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  • Xiaogen Liu, Shuang Qi, Detian Wan, Dezhi Zheng
    Railway Sciences. 2023, 2(2): 211-224.
    Purpose

    This paper aims to analyze the bearing characteristics of the high speed train window glass under aerodynamic load effects.

    Design/methodology/approach

    In order to obtain the dynamic strain response of passenger compartment window glass during high-speed train crossing the tunnel, taking the passenger compartment window glass of the CRH3 high speed train on Wuhan-Guangzhou High Speed Railway as the research object, this study tests the strain dynamic response and maximum principal stress of the high speed train passing through the tunnel entrance and exit, the tunnel and tunnel groups as well as trains meeting in the tunnel at an average speed of 300 km·h-1.

    Findings

    The results show that while crossing the tunnel, the passenger compartment window glass of high speed train is subjected to the alternating action of positive and negative air pressures, which shows the typical mechanic characteristics of the alternating fatigue stress of positive-negative transient strain. The maximum principal stress of passenger compartment window glass for high speed train caused by tunnel aerodynamic effects does not exceed 5 MPa, and the maximum value occurs at the corresponding time of crossing the tunnel groups. The high speed train window glass bears medium and low strain rates under the action of tunnel aerodynamic effects, while the maximum strain rate occurs at the meeting moment when the window glass meets the train head approaching from the opposite side in the tunnel. The shear modulus of laminated glass PVB film that makes up high speed train window glass is sensitive to the temperature and action time. The dynamically equivalent thickness and stiffness of the laminated glass and the dynamic bearing capacity of the window glass decrease with the increase of the action time under tunnel aerodynamic pressure. Thus, the influence of the loading action time and fatigue under tunnel aerodynamic effects on the glass strength should be considered in the design for the bearing performance of high speed train window glass.

    Originality/value

    The research results provide data support for the analysis of mechanical characteristics, damage mechanism, strength design and structural optimization of high speed train glass.

  • Ai Yibo, Yuanyuan Zhang, Cui Hao, Weidong Zhang
    Railway Sciences. 2023, 2(2): 225-242.
    Purpose

    This study aims to ensure the operation safety of high speed trains, it is necessary to carry out nondestructive monitoring of the tensile damage of the gearbox housing material in rail time, yet the traditional tests of mechanical property can hardly meet this requirement.

    Design/methodology/approach

    In this study the acoustic emission (AE) technology is applied in the tensile tests of the gearbox housing material of an high-speed rail (HSR) train, during which the acoustic signatures are acquired for parameter analysis. Afterward, the support vector machine (SVM) classifier is introduced to identify and classify the characteristic parameters extracted, on which basis the SVM is improved and the weighted support vector machine (WSVM) method is applied to effectively reduce the misidentification of the SVM classifier. Through the study of the law of relations between the characteristic values and the tensile life, a degradation model of the gearbox housing material amid tensile is built.

    Findings

    The results show that the growth rate of the logarithmic hit count of AE signals and that of logarithmic amplitude can well characterize the stage of the material tensile process, and the WSVM method can improve the classification accuracy of the imbalanced data to above 94%. The degradation model built can identify the damage occurred to the HSR gearbox housing material amid the tensile process and predict the service life remains.

    Originality/value

    The results of this study provide new concepts for the life prediction of tensile samples, and more further tests should be conducted to verify the conclusion of this research.

  • Philipp Geiberger, Zhendong Liu, Mats Berg, Christoph Domay
    Railway Sciences. 2023, 2(2): 243-256.
    Purpose

    For billing purposes, heavy-haul locomotives in Sweden are equipped with on-board energy meters, which can record several parameters, e.g., used energy, regenerated energy, speed and position. Since there is a strong demand for improving energy efficiency in Sweden, data from the energy meters can be used to obtain a better understanding of the detailed energy usage of heavy-haul trains and identify potential for future improvements.

    Design/methodology/approach

    To monitor energy efficiency, the present study, therefore, develops key performance indicators (KPIs), which can be calculated with energy meter data to reflect the energy efficiency of heavy-haul trains in operation. Energy meter data of IORE class locomotives, hauling highly uniform 30-tonne axle load trains with 68 wagons, together with additional data sources, are analysed to identify significant parameters for describing driver influence on energy usage.

    Findings

    Results show that driver behaviour varies significantly and has the single largest influence on energy usage. Furthermore, parametric studies are performed with help of simulation to identify the influence of different operational and rolling stock conditions, e.g., axle loads and number of wagons, on energy usage.

    Originality/value

    Based on the parametric studies, some operational parameters which have significant impact on energy efficiency are found and then the KPIs are derived. In the end, some possible measures for improving energy performance in heavy-haul operations are given.

