Björn Pålsson

Wheel–rail interaction and damage in switches and crossings

Dynamic interaction between a railway freight vehicle and a switch and crossing (S&C) is studied by simulations of vehicle dynamics. In particular, the influence of a stochastic spread (scatter) in traffic parameters on damage in the S&C is assessed. The considered parameters are wheel profile and wheel–rail friction coefficient. To form a database for sampling, 120 wheel profiles from freight wagons in regular traffic have been measured and categorised with respect to wear. Among the investigated parameters, it is shown that equivalent conicity is the wheel profile parameter correlating best to damage in the S&C panels. The influence of hollow worn wheels on damage is also investigated, and it is found that such wheel profiles display a different running behaviour at the crossing transition. Convergence properties for samples of runs generated by Latin hypercube sampling (LHS) are compared with the corresponding properties obtained by pure random sampling. It is concluded that the LHS-generated samples exhibit similar or smaller variance in damage compared with the randomly generated samples.

Simulation of track settlement in railway turnouts

A methodology for the simulation of track settlement in railway turnouts (switches and crossings, S&C) is presented. The methodology predicts accumulated settlement for a given set of traffic loads using an iterative and cross-disciplinary procedure. The different modules of the procedure include (I) simulation of dynamic vehicle–track interaction in a turnout applying a validated software for multibody vehicle dynamics considering space-dependent track properties, (II) calculation of load distribution and sleeper–ballast contact pressure using a detailed finite element model of a turnout that includes all of the rails (stock rails, switch rails, closure rails, crossing nose, wing rails and check rails), rail pads, baseplates and sleepers on ballast, (III) prediction of track settlement for a given number of load cycles and (IV) calculation of accumulated track settlement at each sleeper and the resulting vertical track irregularity along the turnout which is used as input in the next step of the iteration. The iteration scheme is demonstrated by calculating the track settlement at the crossing when the studied turnout is exposed to freight traffic in the facing move of the through route.

Track gauge optimisation of railway switches using a genetic algorithm

A methodology for the optimisation of a prescribed track gauge variation (gauge widening) in the switch panel of a railway turnout (switch and crossing, S&C) is presented. The aim is to reduce rail profile degradation. A holistic approach is applied, where both routes and travel directions (moves) of traffic in the switch panel are considered simultaneously. The problem is formulated as a multi-objective minimisation problem which is solved using a genetic-type optimisation algorithm which provides a set of Pareto optimal solutions. The dynamic vehicle–turnout interaction is evaluated using a multi-body simulation tool and the energy dissipation in the wheel–rail contacts is used for the assessment of gauge parameters. Two different vehicle models are used, one freight car and one passenger train set, and a stochastic spread in wheel profile and wheel–rail friction coefficient is accounted for. It is found that gauge configurations with a large gauge-widening amplitude for the stock rail on the field side are optimal for both the through and diverging routes, while the results for the gauge side show a larger route dependence. The optimal gauge configurations are observed to be similar for both vehicle types.

Design optimisation of switch rails in railway turnouts

Inspired by a manufacturing process of switch rails for railway turnouts, a method for the optimisation of switch rail profile geometry is presented. The switch rail profile geometry is parameterised with four design variables to define a B-spline curve for the milling tool profile, and two design variables to prescribe the deviation from the nominal vertical path of the milling tool. The optimisation problem is formulated as a multi-objective minimisation problem with objective functions based on the contact pressure and the energy dissipation in the wheel–rail contact. The front of Pareto optimal solutions is determined by applying a genetic type optimisation algorithm. The switch rail profile designs are evaluated by simulations of dynamic train–turnout interaction. It is concluded that the obtained set of Pareto optimal solutions corresponds to a rather small variation in design variables where increased profile height and increased profile shoulder protuberance are preferred for both objectives. The improvement in the objectives comes at the cost of an earlier wheel transition to the switch rail and thus increased vertical loading at a thinner rail cross-section. The performance of the optimised geometry is evaluated using a set of 120 measured wheel profiles, and it is shown that the optimised geometry reduces damage also for this large load collective. It is concluded that accurate limits on switch rail loading need to be established to determine the feasible design space for switch rail geometry optimisation.

