Today, green transport is a growing trend in terms of transport costs, CO2 emissions and satisfaction with logistics services. Green logistics is an environmentally friendly and sustainable logistics system that encompasses activities affecting logistics functions and processes, promoting the environment and the development of a circular economy. Rail transport is considered to be one of the least polluting modes of transport, but the fact that only electrified rail represents the concept of green logistics has been underemphasised, as the fleet consisting of diesel trains is a major challenge. This article aims to investigate the implementation of green logistics in railway transport in the case of Lithuania. The scientific literature, SWOT analysis, expert evaluation and parameter correlation methods were used to achieve this goal. An analysis of the internal and external factors of Lithuanian Railways in terms of green logistics has identified the main strengths of rail transport. These are environmental friendliness, electric trains reducing CO2 emissions, a strong focus on circular economy and others. The main weaknesses include the more extensive use of diesel trains, competition, etc. The external factors of the company show that the main opportunities are the reduction in net CO2 emissions to zero, the acquisition of more electric locomotives and others, while the main threats include an increase in energy costs or the complexity of implementing new technologies. An analysis of these factors has led to the construction of a SWOT matrix, which shows that the company’s strategy in the field of green logistics is quite strong, with more strengths than weaknesses. The results made it possible to identify the links between the individual implementation principles of green logistics in railway transport and provide strategic guidelines for the successful integration of green logistic principles into railway transport in Lithuania.
The strength and stiffness of the frame is one of the key indicators of vehicle structures. Insufficient stiffness causes vibration and noise, and is also less comfortable for both the passengers and the driver. Symmetry is required between the strength and comfort of the structural frame, which depends on vibration and noise. This article analyses the frame of the structure of a medium-sized passenger bus and its dynamic properties, when replacing materials of structural elements which do not affect the symmetry of the structure. The conducted theoretical and experimental modal analysis of the bus, allows for evaluating dynamic parameters and validating the theoretical model based on the experimental results. The optimization of the medium-sized passenger bus frame—by replacing the material of the ancillary frame elements with fiberglass—reveals that its dynamic characteristics change by up to 20%, comparing the values of the first three resonant frequencies with those of the steel structure. The obtained results show that replacing the material of ancillary frame elements with fiberglass, while maintaining the symmetrical arrangement of the elements in the structure, does not change the safety characteristics of the structure, reducing the mass of the frame by 11%, and shifting the coordinate of the centre of gravity vertically downwards, which is very important for stability, comfort and fuel consumption.
The paper presents the methodology for expert investigation of traffic accidents involving running over pedestrians. This methodology is aimed at determining the availability of any technical possibility for a motor vehicle driver, driving at a particular speed, to avoid hitting the pedestrian in a particular situation. Furthermore, the paper presents the analysis of different investigation methods and the description of investigation procedures. Various patterns of the path of the motor vehicle and the pedestrian travel before the accident are described, providing a deeper insight into the peculiarities of investigation of each particular pattern. The description is supported by the case study, illustrating the investigation of a specific traffic accident, involving actual hitting of a pedestrian. The methodology presented may be successfully used for investigating traffic accidents by experts.
The motivation for this study was the need to extend and supplement the previously conducted research on technical objects in the renewable energy sector with analyses of the environmental impact of the production, operation and post-operational development stages of the wind power plant. The main purpose of the work was to investigate, analyze and assess the ecological effects of a real facility, which is a 2 MW Vestas V90/105 m wind farm, throughout its life cycle. The life cycle assessment analysis of the 2 MW wind power plant was performed using Impact 2002+ modeling. The results are presented for all impact levels and categories. The production stage was characterized by the highest total level of harmful effect. The use of recycling reduces the negative impacts of the life cycle by 6.5%. The investigated technical facility has the greatest negative impact during the production stage, especially in the area of depletion of fossil resources and human health.
The increasing number of electric vehicles is forcing new solutions in the field of charging infrastructure. One such solution is photovoltaic carports, which have a double task. Firstly, they enable the generation of electricity to charge vehicles, and secondly, they protect the vehicle against the excessive heating of its interior. This article presents the functioning of a small carport for charging an electric vehicle. Attention is drawn to the problems of selecting the peak power of the photovoltaic system for charging an electric vehicle. An economic and energy analysis is carried out for the effective use of photovoltaic carports. In this article, we present the use of the Metalog family of distributions to predict the production of electricity by a photovoltaic carport with the accuracy of probability distribution.