One solution for measurement of wheel-rail contact forces

Abstract

This paper presents one solution for measurement of wheel-rail contact forces by using instrumented wheelset developed at the Faculty of Mechanical and Civil Engineering in Kraljevo, Serbia. In addition to measurement of wheel-rail contact forces which is necessary for assessment of safety against derailment in accordance to the standards UIC 518 and EN 14363, the developed solution enables measurement of location of wheel-rail contact point. The optimal ways for solution of key problems in development of instrumented wheelsets are proposed. Identification of parameters to be measured is based on the method of blind signal separation (BSS) using independent component analysis (ICA). The developed solution is validated by experimental testing of prototype of instrumented wheelset on specially designed test stand. It was concluded that developed solution enables reliable testing of safety against derailment of railway vehicles, while measurement error of derailment coefficient is less than 10%, that corresponding to the latest world solutions.