Acoustic models of railway vehicles in standstill and pass-by conditions can be used as part of a virtual certification process for new trains. For each piece of auxiliary equipment, the sound power measured on a test bench is combined with measured or predicted transfer functions. It is important, however, to allow for installation effects due to shielding by fairings or the train body. In the current work, fast-running analytical models are developed to determine these installation effects. The model for roof-mounted sources takes account of diffraction at the corner of the train body or fairing, using a barrier model. For equipment mounted under the train, the acoustic propagation from the sides of the source is based on free-field Green’s functions. The bottom surfaces are assumed to radiate initially into a cavity under the train, which is modelled with a simple diffuse field approach. The sound emitted from the gaps at the side of the cavity is then assumed to propagate to the receivers according to free-field Green’s functions. Results show good agreement with a 2.5D boundary element model and with measurements. Modelling uncertainty and parametric uncertainty are evaluated. The largest variability occurs due to the height and impedance of the ground, especially for a low receiver. This leads to standard deviations of up to 4 dB at low frequencies. For the roof-mounted sources, uncertainty over the location of the corner used in the equivalent barrier model can also lead to large standard deviations.
In this article, we consider the numerical prediction of the noise emission from a wheelset in laboratory conditions. We focus on the fluid–structure interaction leading to sound emission in the fluid domain by analyzing three different methods to account for acoustic sources. These are a discretized baffled piston using the discrete calculation method (DCM), a closed cylindrical volume using the boundary element method (BEM) and radiating elastic disks in a cubic enclosure solved with the finite element method (FEM). We provide the validation of the baffled piston and the BEM using measurements of the noise emission of a railway wheel by considering ground reflections in the numerical models. Selected space-resolved waveforms are compared with experimental results as well as with a fluid–structure interaction finite element model. The computational advantage of a discretized disk mounted on a baffle and BEM compared to FEM is highlighted, and the baffled pistons limitations caused by a lack of edge radiation effects are investigated.
The main contribution of this paper is the development and demonstration of a novel methodology that can be followed to develop a simulation twin of a railway track switch system to test the functionality in a digital environment. This is important because, globally, railway track switches are used to allow trains to change routes; they are a key part of all railway networks. However, because track switches are single points of failure and safety-critical, their inability to operate correctly can cause significant delays and concomitant costs. In order to better understand the dynamic behaviour of switches during operation, this paper has developed a full simulation twin of a complete track switch system. The approach fuses finite element for the rail bending and motion, with physics-based models of the electromechanical actuator system and the control system. Hence, it provides researchers and engineers the opportunity to explore and understand the design space around the dynamic operation of new switches and switch machines before they are built. This is useful for looking at the modification or monitoring of existing switches, and it becomes even more important when new switch concepts are being considered and evaluated. The simulation is capable of running in real time or faster meaning designs can be iterated and checked interactively. The paper describes the modelling approach, demonstrates the methodology by developing the system model for a novel “REPOINT” switch system, and evaluates the system level performance against the dynamic performance requirements for the switch. In the context of that case study, it is found that the proposed new actuation system as designed can meet (and exceed) the system performance requirements, and that the fault tolerance built into the actuation ensures continued operation after a single actuator failure.
Investigations into the aerodynamic properties of vertical sound barriers exposed to high-speed operations employ computational fluid dynamics. The primary focus of this research is to evaluate the influence of train speed and the distance (D) from the track centerline under various operating conditions. The findings elucidate a marked elevation in the aerodynamic effect amplitude on sound barriers as train speeds increase. In single-train passages, the aerodynamic effect amplitude manifests a direct relationship with the square of the train speed. When two trains pass each other, the aerodynamic amplitude intensifies due to an additional aerodynamic increment on the sound barrier. This increment exhibits an approximate quadratic correlation with the retrograde train speed. Notably, the impact of high-speed trains on sound barrier aerodynamics surpasses that of low-speed trains, and this discrepancy amplifies with larger speed differentials between trains. Moreover, the train-induced aerodynamic effect diminishes significantly with greater distance (D), with occurrences of pressure coefficient (C P) exceeding the standard thresholds during dual-train passages. This study culminates in the formulation of universal equations for quantifying the influence of train speed and distance (D) on sound barrier aerodynamic characteristics across various operational scenarios.
High-speed railway bridges are subjected to normative limitations concerning maximum permissible deck accelerations. For the design of these structures, the European norm EN 1991-2 introduces the high-speed load model (HSLM)—a set of point loads intended to include the effects of existing high-speed trains. Yet, the evolution of current trains and the recent development of new load models motivate a discussion regarding the limits of validity of the HSLM. For this study, a large number of randomly generated load models of articulated, conventional, and regular trains are tested and compared with the envelope of HSLM effects. For each type of train, two sets of 100,000 load models are considered: one abiding by the limits of the EN 1991-2 and another considering wider limits. This comparison is achieved using both a bridge-independent metric (train signatures) and dynamic analyses on a case study bridge (the Canelas bridge of the Portuguese Railway Network). For the latter, a methodology to decrease the computational cost of moving loads analysis is introduced. Results show that some theoretical load models constructed within the stipulated limits of the norm can lead to effects not covered by the HSLM. This is especially noted in conventional trains, where there is a relation with larger distances between centres of adjacent vehicle bogies.
The low-frequency oscillation (LFO) has occurred in the train–network system due to the introduction of the power electronics of the trains. The modeling and analyzing method in current researches based on electrified railway unilateral power supply system are not suitable for the LFO analysis in a bilateral power supply system, where the trains are supplied by two traction substations. In this work, based on the single-input and single-output impedance model of China CRH5 trains, the node admittance matrices of the train–network system both in unilateral and bilateral power supply modes are established, including three-phase power grid, traction transformers and traction network. Then the modal analysis is used to study the oscillation modes and propagation characteristics of the unilateral and bilateral power supply systems. Moreover, the influence of the equivalent inductance of the power grid, the length of the transmission line, and the length of the traction network are analyzed on the critical oscillation mode of the bilateral power supply system. Finally, the theoretical analysis results are verified by the time-domain simulation model in MATLAB/Simulink.