Masonry arch bridges still form the backbone of the UK's transport infrastructure; approaching 50% of bridge spans on the UK rail and regional highway networks are masonry. However, a number of prominent failures suggest we may be at a tipping point - brought about by a perfect storm of the increasing age of the structures, new traffic loading demands, climate change effects pushing structures to new limits and severely restricted maintenance budgets. To respond to the challenging times ahead there is a need to develop a much greater understanding of how real bridges behave, moving beyond traditional 2D idealisations and identifying the extent to which bridges are capable of 'autogenously healing' under cycling loading. This is important as, currently, bridge engineers faced with a damaged bridge simply do not have the tools needed to make informed assessment decisions, and may needlessly strengthen or demolish a structure even if it could, in reality, be repaired at comparatively modest cost. The goal is to provide those responsible for the management of bridges with a powerful suite of analysis modelling tools and a robust overarching multi-level framework capable of being applied to the diverse population of masonry arch bridges in-service today (i.e. undamaged, damaged and repaired). To achieve this a team of experienced researchers with complementary expertise has been assembled. Medium and large-scale experimental tests will be used to develop and validate analysis tools of different levels of sophistication, with high-level, high-fidelity models, capable of simulating the actual masonry bond and material response, used to calibrate novel intermediate-level and lower-level tools suitable for rapid practical assessment.

The aim of OPEUS is to develop a simulation methodology and accompanying modelling tool to evaluate, improve and optimise the energy consumption of rail systems with a particular focus on in-vehicle innovation. The OPEUS concept is based on the need to understand and measure the energy being used by each of the relevant components of the rail system and in particular the vehicle. This includes the energy losses in the traction chain, the use of technologies to reduce these and to optimise energy consumption (e.g. ESSs). Specifically, the OPEUS approach has three components at its core: i) the energy simulation model ii) the energy use requirements (e.g. duty cycles) and iii) the energy usage outlook and optimisation strategies recommendation. The concept builds on an extensive range of knowledge and outcomes generated by a number of key collaborative projects (e.g. CleanER-D, MERLIN, OSIRIS, RailEnergy, ROLL2RAIL) underpinning the research proposed, ALL of which have been led by OPEUS consortium members. Particularly the tool developed for the CleanER-D project will be used as starting point. Significant complementary work from the academic community will also be used to enhance the activities of the project. Specifically, these previous projects input will be used to: • Expand and develop the simulation tool (CleanER-D, MERLIN); • Complete the operational requirements by enhancing the urban duty cycles (OSiRIS); • Provide a global vision of energy consumption in railways (CleanER-D, OSIRIS, RailEnergy) OPEUS’ ambition is to firmly contribute to the following key areas: • Understand energy consumption of urban railways; • Develop a tool to objectively compare technologies and strategies aimed at optimising the energy usage of railway systems; • Unlock the potential contribution that novel technologies and associated strategies can make to optimising rail energy consumption; • Share a global vision for how energy is used in railways

ORION will (a) improve coordination between border, customs and security controls through the development of novel, ground-breaking technologies to streamline processes and enhance communication between various control points; (b) optimize resource allocation for border checks in a dynamic manner, reducing wait times and hassle for travellers while maintaining high security standards; (c) enhance threat detection capabilities of border authorities in challenging operational environments such as on roll-on-roll-off ferries where vehicles and passengers are in continuous movement; (d) enforce interoperability with existing databases and tools and legacy systems used by different EU MSs; (e) improve energy efficiency and reduce the environmental impact of the border passing operations minimizing the waiting queues and reducing traffic congestion in these border crossings points and (f) ensure strong ethical and legal compliance of the developed technologies in order to protect travellers’ personal data. Its innovative framework will be demonstrated in 4 diverse yet complementary use cases, i.e., targeting passenger and vehicle verification during (a) embarkment and (b) disembarkment from roll-on-roll-off (Ro-Ro) ferries, (c) enhanced risk assessment and resource allocation at land border check points and (d) improved security for passengers travelling by train.