Szabolcs Fischer

Széchenyi István University, Gyor · Department of Transport Infrastructure and Water Resources Engineering

This paper summarizes the results of a R&D work in 2014. Fivedifferent types of andesite railway ballast material with differentLARB (%) (Los Angeles abrasion) as well as MDERB (%)(Micro-Deval abrasion) values were investigated in laboratorywith pulsating test which models the real condition muchbetter (the used parameters were determined accordanc...

This article summarizes the research results related to our own conducted extensive laboratory tests of polymer composite and steel fishplated glued insulated rail joints (GIRJs), namely axial tensile tests as well as vertical static and dynamic tests. The investigation dealt with the examination of GIRJs assembled with steel and special glass-fibe...

The current paper deals with the numerical investigation of a unique designed pre-stressed rein-forced concrete railway sleeper for the design speed of 300 km/h, as well as an axle load of 180 kN. The authors applied different methodologies in their research: traditional hand-made calculations and two types of finite element software. The latter we...

The paper investigates the heat-affected zone (HAZ) of more rail joints executed by thermite rail welding (TW). The examined rail profile was 54E1 (UIC54). The rail steel categories were different: R260 and R400HT. The welding portions of the TWs fitted R350HT and R260 rail categories with normal welding gaps. The rail pieces were brand new, i.e.,...

The paper deals with the detection process of energy loss in electric railway hauling vehicles. The importance of efficient energy use in railways and cost-effective rail transport tendency toward regenerative braking energy are considered. In addition, the current situation and improvement opportunities to achieve efficient energy use are examined...

The current task today is the development of theoretical and methodological approaches, as well as practical recommendations for determining the technical feasibility of creating high-speed railway (HSR) lines in the European context. The development of railways in individual countries, followed by the creation of a pan-European high-speed railway...

The burgeoning importance of digitalization and cyber-physical manufacturing systems in the industrial sector is undeniable, yet discussions around viable solutions for small and medium-sized enterprises remain scant. These enterprises often face constraints in replacing extant machinery or implementing extensive IT upgrades, despite the availabili...

The methodologies used to assess the inner shear resistance of granular layers from minerals measured in the laboratory with and without geosynthetic reinforcing layers are described in this paper. For the measurements, a multi-level shear box is applied without considering vertical loads on the top layer. In the literature and engineering practice...

In Hungary, quarries that produce stone products for wearing courses of asphalt pavements also produce a significant amount of 0/4, 0/8 and 4/8 mm fractions. Because of Hungary's pavement design and asphalt production practices, these fractions do not have a suitable market and can thus be sold on alternative markets. Purpose. To demonstrate the fe...

The current study aims to define a welding technology that allows for the repair of normal and heat-treated rails in paved tracks with partial dismantling and partial preheating in such a way that the resulting layer is not susceptible to cracking and can be done with minimal dismantling, even during night shifts or while traffic is present. High-e...

This paper examines the sustainability of railways. A comprehensive international literature review was conducted on railway vehicles, traction, and railway permanent way. The main goal was to find the factors and parameters that most affect railway sustainability. CO2 emissions from transportation, mining, raw material production, manufacturing, u...

Today's manufacturing systems offer more products to meet specific needs. Complex production systems in rapidly changing environments result from product variation, shorter product life cycles, and supply chain expansion. A cyber-physical production system (CPPS) can use manufacturing and logistics data to plan, monitor, and control production. Dis...

Methods of increasing the bearing capacity of corrugated metal structures of transport constructions using transversal stiffening ribs in the form of additional corrugation and stiffeners are given. Based on the theory of elasticity, a mathematical model for estimating the stress-strain state of transport constructions made of corrugated metal stru...

Bus driver distraction and cognitive load lead to higher accident risk. Driver distraction sources and complex physical and psychological effects must be recognized and analyzed in real-world driving conditions to reduce risk and enhance overall road safety. The implementation of a camera-based system utilizing computer vision for face recognition...

In the 21st century, one of the key issues is to develop and maintain our infrastructure facilities most efficiently with the available resources. Tramways are of significant national economic importance and represent a significant national asset. There are currently seven different types of superstructure systems in Hungary, based on the national...

Continuous monitoring with advanced equipment and innovative scientific techniques is essential for timely and perfect maintenance. The interaction and dynamic force between wheel and rail is one of the most widely monitored issues. In this paper's case study of ballasted railway tracks in Iran, a set consisting of two separate strain gauge arrays...

On behalf of MÁV Hungarian State Railways Ltd., the authors carried out a research and devel-opment (R&D) project on behalf of the Budapest University of Technology and Economics, De-partment of Highway and Railway Engineering on the subject of "Research and investigation of the causes of gauge narrowing by finite-element modeling in running track...

The article solves the problem of theoretically determining the deformable characteristics of railway ballast, considering its condition through mathematical modeling. Different tasks require mathe-matical models with different levels of detail of certain elements. After a certain limit, excessive detailing only worsens the quality of the model. Th...

