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This report presents the results and analysis of series 3 through 7 and series 10 of the FRA/RPI/AAR Switchyard Impact Tests. The test results and analysis are used to evaluate the head shield and the shelf-E coupler as protective devices for hazardous materials tank cars.
Prediction of wheel displacements and wheel-rail forces is a prerequisite to the evaluation of the curving performance of rail vehicles. This information provides part of the basis for the rational design of wheels and suspension components, for establishing criteria for maintenance of track and...
A nondestructive testing (NDT) method to determine the residual stress in the rims of cast steel railroad wheels has been evaluated by the Association of American Railroads (AAR). The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has developed an ultrasonic system which uses electromagnetic...
This report presents detailed analytic tools and results on dynamic response which are used to develop the safe dynamic performance limits of commuter passenger vehicles. The methodology consists of determining the critical parameters and characteristic properties of both the vehicle and the track...
This report presents a methodology based on computer simulation that assesses the safe dynamic performance limits of commuter passenger vehicles. The methodologyt consists of determining the critical design parameters and characteristic properties of both the vehicle and the track, establishing the...
A full-scale impact test was performed November 16, 1999 at the Federal Railroad Administration's Transportation Technology Center, Pueblo, Colorado. The test was performed on a Budd Company Pioneer-type commuter passenger car. The purpose of the test was to measure strains, accelerations and...
The effects of chemical composition, temperature and loading rates on the plane strain fracture toughness K sub I sub c of railroad wheels have been determined. Similarly, the effects of these variables were determined for grade U and F railroads axles. The carbon content was determined to be the...
A description is given of considerations in the design of a prototype acoustic signature inspection system for railroad wheels. The evolution of each of the components of the system is detailed including hammers, microphones, wheel sensors, wayside electronics and signal conditioning unit. The...
This report contains engineering parameter descriptions of major and distinctive freight vehicle configurations covering approximately 96% of the U.S. freight vehicle fleet. This data has been developed primarily for use in analytical simulation modeling of rail vehicles to analyses of vehicle/...
The Federal Railroad Administration and the Association of American Railroads have jointly sponsored a program for developing cost-effective and rational techniques for evaluating the curving performance of any freight car under buff and draft conditions. The procedures arc developed as possible...