The transformation of the former docks in Dublin was one of the major urban regeneration projects in Ireland, which was built during the recent economic boom. Since the start of the project in the nineties, more than six thousand apartments have been built in the area. The construction of the apartments allowed for the diversifi cation of the character of this district into a living quarter. Initially the Docklands were considered as an offi ce district that would serve the Ireland’s service-based economy. New projects also allowed for the development of housing in a close proximity to existing city centre, although it did not happen not without avoiding the gentrifi cation and social polarization of this area.

The key role in the process was played by the operator – the urban development agency (Dublin Docklands Development Authority). It acted both as a strategic landowner and the coordinator of the development. The agency was responsible for the delivery of the infrastructure and the sale of the land. The actions of the operator included setting up the of the housing standards, requirements for the development of the infrastructure, both social and technical and public transportation systems. In the hindsight, the agency was praised for the management of the development of such large site. On the other hand, the lack of procedural oversight and a few dubious fi nancial decisions, as well as the other eff ects of the neoliberal policies, such as gentrification, fi nally lower the assessment of DDDA efficiency in that matter.

The article summarizes the main aims and achievements of the DDDA’s development policy and its assessment from the long-term perspective of two decades of transformation. This includes the eff ects of the actions in the aftermath of the fi nancial crisis. Such perspective allows to highlight the various stages of the development of the agency and to examine the efficiency and efficacy of these actions.

Waterfront regeneration of port districts emerge as a tool for prestigious development of cities in urban re-imaging and growth. Creation of prestigious housing in these areas are part of a broader strategy of mixed-use and property-led development, but in absence of a holistic approach in planning and design, the urban landscapes may be developed merely on basis of the real estate frameworks. This article looks at how development trends of port cities can take an unintended stance in property-led regeneration of port districts, creating gated communities and failing to succeed in achieving the pre-determined objectives in urban planning. The discussion, which will address to issues of place-making, commodification of public space and planning policies, will take the port city of Izmir as the case. It is suggested that the adoption of a holistic approach to urban planning should guide the regeneration processes and design should take place-making into consideration.

Like other harbour cities in Europe, Lisbon has an axial development anchored in pre-existing confi gurations which dot from east, more industrial areas, to the west, a more monumental and urban type. The diversity of fabrics and the overlapping of various time layers become decoded through a functional specialization infrastructural line, which, from rural, becomes increasingly infrastructured as part of the on-going reinvention of the city of Lisbon.

Since the 1980s, seaport cities have been characterized by the spatiotemporal concurrence of highly modern terminals away from the city and derelict and/or sub-optimally used inner city harbours and waterfront sites. The post-Fordist city disintegrated into a polycentric fragmented structure with aggravated social confl icts between older residential areas of dockers and requirements for modern expensive waterfront condominiums. The cranes of the shipbuilders’ yards, which used to be a characteristic feature of the city silhouette and a symbol for dynamic port economies, have been dismantled, the land left derelict and contaminated. The formerly close functional and spatial relationship of port and city was relaxed from the end of the 1960s onwards and off ered opportunities for transformations. In this article different approaches for redevelopment und revitalization are discussed.

Hybrid Renewable Energy Systems connected to the traditional power suppliers are an interesting technological solution in the field of energy engineering and the integration of renewable systems with other energy systems can significantly increase in energy reliability. In this paper, an analysis and optimization of the hybrid energy system, which uses photovoltaic modules and wind turbines components connected to the grid, is presented. The system components are optimized using two objectives criteria: economic and environmental. The optimization has been performed based on the experimental data acquired for the whole year. Results showed the optimal configuration for the hybrid system based on economical objective, that presents the best compromise between the number of components and total efficiency. This achieved the lowest cost of energy but with relatively high CO2 emissions, while environmental objective results with lower CO2 emissions and higher cost of energy and presents the best compromise between the number of components and system net present cost. It has been shown that a hybrid system can be optimized in such a way that CO2 emission is maximally reduced and – separately – in terms of reducing the cost. However, the study shows that these two criteria cannot be optimized at the same time. Reducing the system cost increase CO2 emission and enhancing ecological effect makes the system cost larger. However, depends on strategies, a balance between different optimization criteria can be found. Regardless of the strategy used economic criteria – which also indirect takes environmental aspects as a cost of penalties – should be considered as a major criterion of optimization while the other objectives including environmental objectives are less important.