  • Ping Li, Yi Liu, Sai Shao
    Railway Sciences. 2023, 2(2): 257-272.
    Purpose

    This paper aims to provide top-level design and basic platform for intelligent application in China high-speed railway.

    Design/methodology/approach

    Based on the analysis for the future development trends of world railway, combined with the actual development needs in China high-speed railway, The definition and scientific connotation of intelligent high-speed railway (IHSR) are given at first, and then the system architecture of IHSR are outlined, including 1 basic platform, 3 business sectors, 10 business fields, and 18 innovative applications. At last, a basic platform with cloud edge integration for IHSR is designed.

    Findings

    The rationality, feasibility and implementability of the system architecture of IHSR have been verified on and applied to the Beijing-Zhangjiakou high-speed railway, providing important support for the construction and operation of the world's first IHSR.

    Originality/value

    This paper systematically gives the definition and connotation of the IHSR and put forward the system architecture of IHSR for first time. It will play the most important role in the design, construction and operation of IHSR.

  • Fang Wen, Yun Bai, Xin Zhang, Yao Chen, Ninghai Li
    Railway Sciences. 2023, 2(2): 273-288.
    Purpose

    This study aims to improve the passenger accessibility of passenger demands in the end-of-operation period.

    Design/methodology/approach

    A mixed integer nonlinear programming model for last train timetable optimization of the metro was proposed considering the constraints such as the maximum headway, the minimum headway and the latest end-of-operation time. The objective of the model is to maximize the number of reachable passengers in the end-of-operation period. A solution method based on a preset train service is proposed, which significantly reduces the variables of deciding train services in the original model and reformulates it into a mixed integer linear programming model.

    Findings

    The results of the case study of Wuhan Metro show that the solution method can obtain high-quality solutions in a shorter time; and the shorter the time interval of passenger flow data, the more obvious the advantage of solution speed; after optimization, the number of passengers reaching the destination among the passengers who need to take the last train during the end-of-operation period can be increased by 10%.

    Originality/value

    Existing research results only consider the passengers who take the last train. Compared with previous research, considering the overall passenger demand during the end-of-operation period can make more passengers arrive at their destination. Appropriately delaying the end-of-operation time can increase the proportion of passengers who can reach the destination in the metro network, but due to the decrease in passenger demand, postponing the end-of-operation time has a bottleneck in increasing the proportion of passengers who can reach the destination.

  • Tianliang Wang, Ya-Meng He, Zhen Wu, Jun-jun Li
    Railway Sciences. 2023, 2(1): 1-12.
    Purpose

    This paper aims to study the impacts of groundwater seepage on artificial freezing process of gravel strata, the temperature field characteristics of the strata, and the strata process, closure time and thickness evolution mechanism of the frozen wall.

    Design/methodology/approach

    In this paper several laboratory model tests were conducted, considering different groundwater seepage rate.

    Findings

    The results show that there is a significant coupling effect between the cold diffusion of artificial freezing pipes and groundwater seepage; when there is no seepage, temperature fields upstream and downstream of the gravel strata are symmetrically distributed, and the thickness of the frozen soil column/frozen wall is consistent during artificial freezing; groundwater seepage causes significant asymmetry in the temperature fields upstream and downstream of the gravel strata, and the greater the seepage rate, the more obvious the asymmetry; the frozen wall closure time increases linearly with the increase in the groundwater seepage rate, and specifically, the time length under seepage rate of 5.00 m d-1 is 3.2 times longer than that under no seepage; due to the erosion from groundwater seepage, the thickness of the upstream frozen wall decreases linearly with the seepage velocity, while that of the downstream frozen wall increases linearly, resulting in a saddle-shaped frozen wall.

    Originality/value

    The research results are beneficial to the optimum design and risk control of artificial freezing process in gravel strata.

  • Jie Zhou, Zeyao Li, Wanjun Tian, Jiawei Sun
    Railway Sciences. 2023, 2(1): 13-32.
    Purpose

    This study purposes to study the influence of artificial freezing on the liquefaction characteristics of Nanjing sand, as well as its mechanism.

    Design/methodology/approach

    was studied through dynamic triaxial tests by means of the GDS dynamic triaxial system on Nanjing sand extensively discovered in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River under seismic load and metro train vibration load, respectively, and potential hazards of the two loads to the freezing construction of Nanjing sand were also identified in the tests.

    Findings

    The results show that under both seismic load and metro train vibration load, freeze-thaw cycles will significantly reduce the stiffness and liquefaction resistance of Nanjing sand, especially in the first freeze-thaw cycle; the more freeze-thaw cycles, the worse structural behaviors of silty-fine sand, and the easier to liquefy; freeze-thaw cycles will increase the sensitivity of Nanjing sand's dynamic pore pressure to dynamic load response; the lower the freezing temperature and the effective confining pressure, the worse the liquefaction resistance of Nanjing sand after freeze-thaw cycles; compared to the metro train vibration load, the seismic load in Nanjing is potentially less dangerous to freezing construction of Nanjing sand.

