The aim of the paper is to assess the possibility of decreasing the chosen environmental indicators like energy consumption, greenhouse gas (GHG) production and other exhaust pollutants in the selected region in Slovakia by introducing Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) buses into bus transport. The assessment is carried out by comparing the consumption and emissions of current buses (EURO 2) in real operation, with potential buses (EURO 6) and with pilot LNG buses testing on the same lines. Comparison took place under the same conditions over the same period. The study measures the energy consumption and GHG production per bus. The research paper also compares two methodologies of calculation. The first calculation is according to the European Standard EN 16258: 2012 which specifies the general methodology for evaluation and declaration of energy consumption and GHG emissions (all services - cargo, passengers or both). The second calculation is according to the Handbook of Emission Factors for Road Transport (HBEFA). The results of the calculation are compared by both methods, and the most suitable version of the bus in terms of GHG emissions is proposed.

The COVID-19 pandemic significantly affected the performance of the transport sector and its overall intensity. Reducing mobility has a major impact on road traffic accidents. The aim of this study is to forecast the number of road traffic accidents in Poland and Slovakia and to assess how the COVID-19 pandemic affected its trend. For this purpose, data for Poland and Slovakia in the selected relevant period were analyzed. Based on actual data from the past, a forecast was made for the future considering two scenarios – one where there is no effect of pandemic, and another with effect of pandemic. Forecasting the number of accidents in Poland was carried out using selected time series models related to linear trend (Holt and Winters method) and the exponential model. In the case of Slovakia, the model without trend and the exponential model were used to forecast the number of traffic accidents. The results of the research show that the pandemic caused a decrease in the number of traffic accidents in Poland by 31% and in Slovakia by 33%. This is a significant decline, but it is linearly dependent on restrictive measures that affect the mobility of the population. A similar trend can therefore be expected on a European scale.

The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly affected the development of road transport, not only in Poland, but also worldwide. Limited mobility, especially at the beginning of the pandemic, had a large impact on the number of road accidents. The ...

This study investigates alterations in magnetic anisotropy and the marked asymmetry in Barkhausen noise (MBN) signals after the uniaxial plastic straining of steel S235 obtained from a shipyard and used as standard structural steel in shipbuilding. It was found that the initial easy axis of magnetisation in the direction of previous rolling, and also in the direction of loading, becomes the hard axis of magnetisation as soon as the plastic strain attains the critical threshold. This behaviour is due to the preferential matrix orientation and the corresponding realignment of the magneto-crystalline anisotropy. Apart from the angular dependence of MBN, the asymmetry in the consecutive MBN bursts at the lower plastic strains is also analysed and explained as a result of magnetic coupling between the grains plastically strained and those unaffected by the tensile test. It was found that, by increasing the degree of plastic strain, the marked asymmetry in MBN tends to vanish. Moreover, the asymmetry in MBN bursts occurs in the direction of uniaxial tension and disappears in the perpendicular direction. Besides the MBN technique, XRD and EBSD techniques were also employed in order to provide a deeper insight into the investigated aspects.

This study investigates the microstructure, residual stress state, and the corresponding magnetic anisotropy of the ship structure samples made of S235 steel after uniaxial tensile deformation. A non-destructive magnetic technique based on Barkhausen noise is employed for fast and reliable monitoring of samples exposed to the variable degrees of plastic straining. It was found that the progressively developed plastic straining of the matrix results in an alteration of the easy axis of magnetization, stress anisotropy (expressed in residual stresses state) as well as the corresponding Barkhausen noise emission. Moreover, remarkable non-homogeneity can be found within the plastically strained region, especially when the localized plastic straining takes place.