The present paper discusses static and dynamic characteristics of various under sleeper pads (USP) that are to be used in the ballasted track systems as resilient vibroacoustic isolators. Four different USP samples were put to fatigue tests and static and dynamic bedding moduli were determined. The purpose of the tests, which were carried out up to 500 thousand load cycles, was to determine which USP have favourable and which unfavourable properties, taking into account their potential application as the elements used for energy dissipation and reduction of noise and vibration. The obtained results allowed the authors to indicate samples with a potential for further analysis and to reject those, which did not satisfy the adopted criteria.

The main purpose of this study is to analyze the thermomechanical behavior of the dry contact between the brake disc and pads during the braking phase. The simulation strategy is based on softawe ANSYS11. The modeling of transient temperature in the disc brake is actually used to identify the factor of geometric design of the disc to install the ventilation system in vehicles. The thermal-structural analysis is then used with coupling to determine the deformation established and the Von Mises stress in the disc, the contact pressure distribution in pads. The results are satisfactory compared to those of the specialized literature.

In the last decade, Poland has become one of the most active markets for unconventional hydrocarbon deposits exploration. At present, there are twenty concessions for the exploration and/or discovery of reserves, including shale gas. The area covered by exploration concessions constitutes ca. 7.5% of the country’s area. Four main stages can be distinguished In the shale gas development and exploitation project: the selection and preparation of the place of development of the wells, hydraulic drilling and fracturing, exploitation (production) and marketing, exploitation suppression and land reclamation. In the paper, the concept of cost analysis of an investment project related to the exploration and development of a shale gas field/area was presented. The first two stages related to the preparatory work, carried out on the selected site, as well as drilling and hydraulic fracturing were analyzed. For economic reasons, the only rational way to make shale gas reserves available is to use horizontal drilling, either singly or in groups. The number of drilling pads covering the concession area is a fundamental determinant of the development cost of the deposit. In the paper, the results of the cost analysis of various types of reaming method with an area of 25,000,000 m2 were presented. Cost estimates were prepared for two variants: group drilling for three types of drilling pads: with three, five and seven wells and for single wells. The results show that, as the number of horizontal wells increases, the total cost of the development of the deposit is reduced. For tree-wells pad, these costs are 7% lower than in the second variant, for five-well pads they are 11% lower, and for seven-well pads they are 11.5% smaller than in the second variant. Authors, using applied methodology, indicate the direction of further research that will enable the optimization of shale gas drilling operations.

The paper presents results of the laboratory tests made for the prototype resilient under sleeper pads in the Warsaw University of Technology laboratory unit. These pads are dedicated to reduce vibrations transmitted to the vicinity of the railroad and to improve the resistance of the railroad structure. The laboratory testing program was carried out for elastomeric materials (polyurethane and rubber based) due to the PN-EN 16730 standard. The obtained values of the key parameters were used in order to determine the insertion loss vibration level by applying analytical method. The paper presents the influence of selected parameters i.e. static and dynamic moduli on the reduction of vibration and structure-borne sound level.