The safety of railways has been and remains a critical topic. Whether it is infrastructure or rolling stock, the issue of safety is a permanent concern of the utmost importance, being reflected in the efficiency of any transport system. This paper focuses on the safety in operation of pressure vessels that equip railway tanks. There are many articles and works on this subject, and it is well-known that there are both national and international regulations regarding their design, execution, operation and maintenance. Also, there are quite a few reports on the BLEVE (Boiling Liquid Expanding Vapour Explosion) phenomenon resulting in material damage and significant casualties. The BLEVE-type explosion is not considered a chemical explosion derived from a gas-air explosive environment (also present in non-flammable gases), but rather a mechanical explosion through over-pressurization. Thus, we propose a comparative study between the results obtained using theoretical methods and those obtained as a result of tensoresistive measurements on such a tanker.

Hydraulic cylinders represent the main actuating/positioning element for standalone lifting equipment or equipment for various transport platforms. This type of actuator represents a structural component responsible for the operational safety of the equipment it serves. One of the most common and dangerous reasons concerning the end of life for this equipment is the buckling or loss of stability of the elastic equilibrium shape. This article aims to compare the classical approach of the problem in accordance with the strength of materials theory in relation to the numeric algorithms used in the applications for the analysis of structure behavior and the algorithms that are based on the finite element method. The subject of study is a hydraulic cylinder that is installed in a self-lifting platform and because of the manifestation of the phenomenon under analysis, it has led to a technical accident. For this purpose, an estimation of the value for the buckling critical load of the cylinder assembly was carried out.

In the paper, a new method was presented using queueing theory models in order to ensure an optimal production department size, optimized production costs and optimal provision. Queueing/waiting mathematical models represent the development matrix for an experimental algorithm and implicitly numerical approach, both successfully applied (and confirmed in practice) in a production section design for a real industrial engineering unit with discussed method technological flow and equipment schemes compatibility. The total costs for a queueing system with S servers depend on the number of servers. The problem of minimizing cost in terms of S was the main aim of the paper. In order to solve it, we estimated all the variables of the system that influence the cost using the Monte Carlo method. For a Jackson queueing network, the involved linear system has good properties such that it can be solved by iterative methods such as Jacobi and Gauss–Seidel.

This article includes several studies and advanced research carried out on the subject of large KANGUR-type port cranes, subjected to regular or interventional maintenance work; besides the beneficial effects for which they were intended, some undesirable effects were detected in terms of affecting safety in exploitation. The purpose of this paper is to identify the risk factors and to offer sustainable solutions for increasing operational safety and service life for the respective equipment, as well as for other similar fields of activity, including oversized structures. Following the theoretical studies and the experimental research carried out in situ that confirmed the validity of the theoretical models used, the article in conclusion provides specific and sustainable solutions as well as new methods of assessment, which combine the positive elements of the usual solutions, but in parallel, allow the elimination of the negative side effects that may occur in time. Hence, the article’s novelties also consist of a new approach to achieve structural interventions, resulting in the increase in the service life, and in parallel with that, the safety in operation of the respective equipment.

Water is a resource indispensable for human life and activity, significantly affected by climate change (by decreasing the water quantities available for drinking) and anthropogenic activities (by pollution) [...]