Potential for non-road modes to support environmentally friendly urban logistics

Road freight transport typically dominates in urban delivery operations. However, an increasing number of trials and commercial operations have started in the past 10 years attempting to use non-road modes in a wide range of cities including: Paris, Berlin, Madrid, Amsterdam and others. The research establishes the existing scale of rail freight in two comparable cities (London and Paris/Ile de France) and compares the development process in terms of the stakeholders, the infrastructure and planning issues and the nature of the operations. The review considers the scope and opportunity for an increase in the use of rail for urban freight transport and assesses the barriers to its wider implementation. The research is based on a mixture of desk research examining a number of cities and their use of rail freight transport combined with some interviews with the major stakeholders. The research contains an assessment of a number of pilot projects and initiatives that can be considered together and offer important insights into the potential for changes to urban distribution operations. The findings illustrate that rail plays a more important part than is often thought but that its uptake is restricted by the complex barriers to wider implementation. Planning limits and the complexity of engaging with the range of stakeholders has made it difficult to implement rail solutions for urban freight. It is clear that some of the developments can be considered as filling a rather narrow niche function. However, it is also apparent that some initiatives have the scope for wider implementation and to contribute significantly to reducing the reliance on road freight transport in cities. The analysis will support the work of urban planners and policy makers concerned with how to reach the EU target of essentially zero CO2 urban freight by 2030. In addition, the research identifies a number of barriers that need to be overcome and proposes ways to achieve this

Influence of surface roughness on selected properties of the TiAlN coating

The HS6-5-2C steel samples with different surface roughness were used for the tests. After grinding had a roughness parameter of Ra = 0,03 μm, and after polishing Ra = 0,01 μm. A TiAlN coating was applied to the substrate prepared in this way. Using a confocal microscope with an interferometric mode, the geometrical structure of the samples was analyzed. The optical strain gauge was used to measure the contact angle. Tribological tests were carried out in conditions of technically dry friction. The polished sample with the coating was characterized by a more stable course of the friction coefficient, lower wear and a smaller wetting angle

The influence of environmental conditions on the tribological properties of the Ti13Nb13Zr alloy

The paper presents the results of tribological tests of the Ti13Nb13Zr titanium alloy - carried out in the conditions of lubrication with liquids simulating body fluids. Artificial saliva solutions were used for the tests. Two pH values were used – 7,0 characteristic of a healthy organism and 4,9 - typical for the presence of inflammation. The countersample in the tested friction nodes were Al2O3 balls with a diameter of 6 mm loaded with a normal force of 1 N. The tests obtained showed a strong influence of environmental conditions on the tribological properties of the Ti13Nb13Zr titanium alloy. This applies to both the value of the coefficient of friction and linear wear. In the case of tests carried out under lubrication conditions with an artificial saliva solution at pH 7,0 they were 0,47 and 31,1 μm, respectively; in the case of a fluid at pH 4,9 they were 25 % and 45 % higher (0,62 and 65,6 μm)

The influence of environmental conditions on the tribological properties of the Ti13Nb13Zr alloy

The paper presents the results of tribological tests of the Ti13Nb13Zr titanium alloy - carried out in the conditions of lubrication with liquids simulating body fluids. Artificial saliva solutions were used for the tests. Two pH values were used – 7,0 characteristic of a healthy organism and 4,9 - typical for the presence of inflammation. The countersample in the tested friction nodes were Al2O3 balls with a diameter of 6 mm loaded with a normal force of 1 N. The tests obtained showed a strong influence of environmental conditions on the tribological properties of the Ti13Nb13Zr titanium alloy. This applies to both the value of the coefficient of friction and linear wear. In the case of tests carried out under lubrication conditions with an artificial saliva solution at pH 7,0 they were 0,47 and 31,1 μm, respectively; in the case of a fluid at pH 4,9 they were 25 % and 45 % higher (0,62 and 65,6 μm)

Influence of surface roughness on selected properties of the TiAlN coating

The HS6-5-2C steel samples with different surface roughness were used for the tests. After grinding had a roughness parameter of Ra = 0,03 μm, and after polishing Ra = 0,01 μm. A TiAlN coating was applied to the substrate prepared in this way. Using a confocal microscope with an interferometric mode, the geometrical structure of the samples was analyzed. The optical strain gauge was used to measure the contact angle. Tribological tests were carried out in conditions of technically dry friction. The polished sample with the coating was characterized by a more stable course of the friction coefficient, lower wear and a smaller wetting angle

Simulating the Mammalian Blastocyst - Molecular and Mechanical Interactions Pattern the Embryo

Mammalian embryogenesis is a dynamic process involving gene expression and mechanical forces between proliferating cells. The exact nature of these interactions, which determine the lineage patterning of the trophectoderm and endoderm tissues occurring in a highly regulated manner at precise periods during the embryonic development, is an area of debate. We have developed a computational modeling framework for studying this process, by which the combined effects of mechanical and genetic interactions are analyzed within the context of proliferating cells. At a purely mechanical level, we demonstrate that the perpendicular alignment of the animal-vegetal (a-v) and embryonic-abembryonic (eb-ab) axes is a result of minimizing the total elastic conformational energy of the entire collection of cells, which are constrained by the zona pellucida. The coupling of gene expression with the mechanics of cell movement is important for formation of both the trophectoderm and the endoderm. In studying the formation of the trophectoderm, we contrast and compare quantitatively two hypotheses: (1) The position determines gene expression, and (2) the gene expression determines the position. Our model, which couples gene expression with mechanics, suggests that differential adhesion between different cell types is a critical determinant in the robust endoderm formation. In addition to differential adhesion, two different testable hypotheses emerge when considering endoderm formation: (1) A directional force acts on certain cells and moves them into forming the endoderm layer, which separates the blastocoel and the cells of the inner cell mass (ICM). In this case the blastocoel simply acts as a static boundary. (2) The blastocoel dynamically applies pressure upon the cells in contact with it, such that cell segregation in the presence of differential adhesion leads to the endoderm formation. To our knowledge, this is the first attempt to combine cell-based spatial mechanical simulations with genetic networks to explain mammalian embryogenesis. Such a framework provides the means to test hypotheses in a controlled in silico environment

Tribological properties of diamond-like-carbon coating doped with tungsten

This paper presents the tribological properties of diamond-like-carbon coatings (DLC) doped with tungsten. The hardness of the DLC coating was determined using a micro-hardness tester. Friction tests were carried out on a tribometer in rotational motion in a 100Cr6 steel ball-disk association with a-C-H:W tungsten doped hydrogenated DLC coating. Tests were carried out with loads of 10 N, 25 N and 50 N under technically dry friction conditions. Using a scanning electron microscopy (SEM), the surface morphology was observed, and with a confocal microscope, the geometric structure of the surface was observed before and after the friction tests. The wetting angle of the samples was examined on an optical tensiometer for distilled water and diiodomethane. The results indicated that DLC coatings of the a-C:H:W type obtained by the PVD technique can be used in unlubricated high-load tribological systems