Freight Car Electrically Driven Set and Release Hand Brake (EDHB)

2011 ◽  
Author(s):  
David C. Brabb ◽  
Kenneth L. Martin ◽  
Anand R. Vithani ◽  
Monique F. Stewart ◽  
S. K. Punwani
Keyword(s):  
Field Testing ◽  
Inherent Safety ◽  
Freight Train ◽  
Safety Issues ◽  
Freight Car ◽  
Future Plans

For years, American freight railroads have attempted to eliminate freight train crew injuries when applying and releasing freight car hand brakes. Currently, a person has to crank a handle or turn a wheel while in ergonomically awkward positions to apply a hand brake. If the operator slips or the brake’s mechanisms slip, injuries occur. Also, there are inherent safety issues with the climbing of ladders or steps to operate the brake and the need for going in-between cars to access the brakes. Additionally, today’s hand brakes are applied manually to varying degrees because there is no indicator to tell the crew that the hand brake is fully applied. Many times the hand brake is over applied and becomes damaged. Moreover, a hand brake that is not released upon train movement leads to wheel flats that damage the car, lading, and the track. Wheel set replacement is one of the most costly remediation activities on the railroad and damaged track adversely affects equipment and operations. With the objective of reducing or completely eliminating the issues mentioned above, the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) has sponsored the development of an ‘Electrically Driven Set & Release Hand Brake’ (EDHB). Under this effort, Sharma & Associates, Inc. (SA) has conducted research into related concepts/products conceptualized and evaluated different arrangements selected a promising concept and developed a prototype. Functional laboratory demonstration tests have been conducted on the prototype. Future plans include working with the industry in developing and implementing performance and testing specifications for the EDHB, and validating the design through lab and field-testing.

Hydrotesting and In-Line Inspection: Now and in the Future

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jerry Rau ◽  
Mike Kirkwood
Keyword(s):  
New Technologies ◽  
Inert Gases ◽  
Alternative Methods ◽  
Operating Pressure ◽  
Inherent Safety ◽  
Safety Issues ◽  
The Future ◽  
Integrity Assurance ◽  
High Level

Pressure testing of pipelines has been around in some form or another since the 1950s1–14. In its earliest form, operators used inert gases such as Nitrogen or even air to test for pipeline integrity. However, with the significant increases in pipeline pressures and inherent safety issues with a pressurized gas, the switch to using water happened in the late 1960’s15–17. Hydrostatic tests (referred to as hydrotests) have been used since then to set and reset the Maximum Allowable Operating Pressure (MAOP) for pipelines but as other technologies develop and gain acceptance will hydrotesting still play a key role in pipeline integrity in the years ahead? Currently, hydrotesting is a topic for the impending US Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration’s (PHMSA) Proposed New Rule Making (PNRM)18. Under the NPRM, hydrotesting is required to verify MAOP on pre-1970s US “grandfathered” pipelines, as well as on pipelines of any age with incomplete or missing testing record and include a high level test with a “spike” in pressure. But hydrotesting may not be the only method. Alternative methods and new technologies — used alone or used in combination with hydrotesting — may help provide a more comprehensive way for operators to identify and address potential problems before they become a significant threat. This paper explores both sides of the argument. Before In-Line Inspection (ILI) technology was even available, hydrotesting was the absolute means of the proof of integrity. However, hydrotesting is under scrutiny for many reasons that this paper explores. ILI was introduced in the 1960’s with the first commercially available Magnetic Flux Leakage (MFL) tools that presented the industry with an alternative. Currently there are a huge array of available technologies on an ILI tool and so is the role of the hydrotest over? The paper looks at the benefits of the hydrotest and these are presented and balanced against available ILI technology. Furthermore, as pipelines are being developed in even more harsh environments such as deepwater developments, the actual logistics of performing a hydrotest become more challenging. The paper will also look at both applications onshore and offshore where regulators have accepted waivers to a hydrotest using alternative methods of proving integrity. The paper concludes with the current use and needs for hydrotesting, the regulatory viewpoint, the alternatives and also what the future developments need to focus on and how technology may be improved to provide at least a supplement if not a replacement to this means of integrity assurance.

