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General

Advanced Railroad Wheel/Rail Interaction Force Measurement

The Phase I research into the development of a novel, cost effective and efficient wheel/rail interaction force measurement system demonstrated the ability to use silicon strain gauges, fabricated with MEMS manufacturing techniques, to measure the types of forces seen in car wheels. Silicon strain...

Vehicle Track Stiffness Measurement System (VTSM): Phase 1 Progress Report

The following is an interim progress report covering the development work on a prototype Vertical Track Stiffness Measurement system (VTSM). The Federal Railroad Administration’s Office of Research and Development has begun development of a prototype, dynamic track stiffness measurement system...

Vehicle/Track Interaction Tests on Heavy Tonnage Loop

Two vehicle/track interaction tests were conducted by Transportation Technology Center, Inc. (TTCI) at the Facility for Accelerated Service Testing (FAST), Pueblo, Colorado. TTCI, a subsidiary of the Association of American Railroads (AAR), performed the tests on FAST's Heavy Tonnage Loop (HTL) in...

Test and Evaluation of Rail Flaw Detection Technologies

Internal flaws in rail occur as a consequence of the accumulation of fatigue under repeated loading. Inspection of the rail to detect flaws before they progress to complete failure is thus very important. Advanced nondestructive inspection techniques are being pursued to improve rail safety,...