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  • Wenhua Guo, Xinmin Hong, Chunxia Chen
    Railway Sciences. 2022, 1(2): 260-272.
    Purpose

    This paper aims to study the influence of aerodynamics force of trains passing each other on the dynamic response of vehicle bridge coupling system based on numerical simulation and multi-body dynamics and put forward the speed threshold for safe running of train under different crosswind speeds.

    Design/methodology/approach

    The computational fluid dynamics method is adopted to simulate the aerodynamic force in the whole process of train passing each other by using dynamic grid technology. The dynamic model of vehicle-bridge coupling system is established considering the effects of aerodynamic force of train passing each other under crosswind, the dynamic response of train intersection on the bridge under crosswind is computed and the running safety of the train is evaluated.

    Findings

    The aerodynamic force of trains' intersection has little effects on the derailment factor, lateral wheel-rail force and vertical acceleration of train, but it increases the offload factor of train and significantly increases the lateral acceleration of train. The crosswind has a significant effect on increasing the derailment factor, lateral wheel-rail force and offload factor of train. The offload factor of train is the key factor to control the threshold of train speed. The impact of the aerodynamic force of trains' intersection on running safety cannot be ignored. When the extreme values of crosswind wind speed are 15 m·s-1, 20 m·s-1 and 25 m·s-1, respectively, the corresponding speed thresholds for safe running of train are 350 km·h-1, 275 km·h-1 and 200 km·h-1, respectively.

    Originality/value

    The research can provide a more precise numerical method to study the running safety of high-speed trains under the aerodynamic effect of trains passing each other on bridge in crosswind.

  • Shuanbao Yao, Dawei Chen, Sansan Ding
    Railway Sciences. 2022, 1(2): 273-288.
    Purpose

    The nose length is the key design parameter affecting the aerodynamic performance of high-speed maglev train, and the horizontal profile has a significant impact on the aerodynamic lift of the leading and trailing cars Hence, the study analyzes aerodynamic parameters with multi-objective optimization design.

    Design/methodology/approach

    The nose of normal temperature and normal conduction high-speed maglev train is divided into streamlined part and equipment cabin according to its geometric characteristics. Then the modified vehicle modeling function (VMF) parameterization method and surface discretization method are adopted for the parametric design of the nose. For the 12 key design parameters extracted, combined with computational fluid dynamics (CFD), support vector machine (SVR) model and multi-objective particle swarm optimization (MPSO) algorithm, the multi-objective aerodynamic optimization design of high-speed maglev train nose and the sensitivity analysis of design parameters are carried out with aerodynamic drag coefficient of the whole vehicle and the aerodynamic lift coefficient of the trailing car as the optimization objectives and the aerodynamic lift coefficient of the leading car as the constraint. The engineering improvement and wind tunnel test verification of the optimized shape are done.

    Findings

    Results show that the parametric design method can use less design parameters to describe the nose shape of high-speed maglev train. The prediction accuracy of the SVR model with the reduced amount of calculation and improved optimization efficiency meets the design requirements.

    Originality/value

    Compared with the original shape, the aerodynamic drag coefficient of the whole vehicle is reduced by 19.2%, and the aerodynamic lift coefficients of the leading and trailing cars are reduced by 24.8 and 51.3%, respectively, after adopting the optimized shape modified according to engineering design requirements.

  • Jindong Song, Jingbao Zhu, Shanyou Li
    Railway Sciences. 2022, 1(2): 307-323.
    Purpose

    Using the strong motion data of K-net in Japan, the continuous magnitude prediction method based on support vector machine (SVM) was studied.

    Design/methodology/approach

    In the range of 0.5-10.0 s after the P-wave arrival, the prediction time window was established at an interval of 0.5 s. 12 P-wave characteristic parameters were selected as the model input parameters to construct the earthquake early warning (EEW) magnitude prediction model (SVM-HRM) for high-speed railway based on SVM.

    Findings

    The magnitude prediction results of the SVM-HRM model were compared with the traditional magnitude prediction model and the high-speed railway EEW current norm. Results show that at the 3.0 s time window, the magnitude prediction error of the SVM-HRM model is obviously smaller than that of the traditional τc method and Pd method. The overestimation of small earthquakes is obviously improved, and the construction of the model is not affected by epicenter distance, so it has generalization performance. For earthquake events with the magnitude range of 3-5, the single station realization rate of the SVM-HRM model reaches 95% at 0.5 s after the arrival of P-wave, which is better than the first alarm realization rate norm required by "The Test Method of EEW and Monitoring System for High-Speed Railway." For earthquake events with magnitudes ranging from 3 to 5, 5 to 7 and 7 to 8, the single station realization rate of the SVM-HRM model is at 0.5 s, 1.5 s and 0.5 s after the P-wave arrival, respectively, which is better than the realization rate norm of multiple stations.

    Originality/value

    At the latest, 1.5 s after the P-wave arrival, the SVM-HRM model can issue the first earthquake alarm that meets the norm of magnitude prediction realization rate, which meets the accuracy and continuity requirements of high-speed railway EEW magnitude prediction.

