Title :
Wheel forces during flange climb. I. Track loading vehicle tests
Author :
Shust, William C. ; Elkins, John A.
Author_Institution :
Transp. Technol. Center, Assoc. of American Railroads, Pueblo, CO, USA
Abstract :
The Association of American Railroads (AAR) continues to investigate derailment prevention and railroad safety at the Transportation Technology Center (TTC) using its Track Loading Vehicle (TLV). Full-scale testing of wheel climb and conditions found to cause derailments are discussed in this paper. A primary goal of this research activity is to further the understanding of wheel climb through field testing. Another is to validate and/or improve the current wheel climb criteria used in Chapter XI vehicle acceptance tests. The TLV tests measured wheel/rail forces through complete and repeated derailments using an AAR-1B instrumented wheel set through two distinct test track zones: (1) a new rail; and (2) a curve worn rail profile zone. Over 200 controlled derailments have been recorded and analyzed for effects of wheel set yaw angle and lubrication on the limiting derailment forces. The results have shown good correlation with existing theories
Keywords :
force; friction; lubrication; mechanical testing; railways; safety; test facilities; AAR-1B instrumented wheel set; Chapter XI vehicle acceptance tests; curve worn rail profile zone; derailment prevention; flange climb wheel forces; full-scale testing; lubrication; new rail; rail vehicles; railroad safety; track loading vehicle tests; wheel set yaw angle; Flanges; Force control; Force measurement; Instruments; Rail transportation; Railway accidents; Railway safety; Testing; Vehicle safety; Wheels;
Conference_Titel :
Railroad Conference, 1997., Proceedings of the 1997 IEEE/ASME Joint
Conference_Location :
Boston, MA
Print_ISBN :
0-7803-3854-5
DOI :
10.1109/RRCON.1997.581394
