EcoTechnoPark
The EcoTechnoPark (the ETP) is a center for the practical implementation and demonstration of uST Technologies in a temperate climate. It is located in Maryina Gorka (Belarus) covering an area of more than 30 hectares. The center conducts research, development and experimental and technological work related to transport and infrastructure complexes in overpass design.
The territory of the EcoTechnoPark used to be a tank range with its ground literally soaked with hydrochloric oil and gunpowder. After the abandoned area was taken over by the company, it was cleaned up for several years under the supervision of the General Designer and Board Chairman of UST Inc. Anatoli Unitsky. Today this place is the incarnation of the company’s philosophy. Not only are eco-friendly uST Transport & Infrastructure Complexes built in the Innovation Center, but other green technologies are also practiced. In the ETP, you can see neat avenues of trees, well-tended gardens, vineyards and clean lakes. Here man does not come into conflict with nature, but peacefully coexists with it.
EcoTechnoPark, Maryina Gorka, 2021, uCar on the flexible string rail overpass
uBus and uCar are designed to transport passengers on urban and suburban routes. EcoTechnoPark, Maryina Gorka, 2021
Five different types of transport and infrastructure complexes have been built in the EcoTechnoPark; twelve fundamentally different models of uPods have been tested that were designed and manufactured by the company on its own production facilities and have different speeds, capacities and designs. Today two more transport and infrastructure complexes for heavy rolling stock weighing up to 60 tons are under construction.
Implemented Transport & Infrastructure Complexes
Flexible string rail overpass
- It has a simple and functional design. It can be built in a short time, even in areas with hostile terrain: the flexible track structure, i.e. sagging under its own weight, is characterized by high ease of installation.
Specifications
- Length (with anchoring structures) – 822 m
- Distance between supporting towers – 200 and 400 m
- Number of supporting towers – 2 pcs
- Height of supporting towers – 14 and 15 m
- Gross Vehicle Weight Rating of uPod – 8 t
- Track structure pre-tensioning force (total) – 150 tf
EcoTechnoPark, Maryina Gorka, 2021, uBus (left) and uCar (right)
EcoTechnoPark, Maryina Gorka, 2021, uCar on the flexible string rail overpass
Semi-rigid string rail overpass
- It is designed for the travel of high-capacity and heavy-duty uPods. There is no need to adjust the speed when rail electric cars pass through the supporting towers due to minimized deflections of the rails.
- The semi-rigid track is an intermediate solution between the flexible and rigid types of the string rail track structure. In the ETP, the track is located low off the ground for reasons of economy and ease of access to uPods during tests.
Specifications
- Length (with anchoring structures) – 862.3 m
- Distance between supporting towers – 40 m
- Number of supporting towers – 19 pcs
- Height of supporting towers – from 4.45 to 6 m
- Gross Vehicle Weight Rating of uPod – 6 t
- Track structure pre-tensioning force (total) – 240 tf
EcoTechnoPark, Maryina Gorka, 2021, uBus (left) and uCar (right)
uBus on the semi-rigid string rail overpass. EcoTechnoPark, Maryina Gorka, 2020
Superlight string rail overpass (based on coiled tubing)
- It is designed for transportation in remote areas and characterized by a relatively low cost and low load capacity. The rail here is represented by a flexible continuous coiled tube with a bundle of high-strength steel wires and a special hardening polymer filler inside.
- The installation of the track is simplified due to the absence of cross butt joints in the rail body (pipe) and sections. The span in this type of overpass can be up to 2 kilometers long.
Specifications
- Length (with anchoring structures) – 895 m
- Distance between supporting towers – from 185 to 227 m
- Number of supporting towers – 3 pcs
- Height of supporting towers – from 12.04 to 16.55 m
- Gross Vehicle Weight Rating of uPod – 2 t
- Track structure pre-tensioning force (total) – 80 tf
EcoTechnoPark, Maryina Gorka, 2020. Anchoring structure for the superlight string rail overpass
EcoTechnoPark, Maryina Gorka, 2019, uWind on the superlight string rail overpass
EcoTechnoPark, Maryina Gorka, 2020. uWind on the superlight string rail overpass
Truss-type string rail overpass
- It is implemented on the 2-in-1 principle, which is a promising development of UST Inc. The lines of urban and high-speed interurban traffic are combined on two levels – on the upper and lower chords of the truss with the help of hinged and suspended uBuses. This type of track structure provides sufficient rigidity and smoothness of the track to develop speeds up to 500 km/h.
- Due to the short length of the transport complex in the EcoTechnoPark (up to 1 km), uPods can only reach speeds of up to 100 km/h.
Specifications
- Distance between supporting towers – 50 m
- Number of supporting towers – 18 pcs
- Height of supporting towers – from 6.38 to 7.77 m
- Gross Vehicle Weight Rating of uPod – 17 t
- Track structure pre-tensioning force at the locking temperature (total) – 240 tf
EcoTechnoPark, Maryina Gorka, 2020, uFlash (top) and uBus (bottom) on the truss-type string rail overpass
Six models of uPods are being simultaneously tested on the four test tracks of the EcoTechnoPark (Maryina Gorka, 2019)
Cargo string rail complex
- It consists of a continuous closed multi-wheel vehicle uTrans U4-100 (with circular traffic) and cargo uPod uTruck U4-131 moving on the truss-type string rail overpass to transport bulk and loose cargoes.