Kadıköy is a central district of Istanbul and a public transportation hub located on the shores of the Marmara Sea. It has been highly affected by recent developments in Istanbul. The triggers of change in Kadıköy are both planned (developments in transportation facilities and redevelopment of old buildings) and unplanned (i.e. proliferating cafes, bars, and cultural facilities). It is also affected by metropolitan scale dynamics (changes in Beyoğlu, the culture and entertainment center of Istanbul). These changes in Kadıköy have inevitable eff ects on the inhabitants and users. This article discusses the positive and negative aspects of both planned and unplanned development on public life and spaces in Kadıköy. Vitality of public spaces seems increased. The main changes are increasing population and building densities, changes in public space usage, and a proliferation of cultural facilities led by recently opened theatre halls.

This paper examines the conservation master plan prepared for in Beyoglu, Istanbul’s Galata Persembe Bazaar waterfront and its Genoese and Ottoman port heritage. This paper initially contains an analytical perspective. This perspective informs the analyses of the evolution of planning process on the conservation of the port heritage. The results of relations between port heritage and conservation planning works have come up for discussion. Spatial interventions on the Persembe Bazaar waterfront began in the 1980s by removing industrial and commercial buildings in the area. These interventions, made in the framework of wiping away the Halic (Golden Horn) waterfront created pressure for urban regeneration in areas with historical and cultural heritage assets like Persembe Bazaar. Major projects such as Galataport and Halicport on the waterfronts of the Halic and the Bosphorus have increased this pressure. Huge functional transformations on the waterfront are desired along with the Persembe Bazaar Conservation Master Plan, which conforms neither to the content nor the context of general conservation principles or Turkey’s conservation legislation. Its content includes no interventions compatible with the theme of “living in harbour cities” and should thus be criticized. The conservation of the tangible and intangible heritage of historical port features, the preservation and development of the service sector and trade in the area requires adopting a holistic understanding of conservation and taking historical features into account. Such an important port heritage site should not be seen as having only touristic functions. It should emphasize more local features for their daily use of local residents and businesses.

The water’s edge is the most iconic and identifiable image related to the city of Durban and in seeking an ‘authenticity’ that typifies the built fabric of the city, the image that this place creates is arguably the answer. Since its formal establishment as a settlement in 1824, this edge has been a primary element in the urban fabric. Development of the space has been fairly incremental over the last two centuries, starting with colonial infl uenced built interventions, but much of what is there currently stems from the 1930’s onwards, leading to a Modernist and later Contemporary sense of place that is moderated by regionalist infl uences, lending itself to creating a somewhat contextually relevant image. This ‘international yet local’ sense of place is however under threat from the increasingly prominent ‘global’ image of a-contextual glass high-rise towers placed along a non-descript public realm typical of global capital interests that is a hallmark of the turnkey project trends by developers from the East currently sweeping the African continent.

In Nantes, the last shipyard closed in 1986 leaving the city in a desperate situation. The cranes, symbolizing the industrial activity, one by one stopped. Unemployment stroked. The question was between turning the page, tearing down the workshops and reinventing a new story or trying to preserve would appear to most of the population, a kind of modern bulky legacy. In the early 2000’s, the revitalization of Nantes’ former industrial area, led to developing a new way thinking. Instead of designing an urban map with major spots and rows of housing, A. Chemetoff thought better to draw an urban landscape where the past could mix with the future. The industrial heritage has been then preserved in two diff erent ways: construction halls have been reshaped preserving the original structure, everything should be reversed. The intangible heritage, meaning worker’s knowledge, has been reinvested in the cultural industry. This way, the image of the city, its brand, moved from industrial to cultural, attracting a new kind of business, mainly high-tech, students, in a new: “art de Vivre” (Art of living).