Lithium-ion battery technology in the modern automotive industry utilizes highly temperature-sensitive batteries. Here, air cooling strategies will be the most applicable for the chosen example based on strategies for temperature control. Simulations have been utilized to evaluate the different thermal management strategies. A battery model was dev...

Purpose. Prove that the GCCM (geosynthetic cementitious composite mat) – type Concrete Canvas (CC) – is an adequate supplementary layer on the top of the subgrade. Its drainage function is known, and this article tries to prove the reinforcement possibility. This layer is relatively thin; nevertheless, it can behave like the geogrids. It is the mai...

Manufacturing processes can be cited as a significant research area when examining infrastructure systems and infrastructure, as they are inextricably linked to both. Consider automobile manufacturing, the production of traffic signs, etc. Connecting and utilizing Industry 4.0 technologies and process simulation solutions to address industry challe...

In this paper, the authors examined the change in track gauges in curves for several railway lines with low and high traffic in Hungary (i.e., secondary lines and main lines). They covered the processing of raw data as well as statistical calculations. The considered curved sections were transition curves (TCs) and circular curves (CCs), as well as...

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, also known as UAVs, play an increasingly important part in daily life. However, the ever-increasing number of UAVs pose an ever-increasing threat to the transportation infrastructure. Despite their precision and general efficiency, infrastructural-scale Unmanned Aerial Systems (UASs) have a disadvantage regarding their cap...

This paper investigates the usability of touch screens used in mass production road vehicles. Our goal is to make a detailed comparison of conventional physical buttons and capacitive touch screens taking human factor into account. The pilot test focuses on a specific Non-driving Related Task (NDRT), the control of the on-board climate system by us...

The main objective of this research is to identify optimal printing strategies and PLA (polylactic acid) filament materials to produce rapid prototype deep drawing tools. Additive 3D printing technolo-gies have been applied for a long time to produce tools, but the research is unique in that it uses conventional and various reinforced PLA materials...

The most important thing nowadays is to use the available resources to develop the infrastructure as efficiently as possible. Regarding that, examining the deterioration of tramway tracks is critical from a technical and an economic viewpoint. In Hungary, seven types of superstructure systems are currently differentiated in the case of tramway tran...

Temporal temperature evolution of ballastless railway track is a random process caused by complex environmental actions. The vertical temperature gradient (VTG), varying continuously with time, has significant effects on the repeated deformation of ballastless track. However, few researchers have considered the statistical analysis of VTGs in alpin...

The research investigates lubricants and thin teflon foils that can be applied in the formability testing of thin aluminum sheets used in the electronics and automotive industries. For the tests, thirteen different industrial lubricants (oils, greases) (i.e., L1–L13) and two films (teflon films) (i.e., with 0.08 and 0.22 mm thicknesses) were applie...

An extension of bi-directional evolutionary structural optimization, by considering three-dimensional geometrically nonlinear reliability-based elasto-plastic topology optimization, is presented in this study. Due to the important role of the existence of uncertainties to make structural design more practical, this study considers the reliability-b...

Due to the impact of climatic and natural factors, the normal-speed railway subgrade is vulnerable to mud pumping, water accumulation, subsidence and other defects, hereafter called diseases, that frequently occur, after a period of service. It is imperative to quickly detect subgrade diseases. On the basis of studying the law of geological radar e...

Automatic transmission is a key factor for autonomous driving. The transmission condition is highly affected by the quality and quantity of transmission oil in the system. However, the oil condition is not monitored in the system, and the oil change interval and method are still a subject of discussion. This paper analyzes the effects of oil change...

The article deals with DIC (Digital Image Correlation) tests on steel plates used in the automotive and railway industries, as well as in the construction industry. The most critical part of DIC tests is the quality of proper surface preparation, painting, and random patterns. The paint mediates the deformation of the optical systems, and its quali...

This paper deals with the time-frequency characteristic analysis for track geometry irregularities using field data recorded by a comprehensive track inspection train. The parameters of the track gauge and the left and right rail alignment are considered to identify their characteristic wave-lengths and the locations of their waveforms. In addition...

During the research, the preparatory operations of DIC (Digital Image Correlation) tests were in-vestigated, with special emphasis on specimen cleaning and painting operations. As it is well known, DIC tests are non-contact and applied in materials research, the analysis of complex structures, and, nowadays, the construction industry. DIC technolog...

Current paper deals with the investigation of CC (Concrete Canvas), a unique building material from the GCCM (geosynthetic cementitious composite mat) product group. The material suits trench lining, trench paving, or even military construction activities, while the authors' purpose is to investigate the application of the material for road and rai...

Purpose. Investigate and establish the relationship between track geometry measurements and weather conditions to determine the parameters that influence the lifetime of railway tracks’ superstructure system. The study of ballasted beds of railway tracks is very important for operation and maintenance in case of main lines, industrial sidings and m...