Specifications
- Length (with anchoring structures) – 436 m
- Distance between supports at a straightforward section – 50 m
- At turnarounds – 5 m
- Number of supporting towers – 12 pcs
- Height of supporting towers – 4.96 m
- Track structure pre-tensioning force (total) – 260 tf
EcoTechnoPark, Maryina Gorka, 2019. uTruck
EcoTechnoPark, Maryina Gorka, 2019. uTrans
EcoTechnoPark, Maryina Gorka, 2019. uTruck on the cargo string rail overpass
Transport & Infrastructure Complexes under construction
Rigid heavy-duty string rail overpass
- It is designed for operation of heavy uPods weighing more than 50 tons. Absence of large deflections during the travel of rolling stock makes it possible to develop high speeds.
- With a significant reduction in material consumption, it has a high load-bearing capacity, as well as high rigidity and smoothness of the track structure.
Specifications
- Length (with anchoring structures) – 936 m
- Distance between supporting towers – 48 m
- Number of supporting towers – 18 pcs
- Height of supporting towers – from 9 to 10.15 m
- Gross Vehicle Weight Rating of uPod – 60 t
- Track structure pre-tensioning force (total) – up to 1400 tf
EcoTechnoPark, Maryina Gorka, 2022. Construction of the rigid heavy-duty string rail overpass
Semi-rigid heavy-duty string rail overpass
- It enables movement of heavy uPods weighing more than 30 tons and is characterized by long supportless spans – more than 250 meters long. It allows overcoming water obstacles, mountain gorges, as well as laying roads over transport, industrial, residential and energy infrastructure facilities.
Specifications
- Length (with anchoring structures) – 756 m
- Distance between supporting towers – up to 288 m
- Number of supporting towers – 3 pcs
- Height of supporting towers – up to 16.3 m
- Gross Vehicle Weight Rating of uPod – up to 60 t
- Track structure pre-tensioning force (total) – up to 1800 tf
Construction of the elements of transport and infrastructure complexes. EcoTechnoPark, Maryina Gorka, 2022
Infrastructure facilities in the EcoTechnoPark
uST passenger terminal
- The terminal is integrated with an anchoring structure. It receives horizontal load up to 1000 tons (including temperature forces). It enables transfer between the two platforms serving uPods in suspended (on the second floor) and hinged (on the third floor) versions.
- The building has a control room and the string technology museum (first floor). Such infrastructure facilities can accommodate shopping centers, catering facilities, etc. This allows the customer to receive extra profit in the operation of uST Transport & Infrastructure Complexes, which shortens their payback period.
48-seat quad-rail uBus leaves the passenger station. EcoTechnoPark, Maryina Gorka, 2022
Indoor passenger station
- The indoor passenger station is part of uST terminal integrated with an anchoring structure. It is designed for embarkation and disembarkation of passengers from suspended uPods – bi-rail and quad-rail ones. It is equipped with lounge seats, air-conditioning, sound information systems, video surveillance and intelligent security control. Automatic sliding gates are installed at the exit.
- The capacity of the station is 10,000 passengers per hour. The total area is 200 m².
EcoTechnoPark, Maryina Gorka, 2022. Passenger station (inside)
Outdoor passenger station
- The outdoor passenger station (with a canopy) is located on the roof of the anchoring structure and designed for embarkation and disembarkation of passengers from hinged uPods. It is equipped with lounge seats, sound information, video surveillance and intelligent security control systems.
- Station capacity – 10,000 passengers per hour. Platform area – 80 m². Floor area – 280 m².
EcoTechnoPark, Maryina Gorka, 2022. uFlash leaves the passenger station
Embarkation platform on the semi-rigid string rail overpass
- It is designed for embarkation and disembarkation of passengers from uPods. Special lightweight structure with a roof and side panels in the embarkation and disembarkation area ensures protection against precipitation while waiting for transport.
- Platform area – 11 m².
EcoTechnoPark, Maryina Gorka, 2022. uBus on the outdoor passenger station at the turnaround
Control room
- The control room is designed for collecting, analyzing and storing information, and making operational decisions on its basis. There are four workplaces.
- Technical equipment: server, stationary personal computers, electrical and information networks, communications equipment, telephony, video surveillance.
EcoTechnoPark, Maryina Gorka, 2019. Inside the control room
EcoHouse
- The EcoTechnoPark has an EcoHouse built with green technologies and eco-friendly materials.
- All the land that was cleared for the foundation was moved to the roof of the building, which made it possible to preserve the fertile soil. The same technology is used in the construction of stations and the garages with repair shops for string transport.
EcoTechnoPark, Maryina Gorka, 2019. The roofs of houses (attics) can be used to add greenhouses or to arrange small gardens
String bridge
- It demonstrates alternative applications for string communications. Outwardly, the string bridge is almost indistinguishable from a conventional bridge, but it employs uST technology: composite parts of a string overpass with coiled tubing as the main load-bearing element.
- The technology eliminates expansion seams throughout the entire structure. It increases evenness, strength and durability of the bridge, as well as reduces material consumption by several times, thus decreasing the construction cost. The characteristics of the string bridge are fully compliant with the applicable international standards for bridge crossings.
EcoTechnoPark, Maryina Gorka, 2019. String bridge over a pond by uST technology
