Volume 28 (2022): Edizione 4 (December 2022)

Rainwater management is one of the important problems of cities. At very strong downpours, storm sewer systems may not capture the rainwater, which floods pavements and roadways. The water flushes fuel and oil traces after vehicles, fallen debris, and other pollutants, which will be moved to the ground, ponds, rivers, seas, etc. In past, the problems were solved using engineering approaches – a set of rainwater receivers, a duct network, and at best, wastewater treatment plants. Now, the sponge city concept is a better solution that uses a biotechnological way for throttling water flows, drainage, and purifying them. The work aims to improve the design of roads to fully absorb rainwater from them with maximum convenience for road users. We propose a design of roads using special “green structures” – rain-garden bands along the sides of roadways. We tested its ability of water capturing on the example of Kyiv city by matching the ability with the strongest precipitation observed. In addition, the proposed plants can extinguish the energy of bouncing cars during road accidents for the protection of pavements.

Appropriate logistics planning is a key factor influencing the quality and efficiency of processes in manufacturing companies. Logistics planning can be defined as the process of making significant decisions (concerning both logistics processes and resources) for the functioning of an organization. It is a process consisting of stages in which important decisions are made regarding the optimization of all activities of the company, including in the field of: production, supply, sales, distribution, transport. The main goal of logistics activities is to minimize the operating costs incurred, as well as to better manage human resources. The main aim of the article is to present the legitimacy of using selected simulation software as an actual tool in making logistic decisions in the field of order picking system (OPS) based on a case study. For research purposes, a model was prepared in FlexSim and there were applied S-shape and Return routing methods. Based on simulation results, an analysis of the selected process was carried out. The obtained results indicate possible directions of changes and allow to make the right decision in the field of planning logistics processes.

The aim of the article is to present the results of the productivity research of a manufacturing company with particular emphasis on logistics processes. The article presents another example of verification of the developed proprietary productivity method, with particular emphasis on logistic processes. An author's method is used to select indicators, measure productivity and development of processes improvement. The productivity research was carried out in a company in the automotive industry dealing in the production of semi-trailers. A productivity research procedure was developed for the company, it was measured and recommended for improvement of the selected process. The selection of the process to be improved was made on the basis of the forecasted values of the tested productivity indicators, also using econometric modelling. The results of the productivity indicators after the implementation of the improvement were also presented, which confirmed the validity of the applied method and the right choice of process improvement in the company.

Graphitic cast irons are the most important and most widely used materials for the production of castings. Increasing requirements for the quality of these castings lead to increased demands on the control of foundry production from raw materials through technological operations to the finished product. An integral part of this control process is structural analysis, because the properties of graphitic cast irons depend mainly on their structure (on the shape, size and number of graphitic particles and on the character of a metal matrix in which graphite occurs).

The paper deals with the structural analysis of graphitic cast irons using the classical black and white contrast, as well as the use of colour metallography, which enables to obtain additional information about the structure of cast iron. The article contains photographs of microstructures of graphitic cast irons, obtained using black and white etching, as well as colour etching. It deals with the advantages of colour etching compared to the use of classical black and white methods.

The aim of this study is to analyze the relationship between the sector of the conducted business and the approach to the ownership and rental of real estate used for business purposes, particularly considering the short-term aspect and space sharing. The research uses data obtained from 102 randomly selected Polish enterprises to explore the relationship between the sector and (1) the preferred legal title to real estate (2) acceptance of short-term rental of real estate and (3) acceptance of space sharing. The relationships in all three areas were found. The sectors of production, hotels and restaurants, construction, and transport lean towards ownership. Enterprises operating in the sector of services and trade prefer rental. The sectors of production, hotels and restaurants and transport are skeptical about short-term rental. Services and trade and construction are open to such rental. The sectors of production and hotels and restaurants are skeptical about space sharing. Transport, trade, and construction are clearly open to such an opportunity. The research limitations are as follows: the research is limited to Polish randomly selected enterprises only, and the results cannot be generalized. The originality/value of this paper is revealed in the fact that this paper outlines a short-term rental and ownership perception from an entrepreneurial-managerial view. The novelty of the presented results consists in filling the gap by conducting the research considering the specification of rental and its narrowing down to a short period and space sharing in the context of the sector.

This article describes in detail the elements of value creation through the transformations and flexibility, which is carried out in the implementation of sustainable manufacturing. The purpose of this study is to generate the criteria or elements that build the sustainable value creation process through a literature review analysis. The overall classification of sustainable manufacturing implementation discussed shows several essential factors that support this. The process of review studies on selected papers strengthens the classification carried out to obtain the necessary elements of sustainable value creation. The value created can later be a hallmark of the company's superiority to survive the market competition. Besides, the role of partnerships, such as collaboration indicates a positive influence in generating value creation to increasing the company's competitive rate. In addition, the importance of partnership processes such as collaboration and cooperation between stakeholders, is needed to generate value creation to increase the company's competitive level. The partnership process is one of the critical factors in creating sustainable value in achieving sustainable manufacturing in the future.

