Operational Programme Smart Growth

Two projects submitted by the Faculty of Civil Engineering and Transport have received funding from the National Centre for Research and Development under Measure 4.1 “Scientific Research and Development Work”, Sub-measure 4.1.2 “Regional Scientific Research Agendas”. The team from the Institute of Structural Mechanics of the Faculty of Civil Engineering and Transport, in consortium with TINES S.A. and TAUMER, as well as “GEO-COMP” Sp. z o.o., received funding for two research topics totaling over PLN 4 million. In both projects, the team from Kraków University of Technology serves as the leader.

The project “Innovative Vibroacoustic Floor Insulation Technology”, carried out in cooperation with TINES and TAUMER, is headed by Dr. Habil. Eng. Alicja Kowalska-Koczwara, Professor of PK Krakow University of Technology.

The result of the project will be a product in the form of floors capable of vibroacoustic insulation against impact sound. The planned outcome is the development of at least two types of floors designed for installation on reinforced concrete and wooden ceilings. The project will last 35 months, during which the teams will progress from laboratory testing of TINES’s vibration-insulating materials to the implementation of a finished product: floor systems that provide acoustic insulation against impact sound while simultaneously offering vibration isolation capable of ensuring vibration comfort in a room depending on its intended use. Confirmation of the effectiveness of field tests, carried out at a specially designed test stand, will come from “in-situ” measurements of two to three of the most promising solutions. The application of the vibroacoustic floor insulation solutions will take place, following receipt of PZH certificates and fire-resistance approvals, at a school during the winter break. Demand for such a comprehensive floor solution has been reported, among others, by residents living near tram lines and railway routes, as well as by people living in dense city centers, where material and airborne vibrations may also be felt from other sources.

The project “Innovative Hybrid Design of Vibro-Isolating Barriers for Protecting the Environment against Transport-Related and Similar Vibrations”, carried out in cooperation with GEO-COMP, was headed by Prof. Krzysztof Stypuła, Eng., and is now led by Prof. Tadeusz Tatara, Eng.

The result of the project will be three solutions for vibro-isolating barriers in the ground. The project will last two and a half years, during which the contractors will progress from the concept of vibro-isolating walls in the ground to the implementation of a finished product for their own business operations. GEO-COMP, a company that has specialized in ground barriers for many years, has decided to significantly modernize this product by adding new functional features. Vibration isolation is the main feature distinguishing the ground barrier solutions available on the market from the product that GEO-COMP will introduce into production and offer to its clients. For this reason, this feature of the product will be the subject of both conceptual research and “in-situ” measurements carried out at an experimental test site, including measurements on real structures implemented by the company. The comprehensiveness of the vibro-isolating barrier solution, combined with an appropriately emphasized cost reduction, is also a feature that will make it competitive on at least the Polish market, as well as in neighboring countries. Demand for such a solution has been reported, among others, by the General Directorate for National Roads and Motorways (GDDKiA) and local government authorities.

The subject of the project is the development of an IT tool designed to support decision-making processes in the area of projects integrating installations using renewable energy sources with underground gas storage facilities in salt caverns. The project involves the following research and development activities:

• Development of the concept and structure of a model for estimating investment in storage and infrastructure, along with recommendations for action on the energy market.
• Development of a mathematical model of an integrated system based on the natural gas network and the electricity network, taking into account bidirectional energy conversion.
• Development of a module for selecting equipment and assessing its impact on the operation of the integrated natural gas and electricity networks.
• Verification of the developed mathematical models implemented in the created IT tool supporting the decision-making process for the integration of RES with an underground gas storage facility in salt caverns.
• Implementation of the developed models into the IT application.

The result of the project will be an IT application enabling the assessment of various scenarios for integrating RES with an underground gas storage facility in salt caverns.

The project is financed by the National Centre for Research and Development and by Polish Oil and Gas Company (PGNiG) under the INGA Joint Venture (Call number: 4/4.1.1/2019, project no. POIR.04.01.01-00-0041/19).

The project is carried out by a scientific-research consortium. The project leader is PK Krakow University of Technology, with the Mineral and Energy Economy Research Institute of the Polish Academy of Sciences as the scientific consortium partner. The industrial partners are PGNiG and TwinIO Energy Sp. z o.o.

Project duration: October 1, 2021 – September 30, 2023.