This article examines the ontological and spatial character of the waterfront and its influence on perception and design, with particular focus on the process of reproduction of space (Lefebvre) through the generation of mental maps. The convergence of land and water holds in itself an inherent tension between the accessible and the unattainable: the unconscious can be projected on the unknowable underwater space; the unseen domain beyond the horizon can hold a promise of a better world. Another polarity is that of the familiar and the unknown/exotic, off ering a new perspective, a reevaluation of the familiar through the process of ‘ostranenie’ (Shklovsky),’verfremdung’ (Brecht) or ‘estrangement’. The impact of these polarities reaches beyond the spectacle of urban life, the cinematic experience or the theatrum mundi: it enables the reevaluation of the preconceptions of beauty and utility, as exemplifi ed by Futurist Manifesto (Marinetti). These polarities manifest themselves in the hierarchy and dynamics of a waterfront community: physical impermanence of water dwellings foregrounds the contingent nature of human relationships. The waterfront community inhabits superimposed yet separate networks of land and water. First, mental maps have to be generated for each of these separately, then they have to be reconciled in a coherent whole in a separate process. That mapping of the separate networks necessitates a physical transition, a spatial translation that also has linguistic consequences: a different semantic field is assigned to the vocabulary of the everyday, for the significance of the basic terms like ‘home’ or ‘street’ need a modifi ed definition. All the aforementioned processes and phenomena infl uence the ability to perceive, design and reproduce waterfront areas of cities.

The article presents the author’s considerations on the significance of the investment package diversifying natural gas supplies as part of the Northern Gate in ensuring Poland’s energy security. Data found in literature concerning the possibilities of importing the raw material by sea (terminals, gas pipelines) includes investments at various stages of concept development and construction. However, these documents lack cohesive information about a full investment package being implemented. The author has thus attempted at creating variants concerning the diversification capacities of the Republic of Poland in reference to several key offshore and onshore projects. A problem has therefore been formulated: To what extend will the Northern Gate investment package increase Poland’s energy security as a result of increased supply of natural gas from the sea? To answer this questions, researchers were forced to verify their working hypothesis which assumed that Northern Gate investments including a comprehensive package of projects had the potential of significantly improving the level of energy security in Poland by extending the possibility of importing natural gas. To solve the problem and verify the hypothesis, the researchers applied systemic analysis, deduction and variant analysis, which were used to estimate the possible import capacities of the raw material by sea. As a result of the works, the researchers created four variants including various investment projects assuming the import of 7.75 m3 to 30,95 B m3 of natural gas a year by sea. The variant which was adopted as the most probable indicates the possibility of importing 17.75 through 22.75 B m3 of gas a year, which is 111% of the average annual demand in Poland.

The natural gas supply is used from Russia Federation as a political instrument in the geopolitical and territorial conflict with Ukraine. The effectiveness of Russian strategy towards Ukraine is due to the fact that power in Kiev is also exercised by the pro-Russian politicians and supported on the part of Ukrainian oligarchs. The two countries are interdependent in terms of energy by means of the existing gas infrastructure and long-term contracts, because Ukraine guarantees the Russian Federation the transit of natural gas to Europe through its system of transmission gas pipelines, and Russia pays for the transit and used to supply the agreed amount of gas to Ukraine. For the first time – in 2016 – Ukraine didn’t import natural gas directly from the Russia Federation. This article attempts to obtain an answer to the research question, whether Ukraine actually strives to diversify its natural gas supply. What part of this policy is the Ukrainian political instrument in terms of Russia, and what part is the real political objective? Especially in the context of the gas contract between both States, ending in 2019. What role will be played the underground gas storage in the geopolitical struggle? Despite Nord Stream II the Russian Federation still needs the Ukrainian pipelines to fulfill contractual obligations in gas supplies to Europe. What are the strategic goals of the energy policy of Ukraine and Russia? The geopolitical as well as geo-economic theories will be applied. Moreover, a factor analysis as well as a decision-making analysis will be used. The political analysis method and the forecasting technique are applied to obtain, not only theoretical, but also practical input.

The aim of the article is to discuss and assess the diversification of renewable energy sources consumption in European Union member states. The time scope covers 2005 and 2015. The data comes from Eurostat. The analysis was based on synthetic indicators – using a non-standard method. Synthetic indicators were assessed based on three simple features such as: the share of renewable energy in energy consumption in 2015, the difference between the share of renewable energy in energy consumption in 2015 and in 2005 (in percentage points), deficit/surplus in the 2020 target reached in 2015 (in percentage points). The European Union member states were divided into four diversified group in terms of renewable energy sources consumption (first class – a very high level, second class – quite a high level, third class – quite a low level, fourth class – a very low level). Then the divided groups were analyzed according to the share of renewable energy sources in the primary production of renewable energy and the consumption of individual renewable energy sources. During the research period renewable energy consumption increased in the European Union, but individual member states are characterized by a diverse situation. The type of energy used depends largely on national resources. The countries of Northern Europe are characterized by a greater share of renewable energy sources in consumption. Biomass is the most popular renewable source of energy in the European Union. Depending on the conditions of individual countries – it is agricultural and forest biomass.