  • Junbo Liu, Yaping Huang, Shengchun Wang, Xinxin Zhao, Qi Zou, Xingyuan Zhang
    Railway Sciences. 2022, 1(2): 210-223.
    Purpose

    This research aims to improve the performance of rail fastener defect inspection method for multi railways, to effectively ensure the safety of railway operation.

    Design/methodology/approach

    Firstly, a fastener region location method based on online learning strategy was proposed, which can locate fastener regions according to the prior knowledge of track image and template matching method. Online learning strategy is used to update the template library dynamically, so that the method not only can locate fastener regions in the track images of multi railways, but also can automatically collect and annotate fastener samples. Secondly, a fastener defect recognition method based on deep convolutional neural network was proposed. The structure of recognition network was designed according to the smaller size and the relatively single content of the fastener region. The data augmentation method based on the sample random sorting strategy is adopted to reduce the impact of the imbalance of sample size on recognition performance.

    Findings

    Test verification of the proposed method is conducted based on the rail fastener datasets of multi railways. Specifically, fastener location module has achieved an average detection rate of 99.36%, and fastener defect recognition module has achieved an average precision of 96.82%.

    Originality/value

    The proposed method can accurately locate fastener regions and identify fastener defect in the track images of different railways, which has high reliability and strong adaptability to multi railways.

  • Bo Jiang, Changhai Tian, Jiehang Deng, Zitong Zhu
    Railway Sciences. 2022, 1(1): 131-147.
    Purpose

    This study aims to analyze the development direction of train speed, density and weight in China.

    Design/methodology/approach

    The development of China's railway in the past 40 years can be divided into 3 stages. At the stage of potential tapping and capacity expansion, it is important to improve the train weight and density by upgrading the existing lines, and improving transportation capacity rapidly. At the stage of railway speed increase, the first priority is to increase train speed, reduce the travel time of passenger train, and synchronously take into account the increase of train density and weight. At the stage of developing high-speed railway, train speed, density and weight are co-developing on demand.

    Findings

    The train speed of high-speed railway will be 400 km h-1, the interval time of train tracking will be 3 min, and the traffic density will be more than 190 pairs per day. The running speed of high-speed freight EMU will reach 200 km h-1 and above. The maximum speed of passenger train on mixed passenger and freight railway can reach 200 km h-1. The minimum interval time of train tracking can be compressed to 5 min. The freight train weight of 850 m series arrival-departure track railway can be increased to 4,500-5,000 t and that of 1,050 m series to 5,500-6,400 t. EMU trains should gradually replace ordinary passenger trains to improve the quality of railway passenger service. Small formation trains will operate more in intercity railway, suburban railway and short-distance passenger transportation.

    Originality/value

    The research can provide new connotations and requirements of railway train speed, density and weight in the new railway stage.

  • Feng Shi, Xian Tu, Shuo Zhao
    Railway Sciences. 2022, 1(1): 148-166.
    Purpose

    Under the constraints of given passenger service level and coupling travel demand with train departure time, this study optimizes the train operational plan in an urban rail corridor to minimize the numbers of train trips and rolling stocks considering the time-varying demand of urban rail passenger flow.

    Design/methodology/approach

    The authors optimize the train operational plan in a special network layout, i.e. an urban rail corridor with dead-end terminal yard, by decomposing it into two sub-problems: train timetable optimization and rolling stock circulation optimization. As for train timetable optimization, the authors propose a schedule-based passenger flow assignment method, construct the corresponding timetabling optimization model and design the bi-directional coordinated sequential optimization algorithm. For the optimization of rolling stock circulation, the authors construct the corresponding optimization assignment model and adopt the Hungary algorithm for solving the model.

    Findings

    The case study shows that the train operational plan developed by the study's approach meets requirements on the passenger service quality and reduces the operational cost to the maximum by minimizing the numbers of train trips and rolling stocks.

    Originality/value

    The example verifies the efficiency of the model and algorithm.

  • Qingxiang Zhou, Fang Liu, Jingming Li, Jiankui Li, Shuangnan Zhang, Guixi Cai
    Railway Sciences. 2022, 1(1): 98-113.
    Purpose

    This study aims to solve the problem of weld quality inspection, for the aluminum alloy profile welding structure of high-speed train body has complex internal shape and thin plate thickness (2-4 mm), the conventional nondestructive testing method of weld quality is difficult to implement.

    Design/methodology/approach

    In order to solve this problem, the ultrasonic creeping wave detection technology was proposed. The impact of the profile structure on the creeping wave detection was studied by designing profile structural test blocks and artificial simulation defect test blocks. The detection technology was used to test the actual welded test blocks, and compared with the results of X-ray test and destructive test (tensile test) to verify the accuracy of the ultrasonic creeping wave test results.