Optimisation of railway crossing geometry considering a representative set of wheel profiles

A numerical method for robust geometry optimisation of railway crossings is presented. The robustness is achieved by optimising the crossing geometry for a representative set of wheel profiles. As a basis for the optimisation, a crossing geometry is created where rail cross-sectional profiles and longitudinal height profiles of both wing rails and crossing nose are parameterised. Based on the approximation that the two problems are decoupled, separate optimisations are performed for the cross-sectional rail profiles and the longitudinal height profiles. The rail cross sections are optimised to minimise the maximum Hertzian wheel–rail contact pressure. The longitudinal height profiles are optimised to minimise the accumulated damage in the wing rail to crossing nose transition zone. The accumulated damage is approximated using an objective criterion that accounts for the angle of the wheel trajectory reversal during the transition from the wing rail to the crossing nose as well as the distribution of transition points for the utilised wheel profile set. It is found that small nonlinear height deviations from a linear longitudinal wing rail profile in the transition zone can reduce the objective compared to the nominal design. It is further demonstrated that the variation in wheel profile shapes, lateral wheel displacements and the feasible transition zone length of the crossing will determine the longitudinal height profiles of the wing rail and crossing nose if all wheel profiles are to make their transition within the transition zone.

Dynamic vehicle–track interaction in switches and crossings and the influence of rail pad stiffness – field measurements and validation of a simulation model

A model for simulation of dynamic interaction between a railway vehicle and a turnout (switch and crossing, S&C) is validated versus field measurements. In particular, the implementation and accuracy of viscously damped track models with different complexities are assessed. The validation data come from full-scale field measurements of dynamic track stiffness and wheel–rail contact forces in a demonstrator turnout that was installed as part of the INNOTRACK project with funding from the European Union Sixth Framework Programme. Vertical track stiffness at nominal wheel loads, in the frequency range up to 20 Hz, was measured using a rolling stiffness measurement vehicle (RSMV). Vertical and lateral wheel–rail contact forces were measured by an instrumented wheel set mounted in a freight car featuring Y25 bogies. The measurements were performed for traffic in both the through and diverging routes, and in the facing and trailing moves. The full set of test runs was repeated with different types of rail pad to investigate the influence of rail pad stiffness on track stiffness and contact forces. It is concluded that impact loads on the crossing can be reduced by using more resilient rail pads. To allow for vehicle dynamics simulations at low computational cost, the track models are discretised space-variant mass–spring–damper models that are moving with each wheel set of the vehicle model. Acceptable agreement between simulated and measured vertical contact forces at the crossing can be obtained when the standard GENSYS track model is extended with one ballast/subgrade mass under each rail. This model can be tuned to capture the large phase delay in dynamic track stiffness at low frequencies, as measured by the RSMV, while remaining sufficiently resilient at higher frequencies.

A linear wheel–crossing interaction model

This paper presents the derivation of a linear model for wheel–rail interaction kinematics at railway crossings. The purpose of this model is to demonstrate the fundamental constraints imposed on a crossing geometry if it should be compatible with a given range of wheel profile shapes. In this model, the contact point locations on the wing rail and on the crossing nose are described using linear functions, and the wheel profiles are modelled as conical. Based on these assumptions, a method is developed to adjust the vertical position and longitudinal inclination of the wing rail and the crossing nose in order for the crossing geometry to be compatible with a given range of equivalent wheel profile cone angles. In particular, an expression is derived for the average impact angle. The derived relation highlights the potential of tailoring crossing geometries for a given spread in wheel profile shapes in traffic for minimized loading and damage. Further, the properties of the model are compared to the results of quasi-static multibody simulations for a range of wheel profiles.

Metamodelling of wheel–rail normal contact in railway crossings with elasto-plastic material behaviour

A metamodel considering material plasticity is presented for computationally efficient prediction of wheel–rail normal contact in railway switches and crossings (S&C). The metamodel is inspired by the contact theory of Hertz, and for a given material, it computes the size of the contact patch and the maximum contact pressure as a function of the normal force and the local curvatures of the bodies in contact. The model is calibrated based on finite element (FE) simulations with an elasto-plastic material model and is demonstrated for rail steel grade R350HT. The error of simplifying the contact geometry is discussed and quantified. For a moderate difference in contact curvature between wheel and rail, the metamodel is able to accurately predict the size of the contact patch and the maximum contact pressure. The accuracy is worse when there is a small difference in contact curvature, where the influence of variation in curvature within the contact patch becomes more significant. However, it is shown that such conditions lead to contact stresses that contribute less to accumulated plastic deformation. The metamodel allows for a vast reduction of computational effort compared to the original FE model as it is given in analytical form.