Performance Optimised Geometry of Railway Crossings: Design and Implementation

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Abstract

The paper presents an optimisation procedure for improvement of crossing performance by adjusting the cro sing (including the wing rail) geometry. The improvement of the crossing performance is achieved by reducing the normal contact pressure and wear index, while shifting the location of the wheel impact (fatigue area) along the crossing. By shifting the fatigue area the life of the crossing can be prolonged. To demonstrate the proposed procedure the geometry of a crossing (crossing angle 1:15) has been optimised. The effect of two typical wheel profiles used on the considered crossing is taken in to account during the optimisation. The robustness of the obtained geometries has been verified using the numerical simulations with track geometrical irregularities. Using the optimisation procedure two improved geometries of the crossing have been obtained. In both designs the normal contact pressure was reduced as compared to the reference design, while the fatigue area in the second crossing was shifted further from the tip point of the crossing as compared to the first crossing. Important is that the second crossing geometry can be obtained from the first crossing simply by grinding. To implement the new crossing geometry a new measurement device has been proposed. The device can be used for assessment of wear of existing crossings and during adjusting/restoration of the crossing geometry.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1-25
Number of pages25
JournalThe International Journal of Railway Technology
Volume5
Issue number2
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2016

Bibliographical note

Accepted Author Manuscript

Keywords

  • instrumented turnout
  • wheel/rail contact
  • crossing geometry
  • optimisation

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