Safety assessment of underground vehicles passing over highly resilient straight track in the presence of a broken rail

Abstract

The current article presents the results of a research study that dealt with the simulation of vehicle—track interaction for a new slab track design, conceived to reduce noise and vibration levels transmitted to the neighbouring buildings. This design is mainly distinguished by its high elasticity and damping. A more elastic track, however, leads to greater rail deflections, which could affect the train's overall running safety. In this study, the derailment risk for trains running on slab track when encountering a broken rail has been evaluated. Two different types of rail fastening system with different elasticities have been analysed and compared. The results of this study will be considered in future track work projects. Up to now, the study has only been applied to straight track, even though the model is currently being extended to also study curved tracks.

Numerical methods were used in order to simulate the dynamic behaviour of the train—track interaction. For that purpose, multi-body system (MBS) modelling techniques were combined with the techniques based on the finite-element method (FEM). MBS modelling was used for modelling the vehicle and FEM for simulating the elastic track. The simulation model was validated by comparing simulated results with experimental data obtained in field testing.

During the simulations, various safety indices, characteristic of derailment risk, were analysed. The simulations realized at the maximum running velocity of 110 km/h showed a similar behaviour for several track types. When reducing the running speed, the safety indices worsened for both cases. Although the worst behaviour was observed for the track with a greater elasticity, in none of the simulations did a derailment occur when running over the broken rail.

Keywords

slab track resilient track block spacing vehicle—track interaction broken rail rail breakage simulation derailment risk safety running stability

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

1 Polach

Berg

Iwnicki

. In Handbook of railway vehicle dynamics (Ed. Iwnicki

), 2006, pp. 143–179, ISBN 0849333210 (CRC Press, Taylor & Francis Group, Boca Raton, USA).

Dahlberg

Track issues. In Handbook of railway vehicle dynamics (Ed. Iwnicki

), 2006, pp. 143–179, ISBN 0849333210 (CRC Press, Taylor & Francis Group, Boca Raton, USA).

Esveld

Modern railway track, 2001, ISBN 90-800324-3-3 (MRT-Productions, Zaltbommel, The Netherlands).

Afonso Ferreira

López-Pita

Modelling dynamic behaviour of very high-speed railways to evaluate track vibration and deterioration. Railway Engineering - 2005, London, UK, 29–30 June 2005.

Frýba

History of winkler foundation. Veh. Syst. Dyn. Suppl., 1995, 24, 7–12.

Moravčík

Response of railway track on nonlinear discrete supports. Veh. Syst. Dyn. Suppl., 1995, 24, 280–293.

Ahlbeck

D. R.

Effects of track dynamic impedance on vehicle-track interactions. Veh. Syst. Dyn. Suppl., 1995, 24, 58–71.

Thompson

D. J.

Vincent

Track dynamic behaviour at high frequencies. Part 1: Theoretical models and laboratory measurements. Veh. Syst. Dyn. Suppl., 1995, 24, 86–99.

Jaschinski

Multibody simulation of flexible vehicles in interaction with flexible guideways. Veh. Syst. Dyn. Suppl., 1995, 24, 31–44.

10.

Knothe

Gross-Thebing

Simple semi-analytical for discrete-continuous railway track, their use for time-domain solutions. Veh. Syst. Dyn. Suppl., 1995, 24, 340–352.

11.

Young

T. H.

C. Y.

Vertical vibration analysis of vehicle/imperfect track systems. Veh. Syst. Dyn., 2003, 40, 329–349.

12.

Ripke

Knothe

Simulation of high frequency vehicle-track interactions. Veh. Syst. Dyn. Suppl., 1995, 24, 72–85.

13.

Dahlberg

Vertical dynamic train/track interaction - verifying a theoretical model by full scale experiments. Veh. Syst. Dyn. Suppl., 1995, 24, 45–57.

14.

Eisenmann

Die Schiene als Tragbalken (El Carril como Viga de Soporte). EI - Eisenbahningenieur, 2004, 55, 22–25.

15.

Zakeri

J. A.

Statistical analysis of rail breakage and rail welding failures in Iranian railways. Railway Engineering - 2005, London, UK, 29–30 June 2005.

16.

Zarembski

A. M.

Palese

J. W.

Managing risk on the railway infrastructure. In Proceedings of the 7th World Congress on Railway Research, Montreal, 4–8 June 2006.