The purpose of this article was to discuss the use of adsorption chillers for waste heat recovery. The introduction discusses the need to undertake broader measures for the effective management of waste heat in the industry and discusses the benefits and technical problems related to heat recovery in industrial plants. In addition, heat sources for adsorption chillers and their application examples were described. The principle of operation of adsorption chillers is explained in the next chapter. Heat sources for adsorption chillers are indicated and their application examples are described. The above considerations have allowed the benefits and technical obstacles related to the use of adsorption chillers to be highlighted. The currently used adsorbents and adsorbates are discussed later in the article. The main part of the paper discusses the use of adsorption chillers for waste heat management in the glassworks. The calculations assumed the natural gas demand of 20.1 million m3 per year and the electricity demand of 20,000 MWh/year. As a result of conducted calculations, a 231 kW adsorption chiller, ensuring the annual cold production of 2,021 MWh, was selected. The economic analysis of the proposed solution has shown that the investment in the adsorption chiller supplied with waste heat from the heat recovery system will bring significant economic benefits after 10 years from its implementation, even with total investment costs of PLN 1,900,000. However, it was noted that in order to obtain satisfactory economic results the production must meet the demand while the cost of building a heat recovery system shall not exceed PLN 1 million.

The economic envelopes obtained by optimization techniques in open pit mining are transformed into operational phases that are suitable for extraction through ramp designs. This process is performed with the aid of specialized design software, which is still very manual, time consuming and highly dependent on the expertise of the planner. In this paper, we introduce a new methodology based on a mathematical model to automatically propose the design of ramps from the economic envelope of a pushback, with the resulting envelope having the maximum value. The developed model was tested against a real case scenario showing reasonable and useable solutions for the planner. Using this approach, a planner can evaluate several alternatives in a reasonable time before selecting the final design.

The compactness of dimension stone blocks was previously controlled through various methods that were partially based on personal experiences, acoustic and visual observance of materials. With the development of technology, the ultrasonic pulse method is frequently used for the examination of stone test pieces and with an analysis of acquired data through the tomography method, the compactness is determined. The monolith stone blocks that are found at a site contain hidden discontinuities. The technique of data acquisition and the use of various instruments enable a good overview of the block interior. With an increased number of measurements, a suitable classification is prepared that helps reduce modification costs and increases the quality of stone blocks. The control methodology of compactness is based on the passage of longitudinal waves through the stone block without damaging the block during control. High differences in speed show irregularities in the material. With the observation system, we can prepare a tomography of the measured profiles that show us the locations of irregularities that should be observed more closely. During in situ measurements, the data for comparison with measured results are acquired. Determination of critical locations is of extreme importance before the processing of the block into smaller stone products or during the reconstruction of older stone elements or sculptures. The purpose of “in situ” measurements is to prepare a simple and fast method for the evaluation of materials compactness and for production work.

This work presents an innovative shaft-lining solution which, in accordance with a patent of the Republic of Poland, allows successive, periodic leaching of excess rock salt migrating to the shaft opening. As is commonly known, all workings in rock salt strata are exposed to an increased convergence of sidewalls, making it very difficult to use shafts properly. Rocks migrating towards the shaft opening cause very high stress on the shaft liner. As a result, if the lining does not show substantial deformability, it fails. Lining failure due to insufficient deformability has been extensively described in the literature. Also, throughout the history of mining construction, a number of solutions have been proposed for different types of lining-deformability enhancement. For instance, the KGHM mining corporation applied a deformable steel lining – a solution used in the mining construction of galleries – along a 155-m-long section of the SW-4 shaft with diameters of 7,5 m that passes through a rock salt strata. At KGHM, the SW-4 shaft passes through a rock salt strata along a section of 155 m, in which a deformable enclosed steel lining was made. After several years, the convergence of shaft sidewalls stabilised at a rate of 0.5 mm/day. This enormous activity of the rock mass made it necessary to reconstruct the entire shaft section after only four years. According to further predictions, it will be necessary to reconstruct this section at least four times by 2045. This paper discusses in short form the underlying weaknesses of the technology in question.

