Assessment of the technical condition of mines with mechanical fuses

Contemporary armed conflicts reveal that the use of effective mine barriers has a significant impact on the course of hostilities. Therefore, the Polish Armed Forces selected reliable and effective explosive ordnance as a priority, both newly-acquired material and those currently in operation. For this reason, among others, strict supervision over the technical condition of mines is exercised, in particular during their long-term storage. The reasons behind the increased mine unreliability may include physical and chemical changes in the construction materials used (corrosion, deformations, loss of strength properties), deterioration of the physicochemical properties of the main charge, booster and primer-detonator, inadequate technical condition of the safety components, or the failure of mine fuse mechanisms. In order to assess the mine's operational reliability, each mine fuse subassembly is examined and then a check of the entire assembled mine is performed. This requires proper planning of the full test cycle and the use of inspected and calibrated measuring devices and test stands enabling the precise adjustment of mechanical and climatic stress parameters.

HMM-based phoneme speech recognition system for the control and command of industrial robots

In recent years, the integration of human-robot interaction with speech recognition has gained a lot of pace in the manufacturing industries. Conventional methods to control the robots include semi-autonomous, fully-autonomous, and wired methods. Operating through a teaching pendant or a joystick is easy to implement but is not effective when the robot is deployed to perform complex repetitive tasks. Speech and touch are natural ways of communicating for humans and speech recognition, being the best option, is a heavily researched technology. In this study, we aim at developing a stable and robust speech recognition system to allow humans to communicate with machines (roboticarm) in a seamless manner. This paper investigates the potential of the linear predictive coding technique to develop a stable and robust HMM-based phoneme speech recognition system for applications in robotics. Our system is divided into three segments: a microphone array, a voice module, and a robotic arm with three degrees of freedom (DOF). To validate our approach, we performed experiments with simple and complex sentences for various robotic activities such as manipulating a cube and pick and place tasks. Moreover, we also analyzed the test results to rectify problems including accuracy and recognition score.

Analysis of the possibility of employing 3D printing technology in crisis situations

Events related to climate change and the increase in the occurrence of natural disasters, as well as the increasing incidence of new diseases, have all caused the prominence of regional security and crisis management around the world to rise. Three-dimensional printing, which has seen noteworthy developed in recent years, both in terms of print parameters, and the magnitude of the production potential, may prove helpful in this matter. Enormous opportunities have arisen which, if properly directed, can save human life and preserve health in crisis situations, when traditional supply chains could be disrupted or even prevented. The use of additive technologies, however, has its limitations and in order to be able to take full advantage of the opportunities they offer, a legitimate functional system should be created and embedded within proper structures to support crisis management. This paper presents the advantages and disadvantages of using 3D printers and the possibility of their implementation as part of the current crisis-response systems. The article proposes a model for incorporating additive technologies into the crisis-management system.

A short history of the form of octagonal and elliptical city squares

The article starts with the short discussion of two geometrical figures, i.e., octagon and ellipse, their genesis in architecture and urban design, and the examples of buildings whose plans were based upon them. Then, the selected octagonal and elliptical city squares are discussed: their genesis, context, layout, architecture surrounding the square, objects appearing in the square and, most specially, urban form and composition. The theory of architectural-landscape interiors has been applied to pinpoint the type of city squares by the assessing of the degree of openings in the square’s perimeter. The review consists of 22 case studies (9 octagonal and 13 elliptical) from the 15th to the 20th century. The last discussed case in each group, both atypical created in Krakow in the 20th century, are discussed even more thoroughly. The conclusions were presented first separately for octagonal and elliptical city squares and finally also for both groups in a comparative way.

Improved rack and pinion drive

A typical rack and pinion drive set is comprised of a rack and a pinion. There is an inter-tooth clearance between the mating teeth of the rack and the pinion, which has advantages and disadvantages. The disadvantage of this clearance is the errors that occur in the positioning of the machine tool during set-up. Elimination of clearance between teeth is possible by using a pinion drive with two pinions. This ensures continuous contact between the teeth, regardless of the direction of machine movement. These are found on new machines, while older machines do not have such a solution. This paper presents a solution with two pinions, which can be used in such older machines and which makes it possible to achieve qualitative parameters that were not possible before.

