Railways

Code:

EC0090

Acronym:

CFER

Keywords
Classification	Keyword
OFICIAL	Transport Infrastructures

Instance: 2011/2012 - 1S

Active?	Yes
Responsible unit:	Transport Infrastructures Division
Course/CS Responsible:	Master in Civil Engineering

Cycles of Study/Courses

Acronym	No. of Students	Study Plan	Curricular Years	Credits UCN	Credits ECTS	Contact hours	Total Time
MIEC	24	Syllabus since 2006/2007	5	-	5	60	133

Teaching language

Suitable for English-speaking students

Objectives

The study of railways as a mean of transportation; main characteristics of railways infrastructures and materials

Objectives:
- Provide a comprehensive understanding of the railway environment;
- To test acquired knowledge in unusual environments;
- Demonstrate the importance of factors not only normative in the development of railway project;
- Fit normative specifications for the design, construction and maintenance of the railway;
- Set criteria for assessing the quality and operation of equipment and alternative constructive processes;
- Adopt a critical thinking with the developed work;
- Analyze and explore methods for the analysis of the railway mechanics;
- Develop notions of common sense.

At the end of the semester, students should:
a) be capable of understanding and developing applications
b) be capable of applying their knowledge to solve problems and new situations in various contexts.
c) be capable of incorporating knowledge, dealing with complex situations with lack of information. They should also take into account their ethic and social responsibilities.
d) a long-life learning in a self-oriented and autonomous way

Program

Railways: characteristics
Evolution of railways
Static and dynamic analysis of railway tracks
Construction and route of a railway track
Stress of materials on a track; hunting movement; guiding strength
Analysis of mechanical behaviour of the elements that compose the infrastructure
Railway track capacity
High-speed and tilting train technology

DEMONSTRATION OF THE SYLLABUS COHERENCE WITH THE CURRICULAR UNIT'S OBJECTIVES:

Being the railway energetically more efficient and less polluting than road transportation, the demand has increasing in recent decades and has justified the significant increase of investment in modernization and consequent technological development, revealing essentially the bet on high-speed (TGV) or the technology of magnetic levitation (Maglev). Thus, it is understood that the Railways should be considered in its essence as a nuclear and transversal curricular unit in the education of a Civil Engineer with specialization in Roads. For this reason the syllabus is comprehensive, focusing on general education type with a wide range of intervention. Therefore it allows the training of technicians able to develop and to coordinate a railway project.

Mandatory literature

Profillidis, V.A.; Railway engineering. ISBN: 0-291-39828-6
Esveld, Coenraad; Modern railway track. ISBN: 90-800324-1-7
European Committee for Standardization; Railway applications/Track
António Fidalgo Couto; Apontamentos de Caminhos de Ferro (Teórica), 2009

Complementary Bibliography

European Committee for Standardization; Railway applications
Bonnett, Clifford F.; Practical railway engineering. ISBN: 1-86094-515-5
Andrews, H. I.; Railway traction. ISBN: 0-444-42489-X
American Railway Engineering Association 400; Manual for railway engineering
Oliveros Rives, Fernando; Tratado de ferrocarriles. ISBN: 84-7207-015-8

Teaching methods and learning activities

Lectures for exposition of the subjects using slides available at the webpage of the curricular unit . There is a possibility of occasional (one or two interventions per semester) take the form of a lecture to be held by experts with recognized merit in the area.
Theoretical and practical classes to assist the development of individual and group work. Introduction of additional questions to the topics covered in lectures being the students asked to find a solution or a point of view in a short time.

DEMONSTRATION OF THE COHERENCE BETWEEN THE TEACHING METHODOLOGIES AND THE LEARNING OUTCOMES:

Establish procedures for the prioritization of various conceptual and constructive solutions in order to identify the most efficient according to various point of views. To apply the knowledge on solving problems in new situations and unfamiliar in broad and multidisciplinary contexts. Ability to integrate knowledge, handle complex issues, develop solutions and make judgments in situations of limited or incomplete information, including reflections on the implications and ethical and social responsibilities that result or condition these solutions and these judgments. Criticizing the methodologies and concepts used and anticipate the lines of evolution that they may follow. Dealing with real elements of design and seek to develop more efficient solutions. Identify the various sources of technical and scientific references accessible via Web (eg through the portal of the FEUP Library) and its applicability in the national context. Meet and contact information provided by actual companies and reflect on its meaning in the context of a sustainable future, both nationally and internationally.

Evaluation Type

Distributed evaluation with final exam

Assessment Components

Description	Type	Time (hours)	Weight (%)	End date
Attendance (estimated)	Participação presencial	56,00
	Total:	-	0,00

Eligibility for exams

According to General Evaluation Rules of FEUP

Calculation formula of final grade

FM = 0,1 . PA + 0,9 . E
FM= Final Mark
E= mark of the exam
PA= mark of the practical assignment

Special assessment (TE, DA, ...)

In accordance with FEUP assessment regulations.

SPECIAL RULES FOR MOBILITY STUDENTS:
Proficiency in Portuguese or in English.
In the written exams, exercises ou practical works, mobility students may use one of the following languages: Portuguese, English, Spanish and French.

Observations

Estimated working time outside of classes: 4 hours