17.

T. X.

Thompson

D. J.

The effects of track non-linearity on wheel/rail impact. J. Rail Rapid Transit, 2004, 218, 1–15.

18.

Jeong

D. J.

Engineering study of dynamic loads at rail joints, Volpe Center Draft Report to FRA, 2001, available from www.inforum.com/specials/minot/NTSBreport/233325.pdf.

19.

Dukkipati

R. V.

Dong

The dynamic effects of conventional freight car running over a dipped-joint. Veh. Syst. Dyn., 1999, 31, 95–111.

20.

Andersson

Dahlberg

Wheel/rail impacts at a railway turnout crossing. Volpe Center Draft Report to FRA, 2001, Available from www.inforum.com/specials/minot/NTSBreport233325.pdf, 1998, 212, 123–134.

21.

Esveld

Steenbergen

Force-based assessment of rail welds. In Proceedings of the 7th World Congress on Railway Research, Montreal, 4–8 June 2006.

22.

Vanhonacker

Van Leuven

Super resilient rail fixation systems to reduce squeal noise, vibration and rail corrugation. Railway Engineering - 2005, London, UK, 29–30 June 2005.

23.

Bergoend

J. P.

Petin

Robertson

Achieving S3 or the development of a highly resilient high-speed slab track for the channel tunnel rail link. Railway Engineering - 2005, London, UK, 29–30 June 2005.

24.

Thompson

Jones

Noise and vibration from railway vehicles. In Handbook of railway vehicle dynamics (Ed. Iwnicki

), 2006, pp. 279–325, ISBN 0849333210 (CRC Press, Taylor & Francis Group, Boca Raton, USA).

25.

Melis

Terraplenes y balasto en Alta Velocidad Ferroviaria (Primera parte). Revista de Obras Públicas, Marzo, 2006, 3464, 7–36.

26.

Melis

González

F. J.

Ferrocarriles Metropolitanos. Tranvías, Metros Ligeros y Metros Convencionales. Colegio de Ingenieros de Caminos, Canales y Puertos, 2004, ISBN 8438002870.

27.

Melis

Matías

Vía en Placa en la Ampliación del Metro de Madrid. Reducción de los Costes de Mantenimiento. Revista de Obras Públicas, 1998, 3375, 17–34.

28.

Miura

Takai

Uchida

Fukada

The mechanism of railway tracks. In Railway technology today 2, Japan railway & transport review (Ed. Wako

), March 1998, pp. 38–45.

29.

Zoeteman

Esveld

Evaluating track structures: life cycle cost analysis as a structured approach. World Congress on Railway Research, Tokyo, October 1999.

30.

Man

Hoogendoorn

Mechanical test results EBS low stiffness - Metro de Madrid. EDILON Report R4293, January 2005.

31.

Houwen

Wiltink

Mechanical properties of the Metro de Madrid medium stiffness embedded block system. EDILON Report R3713, March 2002.

32.

32 Edilon Rail Systems. Edilon Corkelast Embedded Block system, available from http://www.edilon.com, accessed 19 November 2006.

33.

33 Ingenieria de Vias Elasticas. Sistema Bibloque sin Riostra, available from http://www.viaselasticas.com, accessed 19 November 2006.

34.

Knothe

Grassie

S. L.

Modelling of railway track and vehicle/track interaction at high frequencies. Veh. Syst. Dyn., 1993, 22, 209–262.

35.

Schupp

Weidemann

Mauer

'Modelling the contact between wheel and rail within multibody system simulation. Veh. Syst. Dyn., 2004, 41, 349–364.

36.

Gonzalez

F. J.

Blanquer

J. F.

Suarez

Rodriguez

Models of Metro de Madrid rolling stock and comparative studies relating the comfort. In 6th International Conference on Railway Bogies and Running Gears, Budapest, Hungary, 13–16 September 2004.

37.

Miyamoto

Mechanism of derailment phenomena of railway vehicles. Quart. Rep. RTRI, 1996, 37, 147–155.

38.

Ishida

Matsuo

Safety criteria for evaluation of railway vehicle derailment. Quart. Rep. RTRI, 1999, 40, 18–25.

39.

39 UIC 518. 'Testing and approval of railway vehicles from the point of view of their dynamic behaviour - safety - track fatigue - ride quality. Union Internationale des Chemins de Fer (UIC), 2005.