scholarly journals Light rail ballasted track geometry quality evaluation using track recording car data

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. Camacho ◽  
T. H. Le ◽  
S. Rapp ◽  
U. Martin
Keyword(s):  
Quality Evaluation ◽  
Light Rail ◽  
Track Geometry ◽  
Ballasted Track

Application of Artificial Neural Networks in Predicting the Degradation of Tram Tracks Using Maintenance Data

2020 ◽  
pp. 845-864
Author(s):  
Sara Moridpour ◽  
Ehsan Mazloumi ◽  
Reyhaneh Hesami
Keyword(s):  
Neural Networks ◽  
Artificial Neural Networks ◽  
Asset Management ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
Operating Cost ◽  
Light Rail ◽  
Ann Model ◽  
Track Geometry ◽  
Artificial Neural ◽  
And Performance

The increase in number of passengers and tramcars will wear down existing rail structures faster. This is forcing the rail infrastructure asset owners to incorporate asset management strategies to reduce total operating cost of maintenance whilst improving safety and performance. Analysing track geometry defects is critical to plan a proactive maintenance strategy in short and long term. Repairing and maintaining the correctly selected tram tracks can effectively reduce the cost of maintenance operations. The main contribution of this chapter is to explore the factors influencing the degradation of tram tracks (light rail tracks) using existing geometric data, inspection data, load data and repair data. This chapter also presents an Artificial Neural Networks (ANN) model to predict the degradation of tram tracks. Predicting the degradation of tram tracks will assist in understanding the maintenance needs of tram system and reduce the operating costs of the system.

High Speed Rail: Track Construction Considerations

2011 ◽  
Author(s):  
Blaine O. Peterson
Keyword(s):  
High Speed ◽  
Optimal Solution ◽  
Rolling Stock ◽  
High Speed Rail ◽  
Track Geometry ◽  
Slab Track ◽  
Passenger Rail ◽  
Construction Methods ◽  
Track System ◽  
Ballasted Track

This paper discusses general High Speed Rail (HSR) track geometry, construction and maintenance practices and tolerances. The discussion will reference several key international projects and highlight different construction methods and the track geometry assessments used to establish and ensure serviceability of a typical HSR system. Historically, established tighter tolerances of “Express” HSR (i.e. operating speeds greater than 240 km/h or 150 mph) systems have favored the use of slab track systems over ballasted track systems. Slab track systems offer greater inherent stability while ballasted track systems generally require more frequent track geometry assessments and anomaly-correcting surfacing operations. The decisions related to which system to use for a given application involve numerous considerations discussed only briefly in this paper. In many cases, the optimal solution may include both track forms. Rolling stock considerations and their influence on track infrastructure design are considered beyond the scope of this paper. This paper will focus predominantly on two slab track systems widely used in international HSR projects: the Japanese J-slab track system; and the German Rheda slab track system. The French track system will be referenced as the typical ballasted track HSR design. The practices discussed in this paper generally apply to systems which are either primarily or exclusively passenger rail systems. In the U.S., these types of systems will necessarily exclude the systems the Federal Railway Administration (FRA) refers to as “Emerging” or “Regional” HSR systems which include passenger train traffic to share trackage on, what are otherwise considered, primarily freight lines.

Analytical Elastic Modeling of Rail and Fastener Longitudinal Response

2021 ◽  
pp. 036119812098584
Author(s):  
Matheus Trizotto ◽  
Marcus S. Dersch ◽  
J. Riley Edwards ◽  
Arthur Lima
Keyword(s):  
Analytical Model ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Valuable Insight ◽  
Railroad Track ◽  
Track Geometry ◽  
Longitudinal Response ◽  
Ballasted Track ◽  
Track Stiffness ◽  
Component Failures ◽  
Insight Into

The rail fastening system plays a critical role in maintaining proper railroad track geometry by transferring vertical, lateral, and longitudinal forces from the rails to crossties. Broken spikes in elastic fastening systems have been linked to inadequate transfer of longitudinal loads, posing a safety risk for timber crosstie ballasted track. Longitudinal track demand caused by passing trains has been investigated in previous research, but the magnitude and distribution of longitudinal fastener loads is not well understood or documented. To address these track component failures and improve fastener design, this paper presents a validated analytical model that estimates longitudinal rail seat loads, advancing current formulations to focus specifically on the rail seat. The validated method was used to quantify the distribution and magnitude of longitudinal loads in both the rail and fastening system caused by passing trains. Further, this paper quantifies the effect of track stiffness, number of powered locomotives, and wheel spacing on these distributions and magnitudes. This information provides valuable insight into the specific type of spike failures that have led to at least ten derailments and the requirement of manual walking inspections on multiple North American heavy axle load railroads as detailed in this paper. Further, this method can be used to quantify the longitudinal fastener loads for different track conditions to advance the mechanistic-empirical track design philosophy for elastic fastening systems.

scholarly journals Diagnostics of Track Quality of Ballastless Track and Transition Areas in Vicinity of Portals of Tunnel Turecky vrch

2016 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 2-12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michal Šmalo
Keyword(s):  
Track Structure ◽  
Track Geometry ◽  
Ballastless Track ◽  
Ballasted Track ◽  
Transition Areas ◽  
Track Quality

Abstract The paper deals with the partial results of diagnostics of experimental sections of ballastless track Rheda 2000® and transition areas between ballastless and ballasted track structure around portals of tunnel Turecky vrch after six measurement cycles. The paper presents differences between each operational measurement and the measurement before putting sections into operation, which indicates a development of track geometry quality.

