Three-dimensional derailment analysis of crashed freight trains

In this paper, the collision-induced derailment of freight trains was investigated. The collision between two identical freight trains occurring on a curved path rather than along a straight line was investigated. This is because from the point of view of safety against derailment this collision scenario is thought to be more critical than the scenarios defined in the European standard EN 15227. In this work, one of the trains is stationary and the other moving train collides at 36 km/h. Two kinds of container wagons were simulated. One is the two-axle freight wagon Kls 442. Another is the freight wagon Rmms 662 with two Y25 bogies. Simulation results demonstrate that in terms of safety against derailment the bogie wagon Rmms 662 was found to have better behaviour than the two-axle wagon Kls 442. In addition, this study points out that there are many contributory factors to the responses of freight wagons during a collision, such as curve radius, distance between bogie pivots and loading mass. The derailment phenomenon is less likely to occur, when freight trains collide on the curve with a larger radius. Besides that the characteristics of freight wagons with large axle loads, low centre of gravity of car body and appropriate static strength are favourable for the collided wagons in reducing the risk of derailment.     

Influence of train length on in-train longitudinal forces during brake application

It needs some seconds for a signal, which is created from brake application, to travel from the first part of the train system (locomotive) to the end part of it (last wagon). Delay in time of all parts of the system (train) brake is seen which might deteriorate the longitudinal dynamic interaction of the long trains. For instance, this results in running of the rear cars to the front ones and hence producing large in-train forces at the buffers and couplers. Major parts of the rolling stock in railway system repair are known for relative compression and tension forces, which are applied to the whole train system and cause huge expenses for the industry. For trains with long lengths, operating in safe area is another important relation with train forces along the system. By using MATLAB simulation in this study, we investigated the length's effect on train dynamic along the system mainly for freight trains. We did our research on the trains which are currently used in Railways of Islamic Republic of Iran, RIRI. Four diverse cases were under our simulation, in each of which, trains consist of 52, 32, 20 and 12 cars, respectively. Two different forces (tension and compression) are displayed here as of the outcome of the research. Simulations show different forms of interplays in dynamics along the system. Then we compared the graphs to each other to find out detailed influences of length of the whole system (train including different number of wagons and locomotive) on dynamics of system along it while braking is applied.     

Dynamic response of the train–track–bridge system subjected to derailment impacts

Derailments on bridges, although not frequent, when occurs due to a complex dynamic interaction of the train–track–bridge structural system, are very severe. Furthermore, the forced vibration induced by the post-derailment impacts can toss out the derailed wagons from the bridge deck with severe consequences to the traffic underneath and the safety of the occupants of the wagons. This paper presents a study of the train–track–bridge interaction during a heavy freight train crossing a concrete box girder bridge from a normal operation to a derailed state. A numerical model that considers the bridge vibration, train–track interaction and the train post-derailment behaviour is formulated based on a coupled finite-element – multi-body dynamics (FE-MBD) theory. The model is applied to predict the post-derailment behaviour of a freight train composed of one locomotive and several wagons, as well as the dynamic response of a straight single-span simply supported bridge containing ballast track subjected to derailment impacts. For this purpose, a typical derailment scenario of a heavy freight train passing over a severe track geometry defect is introduced. The dynamic derailment behaviour of the heavy freight train and the dynamic responses of the rail bridge are illustrated through numerical examples. The results exhibit the potential for tossing out of the derailed trains from the unstable increase in the yaw angle signature and a lower rate of increase of the bridge deck bending moment compared to the increase in the static axle load of the derailed wheelset.     

Dynamics of railway wagons subjected to braking torques on defective tracks

It is well known that track defects cause profound effects to the dynamics of railway wagons; normally such problems are examined for cases of wagons running at a constant speed. Brake/traction torques affect the speed profile due to the wheel–rail contact characteristics but most of the wagon–track interaction models do not explicitly consider them in simulation. The authors have recently published a model for the dynamics of wagons subject to braking/traction torques on a perfect track by explicitly considering the pitch degree of freedom for wheelsets. The model is extended for cases of lateral and vertical track geometry defects and worn railhead and wheel profiles. This paper presents the results of the analyses carried out using the model extended to the dynamics of wagons containing less ideal wheel profiles running on tracks with geometry defects and worn rails.     