    Findings

    It is indicated that that X-ray has better effect on the inspection of porosities and incomplete penetration defects. However, due to special detection method and protection, the detection speed is slow, which cannot meet the requirements of field inspection of the welding structure of aluminum alloy thin-walled profile for high-speed train body. It can be used as an auxiliary detection method for a small number of sampling inspection. The ultrasonic creeping wave can be used to detect the incomplete penetration welds with the equivalent of 0.25 mm or more, the results of creeping wave detection correspond well with the actual incomplete penetration defects.

    Originality/value

    The results show that creeping wave detection results correspond well with the actual non-penetration defects and can be used for welding quality inspection of aluminum alloy thin-wall profile composite welding joints. It is recommended to use the echo amplitude of the 10 mm × 0.2 mm × 0.5 mm notch as the criterion for weld qualification.

  • Hui Wang, Qunzhan Li, Wei Liu, Chuang Wang, Tongtong Liu
    Railway Sciences. 2022, 1(1): 114-130.
    Purpose

    The traction cable is paralleled with the existing traction network of electrified railway through transverse connecting line to form the scheme of long distance power supply for the traction network. This paper aims to study the scheme composition and power supply distance (PSD) of the scheme.

    Design/methodology/approach

    Based on the structure of parallel traction network (referred to as "cable traction network (CTN)"), the power supply modes (PSMs) are divided into cable + direct PSM and cable + autotransformer (AT) PSM (including Japanese mode, French mode and new mode). Taking cable + Japanese AT PSM as an example, the scheme of long distance power supply for CTN under the PSMs of co-phase and out-of-phase power supply are designed. On the basis of establishing the equivalent circuit model and the chain circuit model of CTN, taking the train working voltage as the constraint condition, and based on the power flow calculation of multiple train loads, the calculation formula and process for determining the PSD of CTN are given. The impedance and PSD of CTN under the cable + AT PSM are simulated and analyzed, and a certain line is taken as an example to compare the scheme design.

    Findings

    Results show that the equivalent impedance of CTN under the cable + AT PSM is smaller, and the PSD is about 2.5 times of that under the AT PSM, which can effectively increase the PSD and the flexibility of external power supply location.

    Originality/value

    The research content can effectively improve the PSD of traction power supply system and has important reference value for the engineering application of the scheme.

  • Chongyi Chang, Yuanwu Cai, Bo Chen, Qiuze Li, Pengfei Lin
    Railway Sciences. 2022, 1(1): 76-89.
    Purpose

    In service, the periodic clashes of wheel flat against the rail result in large wheel/rail impact force and high-frequency vibration, leading to severe damage on the wheelset, rail and track structure. This study aims to analyze characteristics and dynamic impact law of wheel and rail caused by wheel flat of high-speed trains.

    Design/methodology/approach

    A full-scale high-speed wheel/rail interface test rig was used for the test of the dynamic impact of wheel/rail caused by wheel flat of high-speed train. With wheel flats of different lengths, widths and depths manually set around the rolling circle of the wheel tread, and wheel/rail dynamic impact tests to the flats in the speed range of 0-400 km/h on the rig were conducted.

    Findings

    As the speed goes up, the flat induced the maximum of the wheel/rail dynamic impact force increases rapidly before it reaches its limit at the speed of around 35 km/h. It then goes down gradually as the speed continues to grow. The impact of flat wheel on rail leads to 100-500 Hz middle-frequency vibration, and around 2,000 Hz and 6,000 Hz high-frequency vibration. In case of any wheel flat found during operation, the train speed shall be controlled according to the status of the flat and avoid the running speed of 20 km/h-80 km/h as much as possible.

    Originality/value

    The research can provide a new method to obtain the dynamic impact of wheel/rail caused by wheel flat by a full-scale high-speed wheel/rail interface test rig. The relations among the flat size, the running speed and the dynamic impact are hopefully of reference to the building of speed limits for HSR wheel flat of different degrees.

  • Qiwen Xue, Xiuyun Du
    Railway Sciences. 2022, 1(1): 90-97.
    Purpose

    In view of the difficulty in determining the key parameters d in the Corten-Dolan model, based on the introduction of small loads, damage degrees and stress states to the Corten-Dolan model and the existing improved model, the sequential effects of the adjacent two-stage load were further considered.

    Design/methodology/approach

    Two improved Corten-Dolan models were established on the basis of modifying the parameter d by two different methods, namely, increasing stress ratio coefficient as well as considering the effects of loading sequence and damage degree as independent influencing factors respectively. According to the test data of the welded joints of common materials (standard 45 steel), alloy materials (standard 16Mn steel) and Q235B steel, the validity and feasibility of the above two improved models for fatigue life prediction were verified.

    Findings

    Results show that, compared with the traditional Miner model and the existing Corten-Dolan improved model, the two improved models have higher prediction accuracy in the fatigue life prediction of welding materials whether under two-stage load or multi-stage load.

    Originality/value

    Because the mathematical expressions of the models are relatively simple and need no multi-layer iterative calculation, it is convenient to predict the fatigue life of welded structure in practical engineering.