Technical Research Institute Research Articles

Innovation and Development in Information Technology in India: Specific to Software Industry

Information technology (IT) plays an important role in development of business, boosting economic growth and employment by energising higher education sector. Software sector is a major component of IT industry. Development of indigenous software products is necessary for nation’s economy through development in software industry. Under ‘Digital India’ and ‘Make In India’ programmes major institutions are involved in policies and initiative programmes, R&D and innovation for growth of software industry. The paper attempts to highlight the crucial contribution of key stakeholders such as universities, technical research institute and private-public software firms, STPI and industrial association for development of software products and services. The Indian Government has taken many initiatives for promotion and adoption of Free & Open Source Software for increasing foreign exchanges, developing indigenous products and achieving vendor’s independence. The paper raise question about unavailability of indigenous software products as compared to Microsoft and other foreign vendor’s products in Indian market. Various institutions are still working on creation of indigenous software and in upcoming time novel products and technologies will be provided by India to domestic and global IT market.

RF Front-End Technologies--30 Years of Applied Research and Development [Book\/Software Reviews

The author, Mike Harris was a principal research engineer, division chief, and associate director in the Electro-Optical Systems Laboratory at Georgia Technical Research Institute. He has 40 years experience in semiconductor materials and device technology. He developed semiconductor processes for gallium nitride (GaN) high-electron-mobility transistors (HEMTs) and gallium arsenide (GaAs) pseudomorphic HEMTs (pHEMTs). The second author, Rick Sturdivant, has industry experience designing products for microwave and millimeter-wave systems. He developed the world’s first array module for phased-array radar. He is currently president of Microwave Packaging Technology, Inc. This book focuses on RF application-specific integrated circuit chip set design for active electronically scanned arrays (AESAs) for radar and communication applications in both transmit and receive modules. It condenses 30 years of applied research and development of RF front-end technologies. T/R modules technology topics covered in the text include an introduction to phased arrays in radar and communication systems, T/R modules, and module components; monolithic microwave integrated circuits (MMICs); T/R module packaging; RF interconnect materials; thermal management for T/R modules, and MMICs; T/R module manufacturing and testing; module costs; and next-generation T/R modules.

<b>Recent Research and Development on Railway Geotechnical Structural Technology</b>

The Railway Technical Research Institute has been researching a variety of technologies related to railway structures. These include technologies for maintenance (inspection, diagnosis, prediction, repair, renewal), earthquake countermeasures, construction and environmental impact assessment. This review gives some overview of recent research and development trends in maintenance and construction technologies for "geotechnical structures" (earth retaining walls, soil structures and tunnels) conducted at the Railway Technical Research Institute.

The Resistance Measurement Method of the Conducting Textiles

The report describes the technique to measure the resistance of some novel conducting threads. All of the measurements were performed in the EMC lab at SP Technical Research Institute of Sweden, Boras. The conducting threads were received from Ms. Azadeh Soroudi of the University of Boras. The conducting additive used for the threads was Carbon Black. The resistance was measured using two different methods: The two-terminal measurement method and the four-terminal measurement method. A result from the comparison of the two methods was that the two terminal measurement method provided more information than the fourterminal method. There seemed to be no advantage to use the four terminal method at all, for the resistance range studied.

Application of ultrasound Doppler technique for in‐line rheological characterization and flow visualization of concentrated suspensions

AbstractUltrasonic velocity profiling (UVP) is a technique that can measure an instantaneous one‐dimensional velocity profile in a fluid containing particles across the ultrasonic beam axis or measurement line. A method for in‐line rheometry combining the UVP technique with pressure difference (PD) measurements (UVP + PD), was developed and improved at SP − Technical Research Institute of Sweden and the Cape Peninsula University of Technology, South Africa. The UVP + PD methodology allows measurements that are not possible with common rheometers such as radial velocity profiles and yield stress directly in‐line and under true dynamic process conditions. Furthermore, it has advantages over commercially available process rheometers and offline instruments in being non‐invasive, applicable to opaque and concentrated suspensions, and having small sensor dimensions. It has been evaluated for several potential industrial applications including paper pulp, foods, transient flows, and model mineral suspensions. Similarly, the UVP technique can be applied to an open‐channel flow by combining flow depth measurements to obtain rheological properties in‐line. Industrial fluids, such as thickened pastes, commonly found in tailings transportation exhibit wide particle size distributions, large particle sizes, and very high viscosities. These industrial fluids cause strong attenuation of the ultrasound energy, which can significantly distort velocity profiles measured with the UVP technique or even make it impossible to conduct flow measurements. Initial results obtained in concentrated cement pastes and grouts (bentonite and kaolin clay) showed that UVP is a feasible and promising technique for flow characterization in viscous fluids.

