Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya · BarcelonaTech

Roads and Railways (250134) – Course 2023/24 PDF

Syllabus

Learning Objectives

Students will acquire an understanding of highway construction, preservation, design and planning, as well as the various basic roadway elements. They will acquire an understanding of railway construction and preservation, and also learn to apply specific technical regulations and to distinguish between different types of rolling stock. Upon completion of the course, students will have acquired the ability to: 1. Design a road according to traffic and other conditioning factors. 2. Design the horizontal layout and vertical profile of transport infrastructure. 3. Carry out a railway infrastructure project, including the layout and design of the elements that make up the section. Horizontal layout and vertical profile of highways, and coordination between the two aspects; Design of highway cross sections; Traffic; Movement of vehicles; Traffic flow and capacity; Earthworks, including surface and subsurface drainage; Design and sizing of roads; Characteristics of railway infrastructure; Stiffness and deformability of roadways; Basic characteristics of railway vehicles; Layout of railways; Mixed traffic and tilting vehicles; Stress on roadways; Mechanical behaviour of a roadway under vertical stress; Incorporation of transverse stress; Design of roadway infrastructure and superstructure; High-speed railways

Competencies

Especific

Ability to construct, conserve, dimension and design roads and the items comprising basic road provision.

Understanding of and ability to quantify the road and traffic variables determining the safety, quality and sustainability of road transport infrastructures.

Ability to construct and conserve railway lines with knowledge of the application of the specific technical regulations, differentiating the characteristics of the rolling stock.

Understanding of the theoretical models explaining the mechanical behaviour of the tracks, the interaction between track and train, and their influence on design specifications.

Transversal

ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND INNOVATION - Level 1. Showing enterprise, acquiring basic knowledge about organizations and becoming familiar with the tools and techniques for generating ideas and managing organizations that make it possible to solve known problems and create opportunities.

ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND INNOVATION - Level 2. Taking initiatives that give rise to opportunities and to new products and solutions, doing so with a vision of process implementation and market understanding, and involving others in projects that have to be carried out.

SUSTAINABILITY AND SOCIAL COMMITMENT - Level 2. Applying sustainability criteria and professional codes of conduct in the design and assessment of technological solutions.

TEAMWORK - Level 3. Managing and making work groups effective. Resolving possible conflicts, valuing working with others, assessing the effectiveness of a team and presenting the final results.

THIRD LANGUAGE. Learning a third language, preferably English, to a degree of oral and written fluency that fits in with the future needs of the graduates of each course.

Generic

Students will learn to identify, formulate and solve a range of engineering problems. They will be expected to show initiative in interpreting and solving specific civil engineering problems and to demonstrate creativity and decision-making skills. Finally, students will develop creative and systematic strategies for analysing and solving problems.

Students will learn to assess the complexity of the problems examined in the different subject areas, identify the key elements of the problem statement, and select the appropriate strategy for solving it. Once they have chosen a strategy, they will apply it and, if the desired solution is not reached, determine whether modifications are required. Students will use a range of methods and tools to determine whether their solution is correct or, at the very least, appropriate to the problem in question. More generally, students will be encouraged to consider the importance of creativity in science and technology.

Students will learn to identify, model and analyse problems from open situations, consider alternative strategies for solving them, select the most appropriate solution on the basis of reasoned criteria, and consider a range of methods for validating their results. More generally, students will learn to work confidently with complex systems and to identify the interactions between their components.

Students will learn to plan, design, manage and maintain systems suitable for use in civil engineering. They will develop a systematic approach to the complete life-cycle of a civil engineering infrastructure, system or service, which includes drafting and finalising project plans, identifying the basic materials and technologies required, making decisions, managing the different project activities, performing measurements, calculations and assessments, ensuring compliance with specifications, regulations and compulsory standards, evaluating the social and environmental impact of the processes and techniques used, and conducting economic analyses of human and material resources.

Students will develop an understanding of the different functions of engineering, the processes involved in the life-cycle of a construction project, process or service, and the importance of systematising the design process. They will learn to identify and interpret the stages in preparing a product design specification (PDS), draft and optimise specifications and planning documents, and apply a systematic design process to the implementation and operation phases. Students will learn to write progress reports for a design process, use a range of project management tools and prepare final reports, and will be expected to show an awareness of the basic economic concepts associated with the product, process or service in question.

Students will learn to identify user requirements, to draft definitions and specifications of the product, process or service in question, including a product design specification (PDS) document, and to follow industry-standard design management models. Students will be expected to show advanced knowledge of the steps involved in the design, execution and operation phases and to use the knowledge and tools covered in each subject area to the design and execution of their own projects. Finally, students will assess the impact of national, European and international legislation applicable to engineering projects.

Total hours of student work

Hours Percentage
Supervised Learning Large group 56.2h 68.18 %
Medium group 15h 18.18 %
Laboratory classes 3.8h 4.55 %
Guided Activities 7.5h 9.09 %
Self Study 105h

Teaching Methodology

The course consists of 5 hours per week of classroom activity. The 3.9 hours are devoted to theoretical lectures, in which the teacher presents the basic concepts and topics of the subject, and the 0.7 hours are devoted to show examples and solves exercises (average). The rest of weekly hours devoted to tests. Support material in the form of a detailed teaching plan is provided using the virtual campus ATENEA: content, program of assessment activities and conducted learning, literature. Although most of the sessions will be given in the language indicated, sessions supported by other occasional guest experts may be held in other languages.

Grading Rules

The evaluation calendar and grading rules will be approved before the start of the course.

For assessment purpose, the course consists of three parts: Traffic and Geometric Design, Earthworks and Pavements, and Railways. The Mark of the course will be the arithmetic mean of the mark of each of these three parts. To pass the course, the student's course Mark must be equal to or higher than 5,0. There will not be teaching during this course (extintion plan). Two exams will be carried out, an regular and an other extraordinary for the students that, having a numerical mark, this is not equal to or higher than 5,0. Once the retaking exam has been carried out, the mark of the course will be obtained by applying the average arithmetic to the highest marks obtained of each part. Criteria for re-evaluation qualification and eligibility: Students that failed the ordinary evaluation and have regularly attended all evaluation tests will have the opportunity of carrying out a re-evaluation test during the period specified in the academic calendar. Students who have already passed the test or were qualified as non-attending will not be admitted to the re-evaluation test. The maximum mark for the re-evaluation exam will be five over ten (5.0). The non-attendance of a student to the re-evaluation test, in the date specified will not grant access to further re-evaluation tests. Students unable to attend any of the continuous assessment tests due to certifiable force majeure will be ensured extraordinary evaluation periods. These tests must be authorized by the corresponding Head of Studies, at the request of the professor responsible for the course, and will be carried out within the corresponding academic period. The same evaluation method will be applied to the English group.

Test Rules

Students who do not attend any of the exams of the subjects will not have a numerical mark and their qualification will be NP.

Bibliography

Basic

Complementary