The leakage of hazardous compounds in chemical industries has always been one of the factors threatening workers, plants, and the environment. Among them, butyl acrylate is one of the most harmful materials that are widely used in chemical plants. In the present study, a butyl acrylate tank located in a real tank farm in Kocaeli-Turkey was analyzed for the examination of emissions and trinitrotoluene (TNT) equivalent explosion model of the vapor cloud. Areal Locations of Hazardous Atmospheres (ALOHA) program was used to define threat zones of butyl acrylate leakage based on different scenarios, such as a leakage from the tank without fire, burning as a jet fire, and also burning as a fireball during Boiling Liquid Expanding Vapor Explosion (BLEVE). In addition, since the most important parameters that enhance the effects of explosion and the spread of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are wind speed, filling ratio of the tanks, and temperature, the interaction of these parameters on the threat zones and the highest threat zones of explosions were investigated using the Box-Behnken experimental design and one-way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA), respectively. As butyl acrylate, one of the most dangerous chemicals for industrial facilities, and its explosion effects have not been studied so far, it can be safely mentioned that this paper representing the first study in the literature is highly original and novel.

The article addresses the very important issue of enriching the products with additives improving the fire resistance properties. For this purpose, hydroxide additives (aluminium and magnesium) were used, which decompose at increased temperature to form water. When designing the experiments, one of the Experimental Design Methods (DOE) was used: 2k factorial design for two independent variables. The enriched coatings were tested in accordance with the requirements of PN-EN 45545-2, incl. Intensity of heat release, lateral propagation of flame on products in vertical configuration, or testing of generated fumes and gases. Mechanical properties such as cohesion and impact toughness were also tested. The effectiveness of this type of additives was assessed, as well as their synergistic effect (due to the different decomposition temperature).

Multi-physical contact behaviour is important in multiple disciplines related to the automotive industry. Nowadays battery-electric vehicles' (BEV) thermal management systems deal with contact between bodies where mechanical, electric, and thermal interaction occurs. The battery thermal management itself is crucial for cell life, safety, and everyday vehicle performance. Thus, comprehensive and accurate simulation of the multi-physical contact is a vital part of vehicle development. The multi-physical contact is represented by two or more bodies under applied mechanical load and a current or heat conducted throughout the realized contact area. The amount of conducted current/heat or generated Joule heat is the function of the contact area as well as contact pressure, thus the structural simulation should be essential for such thermal management system simulations Most of the current full vehicle battery pack CFD cooling simulations simplified the multi-physical contact as ideal. Detailed contact modelling is time-consuming, hence not applicable for the full vehicle modelling. In this work, a feasible approach based on contact resistance curves was implemented. Furthermore, the work demonstrates the necessity of correct structural contact prediction for a joule heating and thermal solution.

Management of wells in the process of their construction is one of the important factors in ensuring the safety of the technological process. Blowout equipment, which includes annular preventers, is used to control the wells. This applies to the construction of oil and gas wells, or wells that provide degassing of coal seams to reduce their gas-dynamic activity. For the purpose of safe and long-term operation of annular preventers on the basis of the theory of thick-walled combined reinforced shells and the carried-out analytical research, the mathematical model for research of a stress-strain condition of a seal of an annular preventer has been offered. Taking into consideration the real design, the seal of the annular preventer is modeled by a rubber shell, reinforced in the circular direction by rubber frames, and in the longitudinal direction by metal stringers. The mathematical model provides for determining the stiffness, internal force factors and stresses in the longitudinal and transverse sections of the combined rubber-metal seal, considering the peculiarities of its operation. At the same time, the model includes the conditions of interaction of the rubber base of the seal with a pipe, as well as the action of sealing pressure under operating conditions. The use of the proposed mathematical model reduces the costs of experimental research and will contribute to ensuring the reliability of simulation modeling results. The advantage of the method is the determination of calculated loads at different points of the combined seal under the existing state of dangerous zones and the influence of operating conditions. In the meantime, prerequisites have been created for expanding the possibilities of simulation modeling and designing structural elements of annular preventers with increased operational characteristics. The practical value of the obtained results is determined by the possibility of using them to ensure the performance of the rubber-metal seal both at the stage of its design and during the operation.

