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April 2011
Article on Track and Vehicle Dynamics in April Rail Engineer
Rail Engineer Magazine has reported some aspects of DeltaRail's approach to Track Management. An article on pages 34 and 35 of the April issue addresses the use of VAMPIRE to model track and vehicle dynamics, including switches and crossings.
The article reports:
"An important part of track maintenance planning is concerned with reducing the irregularities in the measured track geometry to maintain safety against derailment and ride quality standards. To increase productivity, various planning tools have been developed to assist engineers with this task; however these have traditionally only considered the track in isolation. VAMPIRE can be used to help with track maintenance by considering the dynamic behaviour of vehicles on measured track. Using vehicle response data from the software, track locations exhibiting the greatest risk of derailment can be identified and maintenance prioritised accordingly.
By considering the vehicle and track as a system, problems can be identified that would not normally be apparent by considering track geometry alone. In this way track maintenance can be planned in a more systematic manner leading to better safety and reduced operating costs.
VAMPIRE is frequently used for S&C analysis and is capable of modelling the key features including varying rail profile sections and track flexibility, as well as check rails, as required. Simulations can be performed quickly using either surveyed track geometry data or design layout drawings. Additional track irregularities that may develop through time such as kinks at bolted joints and local track twists can be included to varying degrees in the simulation whilst other variables such as wheel-rail adhesion can be assessed. The speed of VAMPIRE and the simplicity of its input files enable users to perform a wide range of simulations to study S&C throughout its potential service for assessing safety, performance and maintenance requirements."
Download the April issue of Rail Engineer Magazine
