Cost-efficient and reliable high-capacity infrastructure (IN2TRACK-3) (RV47)

Project Coordinator - Trafikverket

Project Leader at KTH - Mats Berg (WP3)

Scientists at KTH - Rohan Kulkarni, Alireza Qazizadeh, Saeed Hossein Nia

Other Scientists - From 26 European Partners

Sources of Funding - Trafikverket and European Commission (Horizon 2020)

In IN2TRACK-3 WP3 Enhanced track, KTH is essentially continuing the work carried out in IN2TRACK-2 WP3. More specifically KTH is working in Subtask 3.3.1 Wheel-rail management, investigating vehicle running instability and mainly its relation to the wheel and rail profiles.

The focus is on the wheel-rail interface (nominal and worn profiles) and how this profile match, together with the actual track gauge, will affect the equivalent conicity and associated parameters. This information should then be used to resolve whether vehicle running instability, partly also passenger discomfort, originates from poor wheel-rail interaction or other reasons like vehicle suspension issues or poor track quality. If the wheel-rail interaction is the bottleneck, the goal is to identify the main cause of vehicle instability: wheel profile, rail profile or track gauge. The investigation should be carried out by dynamics simulations supported by measured wheel and rail profiles as well as measured track irregularities (incl. gauge). With the procedure outlined above, an algorithm for detection and root cause identification of vehicle instability can be evaluated in a simulation environment. Together with efforts in other projects the algorithm should be evaluated during vehicle-based condition monitoring of vehicle-track interaction through in-service trains with proper measurement equipment. In practice, vehicle instability issues should be resolved quickly and the most proper maintenance action carried out. This action could be on the vehicle (wheel), track (rail & gauge), or both. It is also important to identify which vehicles and/or which track sections are in need for maintenance.

KTH will also investigate potentially stable wheel and rail profiles over time. The work focuses on measured wheel and rail profiles, provided by Swedish train operators and Trafikverket, on selected vehicles and tracks. The work consists in evaluating trends in the wear of wheel and rail profiles to understand for which conditions the profiles are more or less stable in shape over time. Some dynamics simulations should also support the investigations. The results should be a starting point for selecting initial/nominal wheel and rail profiles that should not change much in shape over time and thereby reducing the maintenance cost and the risk of vehicle running instability. This is also related to wheel reprofiling and rail grinding/milling.