    Originality/value

    The research results are helpful to the construction of the artificial ground freezing of the subway crossing passage in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River and to ensure the construction safety of the subway tunnel and its crossing passage.

  • Shilei Wang, Zhan Peng, Guixian Liu, Weile Qiang, Chi Zhang
    Railway Sciences. 2023, 2(1): 33-47.
    Purpose

    In this paper, a high-frequency radar test system was used to collect the data of clean ballast bed and fouled ballast bed of ballasted tracks, respectively, for a quantitative evaluation of the condition of railway ballast bed.

    Design/methodology/approach

    Based on original radar signals, the time-frequency characteristics of radar signals were analyzed, five ballast bed condition characteristic indexes were proposed, including the frequency domain integral area, scanning area, number of intersections with the time axis, number of time-domain inflection points and amplitude envelope obtained by Hilbert transform, and the effectiveness and sensitivity of the indexes were analyzed.

    Findings

    The thickness of ballast bed tested at the sleep bottom by high-frequency radar is up to 55 cm, which meets the requirements of ballast bed detection. Compared with clean ballast bed, the values of the five indexes of fouled ballast bed are larger, and the five indexes could effectively show the condition of the ballast bed. The computational efficiency of amplitude envelope obtained by Hilbert transform is 140 s·km-1, and the computational efficiency of other indexes is 5 s·km-1. The amplitude envelopes obtained by Hilbert transform in the subgrade sections and tunnel sections are the most sensitive, followed by scanning area. The number of intersections with the time axis in the bridge sections was the most sensitive, followed by the scanning area. The scanning area can adapt to different substructures such as subgrade, bridges and tunnels, with high comprehensive sensitivity.

    Originality/value

    The research can provide appropriate characteristic indexes from the high-frequency radar original signal to quantitatively evaluate ballast bed condition under different substructures.

  • Wenhao Yi, Mingnian Wang, Jianjun Tong, Siguang Zhao, Jiawang Li, Dengbin Gui, Xiao Zhang
    Railway Sciences. 2023, 2(1): 48-67.
    Purpose

    The purpose of the study is to quickly identify significant heterogeneity of surrounding rock of tunnel face that generally occurs during the construction of large-section rock tunnels of high-speed railways.

    Design/methodology/approach

    Relying on the support vector machine (SVM)-based classification model, the nominal classification of blastholes and nominal zoning and classification terms were used to demonstrate the heterogeneity identification method for the surrounding rock of tunnel face, and the identification calculation was carried out for the five test tunnels. Then, the suggestions for local optimization of the support structures of large-section rock tunnels were put forward.

    Findings

    The results show that compared with the two classification models based on neural networks, the SVM-based classification model has a higher classification accuracy when the sample size is small, and the average accuracy can reach 87.9%. After the samples are replaced, the SVM-based classification model can still reach the same accuracy, whose generalization ability is stronger.

    Originality/value

    By applying the identification method described in this paper, the significant heterogeneity characteristics of the surrounding rock in the process of two times of blasting were identified, and the identification results are basically consistent with the actual situation of the tunnel face at the end of blasting, and can provide a basis for local optimization of support parameters.

  • Qiang Zhang, Xiaofeng Li, Yundong Ma, Wenquan Li
    Railway Sciences. 2023, 2(1): 68-83.
    Purpose

    In this paper, the C80 special coal gondola car was taken as the subject, and the load test data of the car body at the center plate, side bearing and coupler measured on the dedicated line were broken down to generate the random load component spectrums of the car body under five working conditions, namely expansion, bouncing, rolling, torsion and pitching according to the typical motion attitude of the car body.

    Design/methodology/approach

    On the basis of processing the measured load data, the random load component spectrums were equivalently converted into sinusoidal load component spectrums for bench test based on the principle of pseudo-damage equivalence of load. Relying on the fatigue and vibration test bench of the whole railway wagon, by taking each sinusoidal load component spectrum as the simulation target, the time waveform replication (TWR) iteration technology was adopted to create the drive signal of each loading actuator required for the fatigue test of car body on the bench, and the drive signal was corrected based on the equivalence principle of measured stress fatigue damage to obtain the fatigue test loads of car body under various typical working conditions.

    Findings

    The fatigue test results on the test bench were substantially close to the measured test results on the line. According to the results, the relative error between the fatigue damage of the car body on the test bench and the measured damage on the line was within the range of -16.03%-27.14%.

    Originality/value

    The bench test results basically reproduced the fatigue damage of the key parts of the car body on the line.