It is essential to assess the rolling contact fatigue (RCF) of turnouts and maintain them in advance. It saves a lot of money while protecting the safety of railway operations. In Germany, the damage on rails, especially crossing noses, mainly depends on the subjective judgment of experts. There are no objective and comprehensive evaluation criteri...

In this study, an investigation regarding optimal elastic-plastic analysis method of different reinforced concrete (RC) structures is held by applying the residual plastic deformations limitations on the steel bars inside the reinforced concrete. Where different structures, including simple beam and slab, are selected as benchmarks and modelled num...

In this paper we show the usefulness of EMD for detecting the trend and major frequencies for a nonlinear and non-stationary signal in case of a data set of irregularities in track geometry. The observations in everyday practice are neither linear nor stationary. In case the nonlinear model is a priori known then it is used for the further study ot...

There are several international transport corridors in Hungary. Záhony railway station is one of the largest hubs in Europe, providing a railway connection between Ukraine and the European Union. Two different railway tracks meet and come together here, such as the standard (1 435 mm) and broad (1 520 mm) gauges. The availability of a developed inf...

The maintenance of the ballast substructure is an important cost-driver for railway systems. The problem is that today's condition monitoring methods are insufficient to collect detailed data on the compaction and stress allocation inside the ballast bed. That makes it challenging to improve the maintenance technology and organization. This study a...

Vehicle safety risk can be decreased by diagnosing the lithium-ion battery system of electric road vehicles. Real-time cell diagnostics can avoid unexpected occurrences. However, lithium-ion bat-teries in electric vehicles can significantly differ in design, capacity, and chemical composition. In addition, the battery monitoring systems of the vari...

The share of rail transport in world transport continues to rise. As the number of trains increases, so does the load on the railway. The rails are in direct contact with the loaded wheels. Therefore, it is more easily damaged. In recent years, domestic and foreign scholars have conducted in-depth re-search on railway damage detection. As the weake...

Railway damage detection is of great significance in ensuring railway safety. The cracks on the rail surface play a key role in studying the formation and development process of rail damage, predicting the occurrence of rail defects, and then improving the service life of the rail. However, due to the small shape of the cracks, the typical detectio...

The paper deals with the possibility of using recuperated (regenerative) energy from electric railway hauling vehicles. The study considers the importance of efficient energy use in railways and plays a role in the interests of cost-effective rail transport convergence. It examines the current situation and improvement opportunities to achieve effi...

The phenomenon of capillary rise can cause water rise up 2-3m above the high water table within the soil. Due to this effect the shear strength of fine-graded soil is decreased, or it can damage decorative floorings, paved areas, concrete and different manmade structures. Furthermore, in arid regions the ground water is often saline with a high con...

Background This article deals with a unique topic related to railway infrastructure, civil and geotechnical engineering, and modern materials. In the past 20–30 years, more and more synthetic materials have been applied in engineering and everyday life. Geogrid and geotextile products are adequate for substituting lacking abilities of the soils, an...

Waste rubber tires and glass powders, are hazardous materials for the environment. One of the methods to consume them, is their application in railway engineering projects. Rubber and glass materials, in this research, are provided from waste tires and glass bottles. Therefore, a modification is conducted to the concrete railway sleeper mix design,...

A budapesti villamoshálózaton napjainkban hétféle különböző típusú és szerkezetű felépítmény-rendszer szerint kategorizáljuk a pályákat, melyek életciklusa, életciklus költsége, geometriai avulása nem, vagy nem pontosan ismert, illetve ezek kiválasztása és alkalmazása tapasztalati úton történik. A közúti vasúti felépítmény-szerkezetek vizsgálata je...

Paper ID: TRIG-D-22-00034 . . . . . . . . . During track construction or ballast bed maintenance, ballast layer compaction quality plays an essential role in the following track irregularities accumulation, its lifecycle, and maintenance costs. The ballast compaction process is characterized by its compaction and the accumulation of the stressed s...

Wheel ground borne vibrations, may have a significant impact on human activity and on nearby buildings. In metropolitan cities, metro lines and their development may cause such vibrations. Despite many works and solutions for path and receiver, the excitation source could also have a great effect. Wheel and rail damages are the two sources of vibra...

The article deals with examining tramway tracks' superstructures of tramway line No. 1 in Budapest (capital of Hungary). Since the first appearance of tramways, several technological upgrades have been used to serve the traveling public's needs as efficiently as possible. Several types of superstructure systems can be differentiated in the case of...

This paper summarizes the results of laboratory tests in which the authors investigated the effects of extremely high vertical load to a railway track segment. The segment consisted of a cut concrete sleeper (contact area: 290×390 mm) with a pair of direct-elastic rail fasteners; the sleeper pieces had a standard, full height; the structure had a t...

This research aims to investigate the adaptability of a measurement system or a process in determining the parameters of batteries. Methods are suggested for different applications, and properties gained by these measurements are specified. Deformations of lithium polymer batteries measured by various methodologies are also analyzed in detail. Chan...