Dynamics of railway wagons subjected to braking/traction torque

Braking or traction torque is regarded as an important source of wheelset skid and a potential source of derailment risk that adversely affects the safety levels of train operations; therefore, this research examines the effect of braking/traction torque to the longitudinal and lateral dynamics of wagons. This paper reports how train operations safety could be adversely affected due to various braking strategies. Sensitivity of wagon dynamics to braking severity is illustrated through numerical examples. The influence of wheel/rail interface friction coefficient and the effects of two types of track geometry defects on wheel unloading ratio and wagon pitch are also discussed in the paper.     

工矿编组列车制动气路改造及分析

变频车、砂浆车、渣车及管片车是盾构施工中常用的工矿编组列车。为了解决传统的工矿编组列车单气路制动控制系统在启停时存在延时、不能无级调节刹车力等问题,对传统的工矿编组列车气路制动控制系统进行双作用气路改造,对制动装置加装一套气压控制管路,使得机车在制动时气缸迅速排气,从而解决了延迟问题,同时也保证在制动过程中能对气缸进气压力调节,实现制动过程可控,大大提高了机车制动的可靠性,解除了工矿编组列车制动不同步带来的安全隐患。通过这个小改进,希望对盾构施工过程中存在类似问题的项目提供一些参考和借鉴。     

Analysis of the nonlinear dynamics of a 2–axle freight wagon in curves

This paper deals with the study of the nonlinear dynamic behaviour of 2-axle freight wagons in curves, considering the case of one single wagon (neglecting inter-car coupling forces) and of multiple wagons interacting through the buffers and the couplers. A multi-body model of a single wagon and of a three-car assembly is introduced, paying particular attention to the nonlinear and nonsmooth modelling of the suspensions and of the inter-car coupling elements. Using this model, a numerical analysis of the steady-state solution reached after the negotiation of curve transition is presented and bifurcations are identified for some particular values of the curve radius. For the single car case, it is shown that depending on the curve radius and the vehicle speed the carbody may experience severe periodic oscillations at speeds lying in the operating range of the vehicle. For the car-assembly case, it is shown that the coupling forces exchanged by the wagons significantly affect their dynamics in a curve, reducing the amplitude of vibration.     

Dynamics of railway freight vehicles

This paper summarises the historical development of railway freight vehicles and how vehicle designers have tackled the difficult challenges of producing running gear which can accommodate the very high tare to laden mass of typical freight wagons whilst maintaining stable running at the maximum required speed and good curving performance. The most common current freight bogies are described in detail and recent improvements in techniques used to simulate the dynamic behaviour of railway vehicles are summarised and examples of how these have been used to improve freight vehicle dynamic behaviour are included. A number of recent developments and innovative components and sub systems are outlined and finally two new developments are presented in more detail: the LEILA bogie and the SUSTRAIL bogie.     

Models of Wheel Contact Dynamics: An Analytical Study on the In-Plane Transient Responses of a Brush Model

This paper deals with the dynamics of the contact between the pneumatic tyre and the ground, in particular with reference to braking manoeuvres of aircraft. The transient response of the braking force is analytically evaluated in terms of the transfer functions that link the variation of the braking force to the variation of physical inputs affecting the interaction between the tread and the ground, in the longitudinal plane. The proposed models have been formulated in order to account for the effects of different reference conditions of steady braking on gains, zeros and poles of such transfer functions.     

Models of Wheel Contact Dynamics: An Analytical Study on the In-Plane Transient Responses of a Brush Model

This paper deals with the dynamics of the contact between the pneumatic tyre and the ground, in particular with reference to braking manoeuvres of aircraft. The transient response of the braking force is analytically evaluated in terms of the transfer functions that link the variation of the braking force to the variation of physical inputs affecting the interaction between the tread and the ground, in the longitudinal plane. The proposed models have been formulated in order to account for the effects of different reference conditions of steady braking on gains, zeros and poles of such transfer functions.     

Effect of the combined centre of gravity on the running safety of freight wagons

ABSTRACT

This paper presents an analysis of loaded freight wagon dynamics in curve alignments. We investigate the effects of the combined centre of gravity (CCOG) on the running safety of freight wagons and examine proper position of the CCOG. A simple wagon-rail model is implemented using the multibody dynamics software ADAMS/Rail. The simulation model is operated on curve tracks with various radii and velocities and the curving performances are evaluated. The results indicate that the CCOG can be located within a flexible and accurate range. The longitudinal offset is good for the curving performance and the permissible lateral offset should be assessed based on the curve radius and cant deficiency.     

