Das Projekt "Sound Attenuation by Optimised Tread Brake" wird vom Umweltbundesamt gefördert und von Waggon Fabrik Talbot durchgeführt. General information: Objectives and content. Exterior noise caused by rail traffic is a major source of noise pollution in Europe. A large number of people living in the vicinity of railway routes are affected by rolling noise from trains, in particular from goods trains running through densely populated areas at night. Rolling noise of goods and passenger trains is generated by wheel and rail roughness (form irregularity). This roughness leads to wheel and rail vibration and noise radiation. The cast-iron block braking system usually applied on goods trains and still widely found on passenger stock causes a significant increase in wheel roughness in the wavelength range 1-25 cm, which is of most importance for noise generation. This gives rise to high rolling noise levels, compared to a wheel with no brake blocks acting on the wheel tread. Where disc brakes are used, the wheel roughness is found to be much lower and the rolling noise is significantly reduced. In many situations conventional tread brakes are preferred, for both technical and commercial reasons. Alternative materials to the conventional cast-iron brake block material have been tried and it appears possible to develop materials which do not roughen the wheel surface in the wavelength region of importance for noise generation. A number of practical problems have to be overcome, such as thermal build-up in the wheel, excessive wheel wear, wheel cracks, undesirable hollow wear of the wheel profile, lack of efficiency in wet conditions etc. The objective of this project is to develop suitable brake block materials, which prevent the build-up of periodic roughness on the wheel running surface. This should be readily applicable to existing freight rolling stock and locomotives without significant extra costs. The aim is to achieve reductions in rolling noise of 5-12 dB compared to traditional cast-iron block brake stock. This acoustical improvement would affect millions of people living around railway tracks. An important aspect of the development is the retrofit potential of the novel brake block. This means that in a relatively short time all freight wagons can be acoustically improved. The consortium consists of 13 organisations, which are complementary in the development of the novel brake blocks: end-users like railway companies, manufactures of goods wagons, bogies and locomotives, suppliers of brake blocks, scientific institutions which appropriate knowledge of tribilogy and acoustics. Together they constitute an ideal consortium to tackle the present problem. The time frame is about 3 years and the total budget is around 5.3 MECU. Prime Contractor: AEA Technology Rail BV; Utrecht; Nederland.
Das Projekt "B 3.2: Irrigation and fertigation strategies for water saving and optimum nutrient supply in subtropical fruit orchards utilising stress responses" wird vom Umweltbundesamt gefördert und von Universität Hohenheim, Institut für Kulturpflanzenwissenschaften (340), Fachgebiet Düngung und Bodenstoffhaushalt (340i) durchgeführt. Irrigation and fertigation are main management tools in fruit tree production. Due to the scarcity of water and its susceptibility to contamination with agrochemicals, the objective of subproject B3.2 is to reduce water and fertilizer application without reducing farmers benefits. Results from SFB-phase II indicate, that moderate levels of water and nutrient stress can be used to improve orchard productivity (eustress). (A) Irrigation: Deficit irrigation techniques, namely Partial Rootzone Drying (PRD) and Regulated Deficit Irrigation (RDI) have a big potential for water saving without reducing fruit yield and quality. (B) Fertigation: Zn and B stress effect flower induction, which has to be considered for improved orchard management. (C) Participatory field application: An adapted irrigation control unit was developed and indigenous knowledge on deficit irrigation was identified. In SFB-phase III, drought and nutrient stress phenomena and their interactions will be further investigated to develop innovative Irrigation and Fertigation Strategies (IFS) by a close interaction of on-station and participatory on-farm experiments. One of the objectives is the increase of Water Use Efficiency (WUE) and improvement of fruit quality by applying controlled water and nutrient stress but preventing stress related long-term damage (Topic A). On-station fruit trees will be exposed to spatial and temporal varying water and nutrient supply regimes. Stress response such as sap-flow, xylem pH, stomatal conductance and leaf water potential will be monitored. Optimum combination of stress response signals will be identified using sensor fusion methodology. Threshold values for eustress will be determined and validated in on-farm applications. A coequal objective is the development of a controlled water and fertilizer saving fertigation management system, guaranteeing high yields with less alternating fruit set and an improved fruit quality (Topic B). Fruit trees will be cultured in nutrient solutions with different Zn and B supply and at different temperatures to determine the critical Zn and B nutritional status for flower induction and the underlying phytohormonal regulation. It will be determined during which phenological phases drought stress and nutrient deficiency can be beneficial for flower induction, yield formation and fruit quality. In a participatory approach, IFS-strategies will be applied in on-farm trials at various locations to develop adapted IFS-recommendations jointly with the involved farmers. Telecommunication will be used to disseminate results to practical farming (Topic C).