parameters for calculation

When designing the foundations of any building structure, it is important to know not only the load of the structure, but also the deformation characteristics of the subsoil. Their underestimation leads to incorrect design of the foundations or even to failures, the reparation of which requires considerable financial costs. The real values of the deformation soil properties gained from the geotechnical investigation often do not match the tabulated values used in the design. In this contribution, actual and tabular values of selected soil properties in the bedrock in the locality of Kosicka kotlina are compared. Simple buildings designed according to the 1st geotechnical category are in the described location predominantly based on Neogene clay of intermediate plasticity class F6 and less on clays class F8. These are soils sensitive to changes in their natural moisture – they swell when exposed to water, thus become unstable. It is therefore important to use the most accurate values in the calculation of the foundations. The analysis of 130 measured values confirmed that 52% of the all measured values are outside the indicative table data. The use of inaccurate input values can bring a risk and threat to safety, reliability and proper use of any construction. It is therefore necessary to carry out the appropriate geotechnical investigation of soils for all types of buildings

Determination of deformation properties of soils as input parameters for calculation

When designing the foundations of any building structure, it is important to know not only the load of the structure, but also the deformation characteristics of the subsoil. Their underestimation leads to incorrect design of the foundations or even to failures, the reparation of which requires considerable financial costs. The real values of the deformation soil properties gained from the geotechnical investigation often do not match the tabulated values used in the design. In this contribution, actual and tabular values of selected soil properties in the bedrock in the locality of Kosicka kotlina are compared. Simple buildings designed according to the 1st geotechnical category are in the described location predominantly based on Neogene clay of intermediate plasticity class F6 and less on clays class F8. These are soils sensitive to changes in their natural moisture – they swell when exposed to water, thus become unstable. It is therefore important to use the most accurate values in the calculation of the foundations. The analysis of 130 measured values confirmed that 52% of the all measured values are outside the indicative table data. The use of inaccurate input values can bring a risk and threat to safety, reliability and proper use of any construction. It is therefore necessary to carry out the appropriate geotechnical investigation of soils for all types of buildings

Tram squealing noise and its impact on human health

Introduction: Tramway has become a serious urban noise source in densely populated areas. The disturbance from squealing noise is significant. Curve squeal is the very loud, tonal noise emitted by tram operation in tight radius curves. Studies had reported a relationship between noise levels and health effects, such as annoyance, sleep disturbance, and elevated systolic and diastolic blood pressure. Materials and Methods: This study aimed to analyze the wheel squeal noise along the tramway line in Košice, Slovakia, review the effects on human health, and discuss its inclusion in the design method. To observe the influence of a track curve on noise emission, several measurement points were selected, and the noise emission was measured both in the curve and in the straight lines employing the same type of permanent way. Results: The results in the sections with the radius below 50 m were greatly affected by the presence of a squeal noise, while the resulting noise level in the sections with the radius above 50 m depended on their radius. The difference between the average values of LAeq with and without the squeal in the measurement points with the radius below 50 m was 9 dB. The difference between the measurements in the curve sections with the radius below 50 m and those in the straight line was 2.7 dB. Conclusion: The resulting noise level in general was influenced by the car velocity and the technical shape of the permanent way. These results can be used in noise prognoses and in the health effect predictions

Railway noise annoyance on the railway track in northwest slovakia

Introduction: This paper describes an assessment of noise caused by railway traffic in a large high-loaded railway track in Northwest Slovakia. Materials and Methods: The measurements of noise levels generated by trains passing through residential neighborhoods were taken. Noise maps were also calculated showing noise pollution generated by the train traffic. In addition, the annoyance level and sleep disturbance of residents affected by railway noise were evaluated by a validated questionnaire on a pilot sample of 107 respondents living near the important railway track. Results: The measurements indicated that the noise levels generated by the passage of the train were extremely high especially at night, clearly exceeding the nighttime limits of equivalent sound pressure level established by the Decree of the Slovak Ministry of Health (No.549/2007) (LAeq = 55 dB). Measurements at one point during the night exceeded the limit values of up to 17.4 dB. The residents reported feeling affected by the noise generated by passing trains, which caused irritability, headache, poor concentration, and insomnia. In addition, 19.64% of the residents claimed that nocturnal noise pollution was the most distressing. The results of bivariate analysis showed a higher risk of annoyance especially for railway noise [ORMH = 7.80 (4.02–15.14)] and the noise from industry [ORMH = 3.08 (1.72–5.50)] in the exposed location. Discussion: The effects of railway traffic on annoyance/sleep and psychosocial well-being were evaluated in a few studies. In accordance with our results the railway noise mostly disturbs sleep and rest of the respondents. Conclusion: The pilot survey showed the importance of sleep and rest disturbance by railway noise and the possibilities of getting worse health condition in the future. Noise abatement measures and strategies should, therefore, be implemented in an effective and manageable way increasing the environmental advantages of rail transport