Methods and results of field testing of a retrofitted freight train with composite brake blocks

2006 ◽  
Vol 293 (3-5) ◽  
pp. 1041-1050 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Bühler
Keyword(s):  
Field Testing ◽  
Freight Train

scholarly journals Recent Advances in Non‐nucleophilic Mg Electrolytes

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qijie Wu ◽  
Kewei Shu ◽  
Lili Sun ◽  
Haihua Wang
Keyword(s):  
High Performance ◽  
Early Stage ◽  
Oxidation Stability ◽  
Short Review ◽  
High Reactivity ◽  
Inherent Safety ◽  
Practical Application ◽  
Safety Issues ◽  
Ion Structure ◽  
Recent Advances

High-performance electrolyte is still a roadblock for the development of rechargeable magnesium (Mg) batteries. Grignard-type electrolytes were once the only choice in the early stage of rechargeable Mg batteries research. However, due to their nucleophilic nature and high reactivity, Grignard-type electrolytes have inherent safety issues and low oxidation stability, which restrict the development of rechargeable Mg batteries in terms of practical application. Recently, emerging novel Mg battery systems such as Mg-S, Mg-O2/air batteries also require non‐nucleophilic electrolytes with high oxidation stability. This short review summarizes recent advances in non‐nucleophilic Mg electrolytes and aims to provide insights into electrochemical properties and active Mg ion structure of such electrolytes.

Inherent Safety Aspects for Layout Design of a Floating LNG Facility

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peiwei Xin ◽  
Salim Ahmed ◽  
Faisal Khan
Keyword(s):  
Hazard Index ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Layout Design ◽  
Inherent Safety ◽  
Optimal Layout ◽  
Safety Index ◽  
Cost Index ◽  
Cost Performance ◽  
Safety Issues ◽  
Compact Design

This article outlines the aspects of inherent safety for the topside layout design of a floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG) facility. An FLNG plant requires a compact design; meanwhile, it needs the safest layout to tackle multi-dimensional safety issues. Thus, the layout of the facility is a paramount factor for ensuring its safety in a cost effective way. Three layouts are proposed and evaluated from the inherent safety perspective. The layout of the process area is mainly focused due to its higher risks. Integrated inherent safety index, cost index and domino hazard index are used to evaluate the three layouts in quantitative terms. An optimal layout is finally chosen based on both inherent safety and cost performance.

National Strike Force Proposal for Fatigue Guidelines for Emergency Responders

2001 ◽  
Vol 2001 (1) ◽  
pp. 417-421
Author(s):  
Stacey Tyler
Keyword(s):  
Case Studies ◽  
Emergency Response ◽  
Significant Risk ◽  
Field Testing ◽  
Environmental Safety ◽  
Hazardous Material ◽  
Material Response ◽  
Safety Issues ◽  
Emergency Responders

ABSTRACT Fatigue is a significant risk to personnel as we respond to emergencies at all hours of the day and night. Because of this risk, major safety issues are often overlooked and there is the potential for fatigue related accidents that arise from preventable circumstances. Studies on fatigue in the emergency response environment, for all risks and all incidents, particularly hazardous material response, have been limited. The purpose of this paper is to provide three National Strike Force-Pacific Strike Team (NSF-PST) case studies when fatigue was notably a problem, discuss some of the physiological impacts of fatigue in the workplace, share field testing results of a draft NSF work/rest guideline, and make the environmental safety field aware of the problem to prompt formal studies.

scholarly journals On traffic safety incidents caused by intrusion of derailed freight cars into the operational space of an adjacent track

Dependability ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 18 (3) ◽  
pp. 39-45 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. M. Zamyshliaev ◽  
A. N. Ignatov ◽  
A. I. Kibzun ◽  
E. O. Novozhilov
Keyword(s):  
Traffic Safety ◽  
Choice Model ◽  
Likelihood Method ◽  
Rolling Stock ◽  
Railway Transportation ◽  
Probit Regression ◽  
Freight Train ◽  
Operational Space ◽  
Freight Car ◽  
Train Loading

