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Natural gas is cheaper than fuel on an energy basis, making it an alternative ship fuel which leads to a reduced operating cost and clean gas environmental conditions. The current study analyses the retrofit of an ageing multi-purpose ship to use liquefied natural gas as a primary ship fuel in the context of a short-ship sea operation. The objective is to transform an existing commercial ageing ship propulsion system into a green energy propulsion one and to analyse the economic feasibility considering the high volatility and increased LNG price. Four scenarios were analysed based on the net present value representing Denying, Disinterested, Good and Acceptable financial cash outflow. It was concluded that in the present economic instability and price of LNG fuel and CO2 taxes, the ship owner needs to rely on the long-term contract of buying LNG fuel to implement measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and keep good benefits in shipping.

Introduction. During the combustion of diesel fuel in a diesel engine with an increased fuel supply, as a result of its incomplete combustion, soot particles are formed, which are either released into the atmosphere or inevitably enter the engine oil. Soot, polluting the engine oil, causes a change in its quality indicators. Soot is very small particles formed by a complex reaction mechanism in the flame of a fuel-rich region during the combustion of hydrocarbons in the absence of air, mainly consisting of a mixture of amorphous carbon and organic matter.Materials and methods. This paper presents the results of a literary review aimed at studying the ways of soot occurrence during the operation of diesel engines, its effect. The mechanical properties of diesel soot are also discussed on the surfaces of friction pairs and engine components.Conclusions. The soot content in engine oil will increase sharply in engines with exhaust gas recirculation, which leads to an increase in temperature in the friction zones and viscosity of the lubricant, as well as to the formation of deposits on hot parts. These processes occur due to the discharge in the crankcase space and the intensification of the intake of gases from the combustion chamber. Oil change intervals should be monitored at an increased rate of soot entering the engine oil.Scope of the study / opportunity. This type of study will help determine the causes of soot in a diesel engine, understand the consequences of using engine oil contaminated with soot particles.Originality / value. The conducted research can be the basis for the development of recommendations for improving the maintenance of internal combustion engines for enterprises that have cars with diesel engines at their disposal in order to increase the resource of power units and reduce operating costs.

The article considers the role of the transportation system in the sustainable development of cities. The article pays special attention to the development dynamics of road transport in Russia and of the emissions of air pollutants by motor vehicles. The role and significance of fuel taxes in the system of government revenue are investigated. The author analyzes the existing system of fuel taxes in the Russian Federation and concludes that the mechanism of taxing motor fuel is based on consumption and does not take into account the adverse impact on the environment and the energy content of fuels. The author provides arguments for changing the mechanism of calculating the rate of the excise tax on motor fuel so that it factors in its energy efficiency and carbon dioxide emissions. A conclusion is drawn that the introduction of the proposed adjustments would produce a substantial fiscal impact on government revenues and would make it possible to eliminate the existing distortions for two competing sources of energy (petrol versus diesel fuel); would encourage the use and development of public transport and help reduce the emissions of air pollutants. The objective of the study is to work out proposals for improving fuel taxation that would also contribute to the sustainable development of cities.

There are very many different laws of distribution (for example), bellshaped (Gaussian) distribution, lognormal, Weibull distribution, exponential, uniform, Poisson’s, Student’s distributions and so on, which help to describe the real picture of failures with elements in various mechanical systems, in locomotives and carriages, too. To diminish the possibility of getting the rough error in the output of maths data treatment the new method is demonstrated in this article. The task is solved both to the discrete, and to the continuous distributions.

The results of theoretical and experimental investigations of the special synchronous machine and the electrical drive on its base are submitted. This paper covers the principle of operation the brushless synchronous machine, its experimental characteristics, comparison with other types of motors, technique of account of the electromagnetic torque, functional circuits of the electric drive with the independent excited synchronous reactive motor (FRRM - Field Regulated Reluctance Machine). It is the most favorable application of the considered electric drive in the vehicles with heavy conditions of operation, where such are urgent it advantages, as: brushless, high rigidity of the shaft, large overloads on the torque. It can be used in the regular cars for starter generators, in pure-electrical and hybrid-electrical vehicles for power drive, in independent power generating installations with high-speed of the gas turbine engine and so on. Copyright © 2007 SAE International.

At the current stage of social development, particular attention is drawn to studies that assess major infrastructure — and thus political — projects aimed at a qualitative breakthrough in the socio-economic development of the countries under investigation. The scheduled multi-billion investments into energy sector are of political rather than economic nature. The projects to develop alternative power grids and high-speed railways can result in large-scale economic downturns diminishing the prospects of balanced social development. The author addresses the classical concepts of the theory of regional economy and new economic geography and their interpretation of the interconnection between political and economic factors. The article aims to demonstrate the inconsistency between political and economic objectives of the development of the Baltics. The study contributes to a broader set of research into the issues of post-Soviet economic and political development. The Baltic States follow their own political and economic ways. The study proves the hypothesis of low efficiency of large infrastructure project and their political motivation. It is concluded that the disregard of the factor of mutually beneficial economic cooperation with Russia destabilizes the development of national economic of the Baltic States. The author believes that modern infrastructure projects in the Baltic Sea region should be integrated into both western and eastern dimensions.

Higher-energy-density, Wh L−1 or Wh kg−1, lithium-ion cells are one of the critical advancements required for the implementation of electric vehicles. This increase leads to a longer drive distance between recharges. Aside from material development, full lithium-ion cell design parameters have the potential to greatly influence fabricated cell energy density. The following work highlights the impact of these full-cell design parameters, investigating the effect of a negative to positive capacity ratio, positive electrode porosity, positive electrode active material content, and overall charge voltage on stack volumetric energy density. Decreasing the N:P ratio or increasing active material content results in an almost identical volumetric energy density increase: ~4%. Decreasing the positive electrode porosity from 40–30% or increasing the charge voltage from 4.2–4.35 V also results in an almost identical increase in volumetric energy density: ~5.5%. Combining all design changes has the potential to increase stack volumetric energy density by 20% compared to the baseline cell design.

The Arctic zone of the Russian Federation is of strategic importance for the country. Considering the fragility of Arctic ecosystems, special attention needs to be paid to the sustainable development of transport and related infrastructure within the framework of the “blue economy” concept, which is relevant for Arctic waters. At the same time, it is necessary to identify the main factors and tasks of creating transport and port infrastructure, building a modern fleet, and organizing fisheries and tourism in an environmentally sound manner. The purpose of the study is to consider the problems of anthropogenic influence for seaport facilities and to create a conceptual model of an environmental risk management system. The existing problems of Arctic ports and infrastructure are analyzed and existing business processes are considered, taking into account the peculiarities of their functioning in Arctic conditions. To systematize environmental assessments and establish dependencies between the main indicators describing the impact of port activities on elements of the natural environment, ontological domain engineering is proposed. It systematizes the basic terminology used within different subject areas of ecology and risks and allows one to visualize the relationships between elements of the natural environment, objects, port systems, their parameters and impact factors to assess the impact of the seaport on the natural environment. The results of ontological engineering (design and development of ontologies) in the field of risk management are presented. Future research will be aimed at developing the applied aspect of applying the results of ontological engineering in terms of specific engineering studies related to the assessment of anthropogenic load on the Arctic territory using simulation modeling.