As Europe’s railways expand, their safety and efficiency depend increasingly on knowing every train’s position....
Satellite positioning set to enhance train localisation
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Report on the Optimisation Tool for Multi-functional Design Solutions
Description: Multifunctional designs can optimise the overall vehicle system, including its subsystems, by incorporating all functional requirements from the outset. However, especially at the beginning of the design process, when design freedom is high and system understanding is low, this can be challenging. The Topology Optimisation of Binary Structures (TOBS), which was previously introduced as a solution in the Shift2Rail project, PIVOT2, is extended in this deliverable by a Mixed Integer Linear Programming (MILP) formulation. This allows simultaneous optimisation of the core topology and face sheet thickness without the need for detailed knowledge about the latter in advance. In the deliverable, this extension is first presented and demonstrated using a sandwich sample beam problem. This includes the solution of the mass minimisation problem, given constraints in static and dynamic compliance, and complemented by the face sheet thickness as an additional design variable. In addition, the Life-Cycle Energy (LCE) is minimised being subject to constraints on static compliance. Overall, it is shown that the extended method can be used to find low-mass solutions that fulfil the constraints.
Target audience: Rail Infrastructure Stakeholders
How it brings us closer to achieving better rail for Europe: The rolling stock plays a decisive role in the attractiveness of the railway and its competitiveness across all modes of transport. In the future, innovative car body design solutions will therefore be needed to make railways not only more performance-capable but also more comfortable and efficient. Sandwich structures guarantee high stiffness and low weight and are therefore being used more and more in the railway industry. This deliverable makes an important contribution to the future applicability of sandwich structures in the face of different materials with diverging properties by investigating another critical structural component. In this way, not only a significant weight reduction can be achieved, but also a reduction in the total energy consumed over the lifetime of a railway.
More information on this topic: PIVOT2
Assembly and Testing of the Carbody End Module Demonstrator
Description: To make the next generation of passenger trains a reality, PIVOT2 brings innovations in car body shells to a readiness level of 4, referring to technical demonstrators validated in the laboratory. One of the partners in the project was commissioned with the development of a complete car body end module of an intermediate vehicle. A high-loaded structure in an intermediate and an end car was developed, considering a variety of requirements to favour later acceptance by various stakeholders. This was followed by a technical approach combining Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer (CFRP) parts, Glass Fiber Reinforced Polymer (GFRP) parts, GFRP/aluminium sandwich parts, and a coupler bracket of high-strength steel. This deliverable describes the tests carried out on both demonstrators, based on the previously manufactured subassemblies, as well as their results. It first introduces the base vehicle and gives an overview of the developed car body end module. It also contains the description of the structure and results of the finite element calculations, as well as the steps to produce the demonstrators. Finally, all tests are specified, and their results are presented.
Target audience: Rail Infrastructure Stakeholders
How it brings us closer to achieving better rail for Europe: To be competitive, railways must not only be comfortable, affordable, and reliable, but also meet the requirements of railway undertakings, urban operators, and regulators. Already today, lighter, and therefore more energy- and cost-efficient trains with high operational reliability are needed. This in turn requires substantial technological innovations. This deliverable makes a further contribution to the fulfillment of this task by presenting the implementation and demanding testing of car body shell innovations. Ultimately, a weight reduction of approx. 20 % was achieved with the help of the demonstrators. By using hybrid structures with lighter materials, it is possible to reduce energy consumption and thus the life cycle costs of the entire railway system. Additional functionalities can also be considered on the service side, thereby increasing the competitive advantages of the railway.
More information on this topic: PIVOT2
Technical Demonstrators of Health Monitoring Systems
Description: Following the development and analysis of high-performance running gears using lightweight materials in the previous project, PIVOT2 is going even further by manufacturing and testing technical demonstrators (TDs). One of the main development streams hereby is the development of Health Monitoring Systems (HMS) for the Condition Based Maintenance (CBM) of running gears. This deliverable presents all the demonstrators developed by the partners involved. They comprise hardware developments for CBM systems, including wired and wireless solutions, but also new algorithms for depicting the running gear status on-board and wayside-based, as well as human machine interfaces and developments for analysing the health status of key elements. For each demonstrator, a case-specific description is provided before the results are presented and the significance for the Shift2Rail objectives are explained.
Target audience: Rail Infrastructure Stakeholders
How it brings us closer to achieving better rail for Europe: The mobility of the future will depend on the railway as a reliable, affordable, and safe means of transport. To offer this, a rethink in rail product development must take place. Innovative solutions are needed in the key technological areas, including the running gear. The deliverable summarises several such innovations that support the introduction of CBM. The sensor architecture and hardware components developed make maintenance more flexible. The physics-guided machine learning algorithms for intelligent vehicle running instability detection developed and the wayside detection system for analysing wheel defects reduce maintenance costs and lower the failure rate in running gear suspension components. The same applies to the bogie components diagnostics solution developed, which reduces unplanned maintenance, increases its predictability, and replaces visual inspections. Data platforms also enable more frequent and detailed analysis of continuous variables, and the train-borne ultrasonic-based sensor solution can detect grease in the wheel flange and thus identify problems as they occur. The combination of these solutions has the potential to increase railway safety and reduce costs significantly in the long term.
More information on this topic: PIVOT2