高速走行する新幹線における低周波の空力音源

Past studies and researches indicate that major aerodynamic sources of Shinkansen noise in the range of 100 to 20k Hz are mainly pantographs, bogies and gaps between cars. However, for the low-frequency aerodynamic sound less than 100Hz the mechanism has been still unknown. This is because it is difficult to identify sound sources and simulate the phenomenon in any experiment. This paper presents how the aerodynamic sound is measured with a train model launching facility at Railway Technical Research Institute. Through the scale model experiment using 1/70 train model, it is shown that the cavities in which a bogie is put generate the aerodynamic sound in the range of 10 to 60 Hz and peaks around 30 Hz. Then, these results are compared with the measurement in the field test and it is found that the aerodynamic noise source is located around the bogie cavities.

<b>Recent Trends in Research and Development on Environmental Engineering</b>

Wayside environmental problems in railways largely involve noise, ground vibration and tunnel micro-pressure wave. This review describes the results of recent studies into these issues conducted by Railway Technical Research Institute.

Research for Ensuring Safety in the Event of a Train Collision

The Railway Technical Research Institute has conducted various types of research and development aimed at ensuring safety in the event of a train collision. These studies encompass two types of collision, namely, primary collisions and secondary collisions. Primary collisions refer to the impact between an obstacle and a carbody. Secondary collisions occur between interior fixtures and passengers (and drivers). For Primary collisions, an analytical method was developed to evaluate deformation behavior and amount energy absorbed by the carbody, following several fatal accidents. In the case of secondary collisions, a quantitative analysis was made of injuries to the driver, which was used to draft a set of guiding principles for carbody-structure design, geared to improve crashworthiness. Finally, this paper presents a method devised to accurately evaluate passenger injury using a FE model.

<b>Flywheel Energy Storage System Using Superconducting Magnetic Bearings for Demonstration Tests</b>

Financially supported by the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization in Japan, the Railway Technical Research Institute has co-developed a flywheel energy storage system in association with KUBOTEK, FURUKAWA ELECTRIC, MIRAPRO and YAMANASHI prefecture. The flywheel system was chosen as an energy storage medium because in terms of life span, cost, capacity and output power, flywheel energy storage systems offer more advantages than other energy storage systems. It stores energy in the form of kinetic energy. Therefore, there is no electrochemical damage. This paper first describes the effect of the flywheel energy storage system, and then presents details of the equipment used in a demonstration test.

Green Building Envelopes – Moisture Safety in Ventilated Light-weight Building Envelopes

In Sweden, there is an increased interest from developers and property owners to build and manage buildings with green space on the roof, and even walls. With the increasing interest the need to build knowledge increases regarding the green building envelopes impact on, among other things, moisture and temperature conditions in the construction, and energy use for the building. Within the framework of a national project, C/O City: Urban Ecosystem Services, measurements and simulations have been carried out and built on the knowledge for, among other things, ventilated green walls and roofs. The study includes green/living wall-modules built-up on top of an existing south-facing wooden frame wall at SP Technical Research Institute of Sweden in Borås, Sweden. Next to the green wall an unmodified reference wall with wooden panel is also studied. The walls were instrumented and on-site field measurements with continuous monitoring of hygrothermal conditions have been collected for more than one year for both wall sections. The results from the conducted field study are compared to calculated transient hygrothermal simulations and the thermal properties for both walls are evaluated.

Heat exchanger design aspects related to noise in heat pump applications

An increased use of heat pumps is one of the measures that can be taken to reduce energy consumption on a large scale. For a wider acceptance, and major heat pump market expansion, it is crucial to develop heat pumps that cause minimal disturbance.Results from field measurements made by SP Technical Research Institute of Sweden indicate that the use of indirect heat pumps has potential to significantly reduce the outdoor noise level of ambient air heat pumps. The noise level caused by such heat pumps has been shown to be highly influenced by the design of the air-to-fluid heat exchanger.The overall purpose of this study is to propose a design of an air-to-fluid heat exchanger that allows for a well performing system as well as a low level of noise and cost. Two different types of heat exchangers, with flat tubes and round tubes, are compared theoretically.According to the modelling results, a heat exchanger with flat tubes and plain fins is the most suitable out of the studied designs due to its low heat transfer resistance on the tube side. The round tube heat exchangers showed to be significantly less suitable, displacing more than twice the volume.