重型载货汽车气压制动系统危险状态识别

针对重型载货汽车因气压制动系统发生管路破裂、机械故障或热衰退导致制动效能下降且不易察觉从而引发严重交通事故的问题，提出基于主成分分析降维（PCA降维）和马尔可夫模型的气压制动系统危险状态识别方法。考虑到三轴载货汽车双回路制动系统的结构复杂性以及制动过程制动踏板动作、系统压力建立和实现车辆减速具有明显的时序性特点，首先采用PCA降维的方法对系统状态进行辨识；然后运用驾驶人制动意图与制动系统响应的双层隐形马尔可夫模型对系统状态进行识别。受驾驶人习惯影响制动踏板作用瞬间辨识度低，采用混合高斯聚类法提取不同制动意图时制动保持阶段数据建立制动意图识别模型和系统响应识别模型，通过二者匹配程度判定系统状态。最后，分别依据实车试验数据对模型进行离线训练和在线辨识验证。试验结果表明：系统正常状态下，基于PCA降维和马尔可夫模型相结合的识别方法能够准确、有效地识别制动系统状态；制动管路断开压力降低状态下，PCA降维方法能够及时有效识别其危险状态。     

Dynamic Behaviour of Ore Wagons in Curves at Malmbanan

The transportation of ore can be made more cost efficient by use of bigger and heavier trains. An increase in axle load is thereby wanted. The fleet of ore wagons of today at Malmbanan/Ofotbanan in northern Sweden and Norway has to be updated. It is of interest to find out if it is possible to allow a higher axle load on the track with new wagons

To be able to understand and predict the effects on track wear depending on what type of vehicle that is in use, the contact forces between wheels and rails have to be determined. A computer aided analysis has been made of the dynamic behaviour of three test vehicles equipped with different types of three-piece bogies running at Malmbanan. The vehicles are modelled and their interaction with the track is analysed using the multibody simulation package GENSYS

The simulations show that, even if the axle load is increased from 25 tons to 30 tons and the velocity is increased from 50 km/h to 60 km/h, it is possible to reduce lateral track forces and wear in curves by using a different bogie than the standard three-piece bogie used today.     

32 m超低高度混凝土T梁动力性能试验与分析

为了研究开行120km/h货车后既有铁路32m超低高度混凝土T梁的运营状况、安全性和加固对策,选取1孔32m超低高度混凝土T梁进行自振频率、挠度、振幅等主要动力性能测试。结果发现跨中横向振幅超过限值,不能满足120km/h货车运行,需要提高该梁的竖向和横向刚度。     

某汽车气压制动系统制动反应时间的测试及分析

汽车制动反应时间是汽车制动系统的重要性能参数之一,是影响汽车制动距离的主要因素之一。本文对某汽车气压制动系统进行制动反应时间测试,并分析其制动系统特性。     

Understanding high coupler forces at metro vehicles

Couplers of motor units connect the wagons mechanically, electrically and pneumatically. Nowadays they are also designed to meet crash requirements. Since the traction and braking forces are distributed along the motor unit, coupler forces occuring during operation are considered to be low. In most cases, this is actually true. However, towing away a defect motor unit by another motor unit can lead to high forces due to longitudinal vibrations, which may ultimately lead to a failure of the coupler or superstructure. Investigations on the behaviour of motor units operating in an European city have been carried out for about 3 years [Kühnel, A., Hecht, M., Udriste-Breazu, I., Geike, T. and Böhme, C., Kräfte beim Bergen liegengebliebener U-Bahnen—ein unterschätztes Risiko. ZEVrail-Glasers Annalen, Tagungsband SFT Graz, 2004, pp. 128–136; Udriste-Breazu, I., Böhme, C., Kühnel, A. and Hecht, M., Behaviour of Motor Unit Couplers in Towing Case. 4th International Symposium on Passive Safety of Rail Vehicles, Okt. 2003, Berlin, Germany, homepage www.ifv-bahntechnik.de.]. The research has always been focussed on the certain parameters and conditions of the motor units under study. Little effort has been made to theoretically study the problem on a general basis. The aim of this paper is to close this gap.     

