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Technical Reports

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The Status of Advanced Propulsion Technology in Japan

This report describes the efforts of Japanese transit industry- manufacturers and transit operators- in the area of advanced propulsion systems for urban rail vehicles. It presents different chopper system designs, new ac drive developments, various commercial frequency and audio frequency...

Technical Assistance and Safety Programs

This Directory contains brief descriptions of Technical Assistance and Safety Projects initiated during Fiscal Year 1989 by the Office of Technical Assistance and Safety (UTS), Urban Mass Transportation Administration (UMTA) of the U.S. Department of Transportation. Its purpose is to inform the...

Tank Car Operating Environment Study- Phase I

This report documents the results of the controlled testing conducted during the first phase of a tank car operating environment program involving the AAR, the Railway Supply Institute, the FRA, and Transport Canada. Strain gages, accelerometers, and an instrumented couple were installed on a stub...

Tank Car Nondestructive Evaluation

An evaluation of nondestructive evaluation (NDE) methods, authorized for use in replacing the current hydrostatic pressure test for qualification or re-qualification of railroad tank cars, has been performed by the Transportation Technology Center, Inc. (TTCI), a subsidiary of the Association of...

Supplemental Tests for Track Panel Shift Investigations

Volpe National Transportation Systems Center (VNTSC) has created a model to predict, among other things, panel shift behavior of track structure. A series of tests was performed in October 1998 by Transportation Technology Center, Inc. (TTCI), a subsidiary of the Association of American Railroads,...

A Structural Survey of Classes of Vehicles for Crashworthiness

This document reviews three phases of a study conducted to evaluate and improve the crashworthiness of passenger carrying vehicles in intercity service. Phase I surveyed the accident data over a period 1966 to 1973 and identified those areas responsible for the mS3jority of accidents involving...

Stub Sill Tank Car Research Project: Full-Scale Damage Tolerance Test

The Federal Railroad Administration, with supplemental support from the Railway Progress Institute, contracted with the Association of American Railraods (AAR), Transportation Technology Center, Inc., a subsidiary of the AAR, to conduct a full-scale damage tolerance analysis (DTA) validation test...