Roller rigs have been built world-wide to research into the dynamics of railway vehicles and they have particularly been applied to the development of high-speed trains. This survey takes into consideration both full scale as well as small scale model roller rigs. Besides performance, most important experimental work and the emphasis of application, the scaling strategies of model test rigs and the differences involved in roller rig experiments are treated. Suggestions for potential future uses and developments are also given for this tool which is useful for demonstration and analysis of railway vehicle dynamic behaviour.

The Application of Roller Rigs to Railway Vehicle Dynamics

SUMMARY A 1/5 scale roller rig has been constructed for use in analysing the dynamic behaviour of railway vehicles. The roller rig includes a servo hydraulic system to allow a realistic input of track irregularities at the rollers and instrumentation is fitted to allow measurement of the position and acceleration of the bodies. This paper reports on the first stage in validating the behaviour of the roller rig using a relatively simple, linear computer model constructed in MATLAB. Initial results show good correlation between the behaviour seen on the roller rig and that predicted by the model.

Validation of a MATLAB Railway Vehicle Simulation Using a Scale Roller Rig

The authors form part of a work team engaged on a four year project on the application of active suspensions to railway vehicles. The objective of the first stage of the project was the construction of a test facility on which to experiment the various suspension systems. Criteria used to design this facility were formulated using reduced scale models and mixed theoretical-experimental techniques. This strategy has considerably reduced the cost of the project without neglecting consideration of wheel-to-rail contact phenomena and interactions between primary and secondary suspensions. Special attention has been paid to the comparison between results obtained on the facility and results previously checked with on-field measurements. This paper also includes a description of the control system and of the actuators and sensors used.

Design Methodology and Experimental Results of a Test Facility for Active and Conventional Railway Suspensions

The objective of this article is to present the design and manufacture of a scaled railroad track to be used as a laboratory track for the study of different railway applications. It could be a guideline for future laboratory railroad tracks. The ideal concept was based on possible future studies and, according to them, design requirements have been specified. The main characteristic of the track is that its geometry can be mechanically modified and irregularities can be introduced under controlled conditions in any kind of track sections: straight, curved and transition ones. Finally, the current installed track is shown and the performed quality controls are described. 

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Design and manufacture of a scaled railway track with mechanically variable geometry

SUMMARY This paper describes the results of a test program performed on a conventional three-piece freight car truck, utilizing the Roll Dynamics Unit (RDU) at the Transportation Test Center (TTC) in Pueblo, Colorado. The purpose of the test program was to determine the steady state behavior, in particular the train resistance or drag, that resulted from axle misalignments and simulated curves. The drag of each axle and the angles of attack with respect to the rollers were measured during the experiment. These results were compared with predictions from a mathematical model that had been developed specifically for the purpose of predicting the steady state behavior of a vehicle running on rollers. The predictions from this “roller model” were also compared with the results from a “curving model”, which is able to predict the steady state behavior of a vehicle running on track.

N.G. Wilson

Papers

Train resistance measurements using a roller rig