The increase of the commercial train speed is causing a number of new issues that the railway sector has to deal with. During the last years, special attention is being paid to the ballast pick-up phenomenon, which is confirmed as one of the key aspects to be taken into consideration in operation and maintenance of railway high-speed networks. Ballast pick-up is caused by the aerodynamic load generated by the passage of a train over a ballasted track, and it depends on the aerodynamic behaviour of the train underbody and track components. An improvement in one of these two elements can reduce the movement of the ballast. The shape of the sleeper has influence in the longitudinal profile of the wind speed developing over the ballast bed. Therefore, it is a relevant parameter in which mitigation measurements can be implemented. In this framework, a research and development effort has been undertaken to design a new monoblock sleeper that can offer benefits to control the ballast pick-up phenomenon. This is achieved by tailoring the aerodynamic flow field developing close to the ballast bed while no penalizing the network maintenance operations. The newly designed aerodynamic sleeper slows down the wind speed above the ballast bed. In addition, its rounded shape avoids the ballast stones to be placed on the sleeper, decreasing the probability of ballast pick-up initiated from this location. This allows the railway Operator to increase the commercial speed of the line and decrease the number of ballast impacts on the rolling stock infrastructure. Numerical methods (CFD analysis) have been used as the primary tool to steer the design process, pursuing to control the aerodynamic load developing over the ballast bed while not perturbing other mechanical and track maintenance constraints. After determining the new sleeper and ballast bed configuration, maintenance analysis of the track, in situ characterization of the aerodynamic load produced over the ballast bed, and ballast transport tests have been used to validate the design effort.


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    Titel :

    Aerosleeper: A novel sleeper design to reduce aerodynamics loads on track: A reduction in the aerodynamic load averaged over the train passage measured close to the ballast bed


    Beteiligte:


    Erscheinungsdatum :

    2013


    Format / Umfang :

    8 Seiten, 5 Bilder, 1 Tabelle, 7 Quellen



    Medientyp :

    Aufsatz (Konferenz)


    Format :

    Print


    Sprache :

    Englisch





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