Aim.Derailments of rolling stock units (cars, locomotive units) of freight trains cause damage to roadbed and rolling stock, as well as possible loss of transported cargo. Of special interest are cases when derailed rolling stock units intrude into the operational space ofan adjacent track. This, for instance, happened in the case of the Moscow – Chișinșu train at the Bekasovo I – Nara line on May 20, 2014, when as a result of the derailment of freight cars with subsequent intrusion into the operational space of an adjacent track 6 people were killed as the result of collision with an opposing train. In some cases intruding units may collide with an opposing freight train, which may cause the death of that train’s crew and derailment of its cars, which in case of transportation of hazardous loads (e.g. oil and gasoline) may have catastrophic consequences. Intrusion into the operational space ofan adjacent track also interrupts the traffic in both directions. In this context, evaluating the probability of derailed cars intruding into the operational space of an adjacent track is extremely important in order to maintain the tolerable level of risk in railway transportation, while the aim of this paper is to construct functional dependences between the probability of derailed cars intruding into the operational space of an adjacent track and various factors.Methods. Probability theory and mathematical statistics methods were used: maximum likelihood method, logistic regression, probit regression, Cauchy regression.Results.For each of the groups of incidents: derailments due to faulty cars/locomotive units, derailments due to faulty track, using the classic binary choice model an estimation was constructed of the probability of at least one derailed freight car intruding into the operational space of an adjacent track. This estimation turned out to be dependent upon the train loading and number of derailed units. As the number of derailed units is a priori (before the derailment) unknown, it was suggested to construct the probability of intrusion by at least one derailed freight car into the operational space of an adjacent track using a parametric model of dependence between the average number of derailed units and various traffic factors. The resulting dependences were compared. A numerical example was examined.Conclusions.There is a significant direct correlation between the random values that characterize intrusion by at least one unit into the operational space of an adjacent track and the number of derailed freight train units. A direct dependence between the train loading and intrusion by derailed units into an adjacent track was established. In case of derailment due to faulty track, for loaded trains the probability of at least one derailed unit intruding into the operational space of an adjacent track is extremely high. 

Enabling the Transition to ECP Braking

2000 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bryan A. Dougherty
Keyword(s):  
Cost Effective ◽  
Freight Train ◽  
Control Valves ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Freight Car

Abstract This paper addresses the limitations of conventional freight train air brake systems, the stalled adoption of Electronically Controlled Pneumatic (ECP) brakes and a cost-effective industry transition to ECP technology. There are two types of ECP train braking systems (cable and radio) and three types of electronically controlled freight car brake control valves. This paper describes the different types ECP braking systems and their limitations and provides a clear path to enable a fleet wide railcar transition to ECP braking technology.

On Discontinuous Dynamics of a Freight Train Suspension System

2014 ◽  
Vol 24 (12) ◽  
pp. 1450163 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dennis O'Connor ◽  
Albert C. J. Luo
Keyword(s):  
Local Stability ◽  
Wedge Angle ◽  
Field Testing ◽  
Suspension System ◽  
Analytical Prediction ◽  
Periodic Motions ◽  
Freight Train ◽  
Suspension Systems ◽  
Testing Data ◽  
Wedge Effect

In this paper, a freight train suspension system is presented for all possible types of motion. The suspension system experiences impacts and friction between wedges and bolster. The impacts cause the chatter motions between wedges and bolster, and the friction will cause the stick and nonstick motions between wedges and bolster. Due to the wedge effect, the suspension system may become stuck and not move, which can cause the suspension to lose functions. To discuss such phenomena in the freight train suspension systems, the theory of discontinuous dynamical systems is used, and the motion mechanism of impacting chatter with stick and stuck is discussed. The analytical conditions for the onset and vanishing of stick motions between the wedges and bolster are presented, and the condition for maintaining stick motion was achieved as well. The analytical conditions are developed for the onset and vanishing conditions for stuck motion. An analytical prediction of periodic motions relative to impacting chatter with stick and stuck motions in the train suspension is performed through the mapping dynamics. The corresponding analyses of local stability and bifurcation are carried out, and the grazing and stick conditions are used to determine periodic motions. Numerical simulations illustrate periodic motions of stick and stuck motions. Finally, from field testing data, the effects of wedge angle on the motions of the suspension are presented to find a more desirable suspension response for design.

Flight Control Maintenance Diagnostic System (FCMDS) Field Testing Results and Future Plans

1994 ◽  
Author(s):  
Harry Funk ◽  
John Meisner ◽  
Paul Bursch ◽  
Kathleen Radke
Keyword(s):  
Flight Control ◽  
Diagnostic System ◽  
Field Testing ◽  
Future Plans
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