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Aim. The presented study aims to develop and describe a contract management system for FMCG chain retailing companies in the context of the digital transformation of the economy.Tasks. The authors examine the specific aspects of developing a contract management system for chain retailing companies; develop a classification of contracts by sector of activity and outline the landscape of the contract management process; create and describe a system for managing contracts.Methods. The methodological basis of this study includes conceptual representations of the contract management system, which make it possible to apply a systems approach, generalization, grouping, methods of formal system representation, and socio-economic experimentation.Results. The study examines the specific aspects of developing a contract management system for chain retailing companies in the context of the digital transformation of the economy, describing the major types of contracts used by these companies. The contracts are classified by sector of activity, and the landscape of the contract management process is outlined. Its individual units correspond to the Deming cycle and represent a cyclically repeating decision-making process.Conclusions. As a result, a contract management system for chain retailing companies is proposed, and the relationship between the management subsystem and the system of requirements for the architecture of business services in the field of contract management is determined. It is shown that successful implementation of an efficient contract management system requires preliminary work to identify requirements for the architecture of business services. Taking into account these requirements in the modeling of architectural solutions and integrating them into the business architecture will ensure high-quality contract management through the optimization of the company’s resources and highly efficient regulation of the relationship between the stakeholders and counterparties of chain retailing companies.

Problem of ensuring motion safety of empty freight cars is most acute in relation to cars on bogies of model 18-100, which is mainly due to operational wear of wheelsets, side frames and bolsters, as well as spring suspension elements. A potential threat to traffic safety arises when a train, composed of mostly empty and lightly loaded cars, moves along track sections that have deviations in the geometry of rail track of III and higher degrees or combinations and sequences of deviations of II degree. The article presents the main results of complex studies: mathematical modeling of the dynamic interaction of the track and empty freight cars of various types of bogie wear based on the Universal Mechanism software and field tests of cars on measuring sections of tangent, easement and circular curves with a radius of 350, 650, 800, 1000 and 2050 m on the section Belorechenskaya — Maykop of the North Caucasian railway. Dynamic qualities and motion stability of empty freight cars of various types are investigated depending on the parameters of the technical condition of the running gears and the deviations of the geometry of the rail track of II and III degrees of various types and combinations when moving in tangent and curved track sections. Authors provide tables and graphs of the dependences of indicators of dynamic qualities and motion stability of universal empty freight cars of various types on the motion speed in tangent sections of the track and circular curves of various radii and easement curves containing artificial deviations of the geometry of the rail track, most negatively affecting traffic safety. Recommendations are given for correcting the regulatory documents of the Russian Railways, which regulate the permissible speed of motion of empty freight cars, depending on the technical condition of the running gear.

To increase the competitive advantages of rail freight transportation, the long-term development program of the Russian Railways provides for an increase in the speed of freight trains. The design speed of freight cars currently operating on the railway network is mainly 120 km/h, and the permitted speed is limited to 90 km/h. One of the possible solutions to the problem is the introduction of freight cars with an increased speed. At JSC “VNIIZHT” and JSC “VNIKTI”, work is being carried out on the selection of structures, the development of safety requirements, theoretical and experimental studies of freight traffic at increased speeds. In 2017—2018 at the Belorechenskaya—Maikop high-speed test range of the North Caucasian Railway, specialists of JSC “VNIIZHT” carried out running tests of a prototype of a platform car for transporting containers with a design speed of 160 km/h, developed by JSC “VNIKTI”. In the design of the platform car, a bogie is used, which is an analogue of the bogie of trailed cars of electric trains ED4 and ED9, with the selection of the stiffness of the springs in the spring suspension steps to comply with the difference in the level of the automatic coupler from the rail head in the “container” and “gross” modes. Analysis of the results of running tests allows determining the ways to improve the design of the bogie. To select design solutions for the purpose of ensuring safety, a review of the studies of domestic scientists aimed at studying the dynamic properties of railway rolling stock with various designs of the carriage part was carried out. Tests were carried out on prototypes of rolling stock having different elastic-dissipative connections in the “body-bogie-wheelsets” system. Based on the results of the analysis, design solutions have been determined that allow achieving satisfactory dynamic qualities for a freight car at a speed of up to 140 km/h. The adopted design solutions were tested on the basis of the results of theoretical studies of the dynamic properties of a platform car with a new bogie, carried out by the method of computer simulation. Increasing the flexibility of the spring suspension and the horizontal connection of the body with the bogie made it possible to improve the dynamic qualities of freight cars. To assess the safety during certification, it is required to develop a standard that would take into account the design features of car bogies, designed for increased speed.

Nanocrystalline iridium coatings on hafnium carbide and tantalum carbide substrates are prepared by chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) at 600°С. Subsequent high-temperature treatment at 1100°С gives rise to chemical reactions between iridium and hafnium carbide or tantalum carbide to yield nanosized substitutional intermetallic solid solutions MIr3 – x and evolve free carbon. The occurrence of intermetallic interaction is proved by X-ray photoelectron (XPS) spectroscopy.