The transport industry, and especially aviation and maritime transport, emits significant amounts of CO₂, adversely affecting the environment. The Sustainable Development Goals not only indicate the need to reduce CO₂ emissions, but also to provide access to information on the amount of emissions, on top of their environmental and financial impacts. The main source of this type of information is found in financial and non-financial statements prepared by entities of the transport sector. CO₂ reporting disclosures should be subject to the principle of true and fair view ensuring adequate materiality, transparency and comparability of information. The aim of the article is to assess the scope and method of reporting information on CO₂ emissions in the financial and non-financial statements of selected groups of the air and maritime transport sector. By means of content analysis, disclosures on this subject were reviewed and compared against the applicable legal regulations in the field of CO₂ emissions reporting for the industry. The results of the research indicate a significant differentiation in the methods of reporting, in particular relating to the valuation and presentation of CO₂ emission allowances in reports on the financial position in air transport and the manner and scope of reporting non-financial information in maritime transport. The obtained results indicate insufficient comparability of the reported information and a need for harmonisation of the provisions of law regarding the scope and forms of reporting. The findings also indicate a need to combine financial and non-financial information in single reports in order to properly interpret the effects of emissions.

Underground mining production is an extremely important process for the economy and carried out in very difficult and complex environmental conditions. The disturbance of the balance of this environment makes it also a very dangerous process. Due to the importance of coal, mainly as an energy raw material, the process of its exploitation is carried out all over the world. The specificity of its production is mainly determined by mining and geological conditions, which determine the method of operation and the selection of machines and devices for this process. One of the most dangerous natural hazards associated with this process are ventilation hazards, including methane hazard. The reason for this threat is methane, an odorless and colorless gas, which becomes a flammable and explosive gas under certain criteria. These features make this gas a huge threat to mining operations. Its huge amounts, contained in coal seams, are released into the mine atmosphere during the exploitation process, causing a very high threat to work safety. Events related to the occurrence of methane are most often the cause of mining disasters, in which people die and the technical and mining infrastructure is destroyed. The reason for the growing methane hazard is the increasingly difficult mining conditions, and mainly the increasing depth of mining, and thus also the increase in methane-bearing capacity of the seams. Taking into account the huge impact of methane hazard on the mining process, the article discusses its impact on the safety and efficiency of this process. The results of the literature review with regard to this risk are presented and the accident statistics are presented. On the basis of actual data, an analysis of interruptions in the exploitation process related to exceeding the permissible methane concentrations was carried out in one of the mines. The problem of limiting the production process due to these exceedances is an important factor reducing the efficiency of this process. The obtained results clearly indicate that the losses resulting from these breaks deteriorate the profitability of the entire process and affect the economic efficiency of the industry. In order to effectively counteract the dangerous phenomena related to the methane hazard and to improve the efficiency of the mining production process, solutions were proposed to improve this state and the directions for further research were proposed.

The purpose of this study was to analyse the relationship between the aspects of ergonomics and economics in the construction industry. Ergonomic cost calculation mainly as a result of down time due to accidents and incidents was evaluated. The impact of ergonomics intervention on construction economic in the logistics network was also determined. This impact was simulated using an annual total of accidents for the year 2021. Organizations, particularly businesses, must implement ergonomics diagnosis measures in order to reduce occupational hazards and accidents in their supply chain. Ergonomics measures are implemented to reduce and eliminate workplace accidents, but most manufacturing companies and employers overlook this aspect because it is seen as an expense. The case study was performed in Hexagon Steel Construction company. This is due to the fact that such a business operative is responsible for a wide range of activities in the logistical network, from manufacturing to warehousing and distribution, and finally to final structure installation on the construction site.

Digitization and climate neutrality are among the development priorities of EU member states. This causes wide scientific and practical interest in the description of these processes, including their mutual influence. In this case, digitalization is a factor, and climate neutrality, largely characterized by green-house gas emissions, is the answer. Therefore, the purpose of the study is to assess the impact of digitalization on greenhouse gas emissions using the example of EU member states. The scientific novelty of the obtained results is the proposition of hypotheses, the proof of which will allow us to estimate the level of influence of the digitalization process on the volume of greenhouse gases per capita of the EU member states using economic and mathematical tools. It is justified that the direct impact of digitalization on the level of greenhouse gas emissions cannot be considered significant and statistically significant. The impact of digitalization on the processes of reducing greenhouse gas emissions with a delay of 1 to 4 years has not been identified. Considering the low degree of correlation-regression dependence between greenhouse gas emissions and the level of digitization, it can be assumed that either (1) other factors have a significant impact (list), or (2) the observation horizon is “captured” only by the part of the Kuznets curve, which corresponds to the descending part parabolas. Consequently, the conducted analysis shows that there are serious reasons to believe that digitalization is not the main (leading) factor in reducing greenhouse gas emissions. This necessitates further research with the inclusion of a wide range of variables (related to regulatory policy, tax policy, investment policy, the culture of consumption) in the model.