The influence of water price and the number of residents on the economic efficiency of water recovery from grey water

This article presents the results of an analysis of the economic viability of using an installation for the treatment of grey water. Economic indicators in the form of simple payback time (SPBT) and net present value (NPV) were used in the analysis. The use of a dual water supply system should theoretically enable the reduction of the costs of both water supply and sewage disposal, ensuring investment profitability. The article presents the impact of the number of residents as well as the impact of water and sewage on the profitability of using example water-recovery systems. It was found that both factors have a huge impact on the result of the economic analysis. For a small number of residents and at a low price of water supply and sewage disposal, it is not profitable to invest in a water-recovery system. This is due to the high price of purification devices.

Beyond Beauty or Urban Design of Responsibility

In recent years, urban spaces all over the world have been effectively staged, sometimes all too obviously, and urban design has often concentrated on the implementation of "beautiful" lighthouse projects and globally oriented lifestyle urbanism. However, beauty – also in the broader sense of a beautiful experience – cannot be an end in itself in urban planning. An urban design of responsibility has to be committed to all residents and address the pressing challenges of our time, for example: the almost unlimited consumption of land, water and energy; floods and heatwaves due to climate change; lack of decent living conditions for large parts of the population. Against this background, five strategic guidelines for the integrated and responsible planning of our cities have been developed. These include "comprehensive" and integrated neighbourhoods, a mobility turnaround, interconnected blue and green infrastructure, a circular resource economy and space sharing, and the exploitation of the opportunities of digitalisation for a social and ecological city.

Impact of thermal renovation on selected characteristics of partition walls and the consumption of heat energy

Renovation of multi-family residentials, including mainly thermal renovation, which includes adding thermal insulation, contributes to the improvement of living conditions. Above all, it reduces the operating costs of renovated buildings by reducing the consumption of heat energy for central heating. This article discusses the impact of light wet thermal renovation on the temperature distribution in the vertical cross-section of the partition wall and the calculation value of the temperature on the inner surface of the partition wall, as well as on the reduction of thermal energy consumption in buildings. The subject of the research was residentials erected in the large-panel, large-block, and traditional technology between 1984 and 1994, managed by Łomża Housing Cooperative (ŁSM).

Planning of areas in the vicinity of large industrial plants

Planning space around large industrial plants affects urban development and significantly impacts the integration of industrial areas with a city’s structure. Large industrial plants act as functional and spatial barriers within the urban fabric. Their immediate areas undergo transformation and are currently becoming sites of various uses. New manufacturing technologies limit the nuisance caused by industry and the siting of plants aids in using the areas around them. The objective of this paper is t present an analysis of the transformation of the existing function-spatial structure, transport layout and compositional relations in the vicinity of selected large industrial plants in Kraków and Skawina. The study covered areas around the north-eastern territory of the Metallurgy Plant in Kraków and selected industrial plants in Skawina. This study was based on original analyses of the existing functio-spatial structure, compositional relationships and transport accessibility. The form of development of areas adjacent to large industrial plants was found to be a product of local determinants. Compositional relationships and functional linkages affected the quality of the space and its visual reception, which in many cases is a natural urban development reserve. Due to the specificity of industrial areas, concentrations of vehicular traffic and dominance within space, it may prove interesting to develop a dedicated form of development for areas near large industrial plants. This form would have to shield against possible nuisances while also offering the potential for a new, attractive and diverse functio-spatial structure. The transformation of and the problems present in these areas are distinctive of many cities in Poland and around the world and require new, cohesive planning principles.

Numerical analysis of laser-welded flange pipe joints in lap and fillet configurations

This article presents a numerical analysis of laser-welded flange pipe joints. The presented results concern the welding of low carbon S235JR and stainless 316L steels using a CO2 laser in lap and fillet joint configurations. The estimation of welding parameters was achieved using Simufact Welding software and numerical simulation, where output power, feed rate, efficiency and intensity distribution (Gaussian parameter) were analysed. In accordance with the established model, a thermo-mechanical simulation was performed. The calculated joint geometries show good agreement with experiments; therefore, the obtained results were used to study selected joint properties of both joint types. Stress-strain distribution was estimated on the basis of thermomechanical analysis. Weld bead geometry obtained from numerical simulation was compared with the results from trial joints. The numerical model established for both joint configurations shows good agreement with experimental results and were assumed to be accurate. The results of the performed analysis shown some advantages of the use of this configuration of lap joints in flange pipe joints.