As a solution to the problems mentioned above, the authors of this work present a very simple design of a shaft lining, called the tubing-aggregate lining, which utilises the leachability of salt rock massifs. The essential part of the lining is a layer of coarse aggregate set between the salt rock sidewall and the inner column of the tubing lining. One the one hand, coarse aggregate supports the salt rock sidewall and is highly deformable due to its compressibility, but on the other hand it allows water or low saturated brine to migrate and dissolve salt rock sidewalls.

This paper presents the first stage of works on this subject. Patent No. PL 223831 B had been granted before these works commenced.

This work presents the methodology for analyzing the impact of ground vibrations induced during the drilling of gas/oil exploration wells on the surrounding constructions, as well as on humans and the natural environment. In the primary stage, this methodology is based on measurements of ground vibrations induced by a specific type of drilling system in the so-called reference site. In the next stage, ground vibrations are estimated in similar conditions to another design site, these conditions are assumed for a given drilling system, treated as a vibration source. In both sites, special seismic and geotechnical data are collected to construct numerical models for dynamic analyses. Finally, if it is required, a protection system is proposed with respect to the drilling technology and local conditions. The methodology presented has been tested on the terrain of an active natural gas mine used as the design site, and located in the southeastern part of Poland. The reference site was placed in the terrain of a working drilling system in similar conditions in the central part of Poland. Based on the results of numerical simulations, one may verify the different locations of the drilling rig in the design site with respect to the existing industrial structure. Due to the hazard from destructive ground vibrations, a certain vibroisolation system was proposed at the design site. Based on the results of numerical simulations one could rearrange the components of the drilling system in order to provide maximum security for the surrounding structures.

The paper presents the results of assessment studies of the time course for technical wear in masonry buildings located in the area of mining-induced ground deformations. By using fuzzy inference system (FIS) and the “if-then” rule, corresponding language labels describing actual damage recorded in structure components were translated into scalar outputs describing the degree of damage to the building. Adopting this approach made it possible to separate damage resulting from additional effects coming from mining-induced ground deformations and the natural wear and tear of masonry structure. By using statistical analysis an exponential function for the condition of building damage and the function of natural wear and tear were developed. Both phenomena were subject to studies as a function of time regarding the technical age of building structure. The results obtained were used to develop a model for the course of technical wear of traditionally constructed buildings used within mining areas.

In the course of natural wear and tear buildings located in mining areas are additionally exposed to forced ground deformations. The increase of internal forces in structure components induced by those effects results in creating an additional stress factor and damage. The hairline cracks and cracks of building structure components take place when the intensity value of mining effects becomes higher than the component stress resistance and repeated effects result in the decrease of structure rigidity. The observations of building behaviour in mining areas show that the intensity of mining activity and the multiplicity of its effect play a substantial role in the course of technical wear of buildings. The studies show that the level of damage resulting from mining effects adds up to natural wear and tear of the building and impairs the global technical condition as compared to similar buildings used outside mining areas.

Theoretical and experimental research indicates that radial loads have a significant influence on the value of belt-on-idler rolling resistances. Computational models discussed in literature use the notion of unit rolling resistance, i.e. rolling resistance per unit length of the idler. The total value of the rolling resistance of belt on a single idler is determined by integrating unit rolling resistance with respect to the length of the contact zone between the belt and the idler. This procedure requires the knowledge of normal load distribution along the contact zone between the belt and the idler. Loads acting on the idler set have been the object of both theoretical analyses and laboratory tests. Literature mentions several models which describe the distribution of normal loads along the contact zone between the belt and the idler set (Krause & Hettler, 1974; Lodewijks, 1996; Gładysiewicz, 2003; Jennings, 2014). Numerous experimental tests (Gładysiewicz & Kisielewski, 2017; Król, 2017; Król & Zombroń, 2012) demonstrated that the resultant normal loads acting on idlers are approximate to the loads calculated in theoretical models. If the resultant normal load is known, it is possible to assume the distribution of loads acting along the contact zone between the belt and the idler. This paper analyzes various hypothetical load distributions calculated for both the center idler roll and for the side idler roll. It also presents the results of calculations of belt rolling resistances for the analyzed distributions. In addition, it presents the results of calculations with allowance for load distribution along the generating line of the idler.