Comparison of Blackbody Sources for Low-Temperature IR Calibration

Radiation thermometers are traditionally mostly used in high-temperature applications. They are, however, becoming more common in different applications at room temperature or below, in applications such as monitoring frozen food and evaluating heat leakage in buildings. To measure temperature accurately with a pyrometer, calibration is essential. A problem with traditional, commercially available, blackbody sources is that ice is often formed on the surface when measuring temperatures below $$0\,{}^{\circ }\hbox {C}$$ . This is due to the humidity of the surrounding air and, as ice does not have the same emissivity as the blackbody source, it biases the measurements. An alternative to a traditional blackbody source has been tested by SP Technical Research Institute of Sweden. The objective is to find a cost-efficient method of calibrating pyrometers by comparison at the level of accuracy required for the intended use. A disc-shaped blackbody with a surface pyramid pattern is placed in a climatic chamber with an opening for field of view of the pyrometer. The temperature of the climatic chamber is measured with two platinum resistance thermometers in the air in the vicinity of the disc. As a rule, frost will form only if the deposition surface is colder than the surrounding air, and, as this is not the case when the air of the climatic chamber is cooled, there should be no frost or ice formed on the blackbody surface. To test the disc-shaped blackbody source, a blackbody cavity immersed in a conventional stirred liquid bath was used as a reference blackbody source. Two different pyrometers were calibrated by comparison using the two different blackbody sources, and the results were compared. The results of the measurements show that the disc works as intended and is suitable as a blackbody radiation source.

<b>Recent Research and Development in Structural Technology</b>

Railway Technical Research Institute has been researching practical technology related to design and construction of railway structures. The principal subjects of the research activity consist of seismic retrofitting, maintenance for previously constructed structures, reduction of construction cost and environmental technologies in railway stations. This review describes the recent trend in structural research, and introduces several examples of the research results and subjects of the research and development in the Railway Technical Research Institute.

Test of REBCO HTS Magnet of Magnetic Bearing for Flywheel Storage System in Solar Power System

A flywheel energy storage system (FESS) is a power storage device that stores electrical power by rotating energy. The FESS we develop has a large capacity to charge electrical power from a solar power system and other renewable generators and discharge the power to power networks. A superconducting magnetic bearing developed by Furukawa Electric and Railway Technical Research Institute levitates the rotating shaft for high speed and low friction with the disk weight of about 7-10 tons and rotating speed of about 6000-9000 rev/min. Characteristically, a combination of a REBCO HTS bulk and a REBCO HTS magnet is adopted as the HTS bearing. Furukawa chose a YOROI coil structure developed by Chubu Power Company for the HTS magnet of the magnetic bearing. Double pancake coils were fabricated, and an excitation test was conducted while the coil was conductivity cooled by a GM refrigerator at lower than 50 K. We successfully confirmed that the magnetic field was achieved to a design value of 1 T. After the excitation test, the levitation test was carried out using one YBCO bulk and two double pancake coils to produce the satisfactory levitation force.

