2011) Assessment of safety against derailment using simulations and vehicle acceptance tests: a worldwide comparison of state-of-the-art assessment methods,The assessment of derailment safety of new railway vehicle designs is a fundamental concern worldwide. Although the methods used for assessment in different countries and regions vary considerably, the fundamental mechanisms being addressed are the same. This paper provides a detailed review of the current state-of-the-art methods for derailment safety assessment in several regions and countries including Europe, UK, USA, and Russia. Brief overviews of the methods used in China, Korea, and Japan are also included. Similarities and differences are discussed, including testing and computer simulations. References are provided for the origins of the methods and safety performance criteria used in each region. Recommendations are made for improving the assessment methods, especially the use and validation of computer simulations.
A new, stable, multi-point penetration wheel/rail (w/r) contact algorithm has been developed for the NUCARS ® vehicle/track interaction multi-body simulation program. This algorithm resolves previous problems with integration instabilities during wheel flange contact. Contact geometry comparisons using both the standard rigid and new penetration contact models show that the new penetration model correctly calculates the constrained contact geometry for a range of wheel diameters and contact angles. The critical conditions for multiple solutions for w/r profile combinations with steep flanges and the methodologies to account for this problem in NUCARS are also discussed.Applications of the new w/r contact algorithm to diamond crossing and turnout design simulations are presented and compared with test data. These results show that the revised real-time w/r penetration contact model and the flexible track model with rail profile variation capability in NUCARS provide a promising tool for the advanced analysis of special track work.
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