The basis for a mineral deposit delimitation is a qualitative and quantitative assessment of deposit parameters, qualifying a deposit as an economically valuable object. A conventional approach to the mineral deposit recognition and a deposit detailed parameters qualification in the initial stages of development work in the KGHM were presented in the paper. The goals of such recognition were defined, which through a gradual detailed expansion, resulting from the information inflow, allows for the construction of a more complete decision-making model. The description of the deposit parameters proposed in the article in the context of fuzzy logic, enables a presentation of imprecise statements and data, which may be a complement to a traditional description. Selected non-adjustable and adjustable s-norm and t-norm operators were demonstrated. Operators effects were tested for selected ore quality parameters (copper content and deposit thickness) by constructing adequate membership functions. In a practical application, the use of chosen fuzzy logic operators is proposed for the assessment of the qualitative parameters of copper-silver ore in the exploitation blocks for one of the mines belonging to KGHM Polish Copper S.A. The considerations have been extended by including the possibility of using compensation operators.

Rockburst is a common engineering geological hazard. In order to evaluate rockburst liability in kimberlite at an underground diamond mine, a method combining generalized regression neural networks (GRNN) and fruit fly optimization algorithm (FOA) is employed. Based on two fundamental premises of rockburst occurrence, depth, σθ, σc, σt, B1, B2, SCF, Wet are determined as indicators of rockburst, which are also input vectors of GRNN model. 132 groups of data obtained from rockburst cases from all over the world are chosen as training samples to train the GRNN model; FOA is used to seek the optimal parameter σ that generates the most accurate GRNN model. The trained GRNN model is adopted to evaluate burst liability in kimberlite pipes. The same eight rockburst indicators are acquired from lab tests, mine site and FEM model as test sample features. Evaluation results made by GRNN can be confirmed by a rockburst case at this mine. GRNN do not require any prior knowledge about the nature of the relationship between the input and output variables and avoid analyzing the mechanism of rockburst, which has a bright prospect for engineering rockburst potential evaluation.

Plastic rocks can creep, therefore the knowledge of the rheological properties of the drilled formations is an important element of the drilling process and when choosing borehole designs. These properties of plastic formations also influence the way in which appropriate drilling technology and drilling mud properties are selected. The article presents the effect of basic rheological parameters of salt from the Fore-Sudetic Monocline deposit on the drilling of boreholes in the mining area of KGHM Polska Miedź, which in the future can be used as a good drilling practice to improve the safety and efficiency of drilling.

The process of drilling in plastic rocks may be hindered. Salt is a plastic rock and in the analyzed rock mass it is deposited at a considerable depth. The caprock exerts big loads on it, beside the temperature in the deposit intensifies the rheological properties of the rock. The creep process causes that the borehole contracts, therefore the knowledge about the rheological properties of the drilled rock is very important for establishing the safe time in which the well may remain uncased. The paper is devoted to the influence of basic rheological parameters of salt bed in the Fore-Sudetic Monocline on the process of drilling of a borehole in the area of KGHM Polska Miedź as these data can be used in drilling practice in the future.

An uniaxial compression mechanical model for the roof rock-coal (RRC) composite sample was established in order to study the effects of height ratio of roof rock to coal on the structural strength of composite sample. The composite sample strengths under different height ratios were established through stress and strain analysis of the sample extracted from the interface. The coal strength near the interface is enhanced and rock strength near the interface weakened. The structural strength of composite sample is synthetically determined by the strengths of rock and coal near and far away from the interface. The area with a low strength in composite sample is destroyed firstly. An analytical model was proposed and discussed by conducting uniaxial compression tests for sandstone-coal composite samples with different height ratios, and it was found that the structural strength and elastic modulus decrease with a decrease in height ratio. The coal strengths far away from the interface determine the structural strengths of composite sample under different height ratios, which are the main control factor for the structural strength in this test. Due to its lowest strength, the rock near the interface first experienced a tensile spalling failure at the height ratio of 9:1, without causing the structural failure of composite sample. The coal failure induces the final failure of composite sample.