Locomotive dynamic performance under traction/braking conditions considering effect of gear transmissions

Traction or braking operations are usually applied to trains or locomotives for acceleration, speed adjustment, and stopping. During these operations, gear transmission equipment plays a very significant role in the delivery of traction or electrical braking power. Failures of the gear transmissions are likely to cause power loses and even threaten the operation safety of the train. Its dynamic performance is closely related to the normal operation and service safety of the entire train, especially under some emergency braking conditions. In this paper, a locomotive–track coupled vertical–longitudinal dynamics model is employed with considering the dynamic action from the gear transmissions. This dynamics model enables the detailed analysis and more practical simulation on the characteristics of power transmission path, namely motor–gear transmission–wheelset–longitudinal motion of locomotive, especially for traction or braking conditions. Multi-excitation sources, such as time-varying mesh stiffness and nonlinear wheel–rail contact excitations, are considered in this study. This dynamics model is then validated by comparing the simulated results with the experimental test results under braking conditions. The calculated results indicate that involvement of gear transmission could reveal the load reduction of the wheelset due to transmitted forces. Vibrations of the wheelset and the motor are dominated by variation of the gear dynamic mesh forces in the low speed range and by rail geometric irregularity in the higher speed range. Rail vertical geometric irregularity could also cause wheelset longitudinal vibrations, and do modulations to the gear dynamic mesh forces. Besides, the hauling weight has little effect on the locomotive vibrations and the dynamic mesh forces of the gear transmissions for both traction and braking conditions under the same running speed.     

A substitute model of two-dimensional dry friction exposed to dither generated by rolling contact of wheel and rail

Dither generated by rolling contact of wheel and rail smoothes dry friction damping provided by the primary suspension dampers of freight wagons and it should be taken into account in numerical simulations. But numerically the problem is non-smooth and this leads to long execution time during simulation, especially when the vehicle with friction dampers is modelled in the environment of an multi-body system simulation program, whose solver has to cope with many strong non-linearities. The other difficulty is the necessity of handling within the code a number of big volume files of recorded dither sampled with high frequency. To avoid these difficulties, a substitute model of two-dimensional dry friction exposed to dither is proposed that does not need application of dither during simulation, but it behaves as if dither were applied. Due to this property of the model, the excitation of the vehicle model by track irregularities may be supplied as low-frequency input, which allows fast execution and, the necessity of handling high-volume files of recorded dither is avoided. The substitute model is numerically effective. To identify parameters of the substitute model, a pre-processing employing a sample of the realistic dither is carried-out on a simple two-degrees-of-freedom system. The substitute model is anisotropic, describing anisotropic properties of the two-dimensional friction arising in the presence of one-dimensional dither. The model may be applied in other branches of engineering, for example, in mechatronics and robotics, where application of dither may improve the accuracy of positioning devices.     

Energy and wear optimisation of train longitudinal dynamics and of traction and braking systems

Traction and braking systems deeply affect longitudinal train dynamics, especially when an extensive blending phase among different pneumatic, electric and magnetic devices is required. The energy and wear optimisation of longitudinal vehicle dynamics has a crucial economic impact and involves several engineering problems such as wear of braking friction components, energy efficiency, thermal load on components, level of safety under degraded or adhesion conditions (often constrained by the current regulation in force on signalling or other safety-related subsystem). In fact, the application of energy storage systems can lead to an efficiency improvement of at least 10% while, as regards the wear reduction, the improvement due to distributed traction systems and to optimised traction devices can be quantified in about 50%. In this work, an innovative integrated procedure is proposed by the authors to optimise longitudinal train dynamics and traction and braking manoeuvres in terms of both energy and wear. The new approach has been applied to existing test cases and validated with experimental data provided by Breda and, for some components and their homologation process, the results of experimental activities derive from cooperation performed with relevant industrial partners such as Trenitalia and Italcertifer. In particular, simulation results are referred to the simulation tests performed on a high-speed train (Ansaldo Breda Emu V250) and on a tram (Ansaldo Breda Sirio Tram). The proposed approach is based on a modular simulation platform in which the sub-models corresponding to different subsystems can be easily customised, depending on the considered application, on the availability of technical data and on the homologation process of different components.     

重卡制动空气处理系统研究

目前,重卡普遍采用气制动,若制动管路空气质量差,将影响阀体的正常工作或者失效,降低制动效能。本文结合实际分析了影响制动管路空气质量的原因,提出了提高制动管路空气质量的几项对应措施,进一步提出了制动系统某些零部件匹配推荐值,对提升制动管路空气质量具有一定的参考意义。