FFU synthetic sleeper – Projects in Europe

In the 1970s JR Japanese Railways after many years of maintenance observation realized that around 70% of installed sleepers from wood have a very short life time, this because the existing weather influences where leading to molding and rotting of wood. JR decided to develop alternative material so that life time of sleepers can be increased and track behavior advantages of wooden sleepers can be retained.The letters “FFU” stand for “fiber-reinforced foamed urethane”, the material used in Japan to develop a synthetic sleeper. Back in 1978, a company called Sekisui was awarded several prizes in Japan for this technological development, which initially went under the name of “Eslon Neo Lumber FFU”.FFU synthetic sleeper is from a material that has the same material properties as natural timber and can be handled and processed as easily as it can. The synthetic material has virtually the same specific mass as the natural one, yet a very considerably longer service life than the latter, and its weathering proper ties are also superior. In 1980, the Railway Technical Research Institute (RTRI), working in cooperation with the Japanese railways, laid sleepers made of this material on two experimental sections of track in Japan. Following on from a period of five years of practical experimentation, in which all the specified requirements were fulfilled, FFU has since then been used by the Japanese railways as a standard product on steel structures, under points and crossings and in tunnels in combination with both ballasted and ballast less track. In 1996, the RTRI removed the first synthetic sleepers from the experimental track sections and subjected them to a new series of tests. Extrapolating the results recorded at that time, FFU would be expected to have an in-situ service life of more than fifty years.Since 2004, railway sleepers made of FFU have been in use in Europe on railway bridges with open load-bearing structures made of steel as well as under points and crossings. In September 2008, Munich’s University of Technology wrote the final report on a research project into such sleepers, drawing positive conclusions. 2011 DB AG – German Railways installed first time FFU on a 60m long bridge in Vilsbiburg. 2012 DB AG used FFU for two 60.000t/day switches in Wurzburg [2].In 2011, 30years after the first field test, RTRI again did laboratory test with sleepers removed from first field test. This 30years old and under regular train operation used sleepers showed that the technical figures have been decreased a little. The conclusion of this test was that RTRI wrote a letter to JR – Japanese Railway operator – that they can still use these FFU sleepers for the next 20years.

<b>Recent Topics on Human Science Research</b>

The Human Science Division of the Railway Technical Research Institute comprises 4 laboratories: Safety Psychology, Ergonomics, Safety Analysis and Biotechnology, and has been conducting human scientific research to improve the safety/comfort of railways linked to issues such as psychological aptitude tests, human error prevention, driver support, abnormality/accident handling, ride comfort, risk assessment, and user environments. This paper outlines recent topics related to human science research of safety administration support, education and training, improvement of the on-board environment and other environmental investigations.

<b>Recent Topics on Human Science Research</b>

The Human Science Division of the Railway Technical Research Institute comprises 4 laboratories: Safety Psychology, Ergonomics, Safety Analysis and Biotechnology, and has been conducting human scientific research to improve the safety/comfort of railways linked to issues such as psychological aptitude tests, human error prevention, driver support, abnormality/accident handling, ride comfort, risk assessment, and user environments. This paper outlines recent topics related to human science research of safety administration support, education and training, improvement of the on-board environment and other environmental investigations.

<b>The Role of the Center for Railway Earthquake Engineering Research and Recent Research into Earthquake-related Technology</b>

The Railway Technical Research Institute opened the Center for Railway Earthquake Engineering Research on April 1, 2014 amid increasing concern about the risk of seismic disasters caused in particular by massive earthquakes. Violent earthquake disasters are becoming more common and more complex. In order to achieve safer railway systems able to cope with these conditions, the center was established as a unique base for railway-seismic technology in Japan. The center also integrates RTRI's research resources on quake-motion, seismic design and countermeasure, and early warning. This report introduces the role of CREER and recent research into earthquake-related technology.

<b>Recent Research and Development in Structural Technology</b>

Railway Technical Research Institute has been researching practical technology related to design and construction of railway structures. The principal subjects of the research activity consist of seismic retrofitting, maintenance for previously constructed structures, reduction of construction cost and environmental technologies in railway stations. This review describes the recent trend in structural research, and introduces several examples of the research results and subjects of the research and development in the Railway Technical Research Institute.

EMC Europe 2014 in Gothenburg, Sweden - “A Memorable Symposium”

“Memorable Symposium” is of course not our words, but we take them to our hearts and would like to share them with the readers of the IEEE EMC Magazine. And yes, we will for sure also remember the symposium and perhaps in particular all the work behind it, although the memory of the latter already has started to fade. EMC Europe 2014 was arranged by the EMC department at the SP Technical Research Institute of Sweden in cooperation with the local event company Just Event. The symposium was held at the Swedish Exhibition & Congress Centre which is a very modern and practical venue in the center of Gothenburg on the Swedish west coast. During, and especially after the symposium, we received very positive feedback from the attendees; among one of the most surprising comments was that they were “even” very satisfied with the food provided by the venue restaurant, which in fact was of high quality. The word “even” indicates that delicious food is probably not what Sweden is most famous for! It was beyond our control, but we were also lucky with the weather with an unusually warm and sunny first week of September; the symposium was held over September 1 – 4.