Academics4Rail
01.06.2023 — 30.11.2026
HORIZON-ER-JU-2022-ExplR-04
www.academics4rail.eu
Academics4Rail is a stable and durable scientific community that, in an organised way, can share and exchange scientific knowledge with ERJU and ERRAC. This knowledge is shared at different levels (strategic to concrete technical areas) and for different purposes. Regarding the strategic level, the scientific community intends to share knowledge with ERRAC and ERJU to optimise the program for railway research, providing insights of fund use, existing themes for research and scientific necessities for the future of European railways. It also supports the program assessment methodology using KPIs and impact estimation towards the objectives in the ERJU masterplan. Finally, the scientific community shares its knowledge about the necessities of future PhD funding with a relevant European and scientific weight. In a more concrete technological domain, the scientific community engages in specific themes, creating 6 PhD positions that will enlarge the knowledge in 6 specific areas and enable the cooperation of academia with industry. The areas are: PhD1 Aerodynamics of freight trains. PhD2 Electromagnetic compatibility. PhD3 Additive Manufacturing in wheel reprofiling. PhD4 Digital communications for virtual coupling. PhD5 Prognostics and health management approach for railway asset maintenance. PhD6 Driving assistance.
Detail information: https://www.vut.cz/en/rad/projects/detail/34788
SMART rail glued insulated joint
01.01.2024 — 30.06.2026
Technology Agency of the Czech Republic – 10th public call for proposals – Programme to support applied research and experimental development TREND, subprogramme 1
The project’s focus is on the development of SMART insulated rail joints with integrated active sensors. These joints, based on piezoelectric composite elements, provide a signal based on the load under trains. The project’s goal is to create new SMART insulated rail joints for all types of lines. The innovative solution also includes a wireless communication module, enabling local use and the evaluation of technical conditions based on requested data. Leveraging the Internet of Things, data will be continuously recorded, allowing for the ongoing evaluation of the behaviour of insulated rail joints. This technology will open up new possibilities for railway diagnostics and enable predictive maintenance of railways with track circuits, leading to improved safety and efficiency.
Detail information: https://www.vut.cz/en/rad/projects/detail/35594
Railway infrastructure for high-speed lines
01.03.2024 — 28.02.2025
Brno University of Technology – Internal projects of the BUT
In superstructure design, the research activity will focus on obtaining specific data on the lateral resistance of sleeper sleepers to be used on high-speed lines. In transport design, the research activity will be focused on determining the speed profile of passenger and freight trains in the railway station header. The third topic is the study of the dynamic behaviour of railway lines.
Detail information: https://www.vut.cz/en/rad/projects/detail/36177
Seminars and excursions in the field of rail transport in Austria and the Czech Republic
01.03.2024 — 31.12.2024
Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports of the Czech Republic – AKTION Czech Republic – Austria
Within the project, scientific seminars in rail transport will be held for the concerned students (max. 8 students from each country) and the participating academics to gain an overview of railway construction and operation in another country. Topics to be discussed include, but are not limited to: testing of rolling stock and railway infrastructure elements, interoperability in rail transport, design of railway structures about PRMs, railway operations, and local and urban rail transport. In addition, excursions will be carried out in both countries on railway technology and railway operations.
Detail information: https://www.vut.cz/en/rad/projects/detail/35882
Railway diagnostics using intelligent algorithms
01.03.2023 — 28.02.2024
The project will deal with the analysis of the railway track and the sleeper bed using the method of evolutionary algorithms or other methods of artificial intelligence. As part of the project, data will be collected directly in the field in the course of several measurement campaigns and will then be analyzed using the previously mentioned methods. For the analysis, it will be necessary to create suitable models of the railway running track and sleeper bed. For this purpose, the previous experience of the solver in this area will be used.
Detail information: https://www.vut.cz/en/rad/projects/detail/35079
Application for point to point navigation of the visually impaired people
01.03.2022 — 31.05.2024
The aim of the project is to create a new navigation system not only for the blind and visually impaired in railway stations, to complement and improve the current system and last but not least to verify the developed system in a selected station. The aim will be to develop simple and affordable navigation points, create a mobile phone application and a database from which the application will draw information. The project can also contribute in a small way to the further digitisation of the railway sector by making it possible to change information dynamically (online) in the new system, and the change will be immediately reflected in the app.The aim of the project is not to change the current system immediately, but to test the new technology and prepare for a new generation of users.
Detail information: https://www.vut.cz/en/rad/projects/detail/33503