Quantification of Rail Displacements Under Light Rail Transit Field Loading Conditions

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alvaro E. Canga Ruiz ◽  
Matthew V. Csenge ◽  
J. Riley Edwards ◽  
Yu Qian ◽  
Marcus S. Dersch
Keyword(s):  
Field Data ◽  
Past Research ◽  
Field Analysis ◽  
Light Rail ◽  
Rail Transit ◽  
Primary Role ◽  
Loading Conditions ◽  
Light Rail Transit ◽  
Transit System ◽  
Track Geometry

While timber crossties are widely used in North America, the popularity of concrete crossties has increased significantly in recent years. Concrete crossties require the use of premium elastic fastening systems to have a proper and stable system. The primary role of fastening system is to attach the rail to its support preserving track geometry. For this reason, past research has focused on its development and behavior. Even though a large amount of research has been conducted on heavy-haul freight railroad systems, little work has been conducted to focus on rail transit systems. Therefore, a field analysis of the behavior of fastening systems under rail transit system loading conditions has been executed, focusing on light rail transit loading conditions. To perform this study, revenue service field data were collected on a light rail transit system. The instrumentation used and how it was installed on site are described in this paper. The critical quantitative metric discussed in this study is the relative displacement of the rail with respect to the concrete crosstie. Analyzing vertical and horizontal displacements, as well as rotation, the performance of the fastening system can be evaluated. For this purpose, different sites on the same rail system were selected for study, comparing both curve and tangent track geometry. In addition to this, the movement of the rail under every axle of the light rail vehicle has been studied in detail. In summary, an analysis of how the rail performs in terms of displacement under light rail transit loading conditions has been completed. Based on field data, the analysis allows the reader to understand how the rail displaces under the given loads when it is installed in a ballasted concrete crosstie track and restrained by elastic fastening systems.

Experimental Investigation on Effects of Track Configurations on Long-Term Behavior of Ballasted Track

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mancheol Kim ◽  
Deokyong Sung
Keyword(s):  
Effective Area ◽  
Full Scale ◽  
Vehicle Speed ◽  
Behavior Prediction ◽  
Track Geometry ◽  
Ballasted Track ◽  
Maintenance Cycle ◽  
Scale Test ◽  
Long Term Behavior

The track settlement causes the deterioration of track geometry structure. Analysis of track settlement is a significant condition for determining the maintenance cycle. The long-term behavior of ballasted track may vary depending on the combination of the track configurations. In the present study, four ballasted tracks are studied through full-scale experiments to evaluate their respective performance in terms of track settlement. A cyclic load of up to 1.5 million cycles, simulated by vehicle speed of 230 km/h, is been applied to the ballasted tracks. The long-term behavior prediction equations for the ballasted tracks used in Korea are presented in this study. The size of the sleeper and the thickness of ballast are analyzed to be the most influential track configurations for the long-term behavior of ballasted track. Results of the full-scale test presented the effective area between ballast and subgrade is related to the long-term behavior of ballasted track. The track settlement decreases as the effective area between ballast and subgrade increases. Therefore, it is necessary to properly consider the effective area of sleeper and the ballast thickness to inhibit the track settlement.

scholarly journals Rail Degradation Prediction Models for Tram System: Melbourne Case Study

2018 ◽  
Vol 2018 ◽  
pp. 1-8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amir Falamarzi ◽  
Sara Moridpour ◽  
Majidreza Nazem ◽  
Reyhaneh Hesami
Keyword(s):  
Prediction Models ◽  
Model Development ◽  
Light Rail ◽  
Data Sets ◽  
Ann Model ◽  
Track Geometry ◽  
Degradation Data ◽  
High Acceleration ◽  
Acceleration And Deceleration ◽  
Ann Models

Tram is classified as a light rail mode of transportation. Tram tracks experience high acceleration and deceleration forces of locomotives and wagons within their service life and also share their route with other vehicles. This results in higher rates of degradation in tram tracks compared to the degradation rate in heavy rail tracks. In this research, gauge deviation is employed as a representative of track geometry irregularities for the predication of the tram track degradation. Data sets used in this research were sourced from Melbourne’s tram system. For model development, the data of approximately 250 km of tram tracks are used. Two different models including a regression model and an Artificial Neural Networks (ANN) model have been applied for predicting tram track gauge deviation. According to the results, the performances of the regression models are similar to the ANN models. The determination coefficients of the developed models are above 0.7.

Track Geometry for Light Rail Systems

2010 ◽  
Vol 2146 (1) ◽  
pp. 18-25 ◽  
Author(s):  
Margarita Novales ◽  
Alfonso Orro ◽  
Miguel R. Bugarín
Keyword(s):  
Light Rail ◽  
Track Geometry ◽  
Rail Systems
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