{"title":"New masters courses in Electric Railway Engineering","authors":"R. Hill","doi":"10.1109/RRCON.1999.762410","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1109/RRCON.1999.762410","url":null,"abstract":"A new Masters level course in Electric Railway Engineering with the first intake of students specialising in Railway Control Engineering has been established with the goal of satisfying the ongoing need for skilled technological staff in railroad and rail transit operations and manufacturing. The course is modular in nature and is delivered by distance learning, which allows employers to retain productive staff in employment whilst their skills are being upgraded. This paper describes the rationale, delivery methodology, course design process and technical content of the course.","PeriodicalId":233147,"journal":{"name":"Proceedings of the 1999 ASME/IEEE Joint Railroad Conference (Cat. No.99CH36340)","volume":"23 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"1999-04-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"123108943","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
J.A. Karloff, R. Arnold, W.N. Weins, M. Iden, D. K. Petersen
{"title":"Measurement of air flow past freight trains through long tunnels","authors":"J.A. Karloff, R. Arnold, W.N. Weins, M. Iden, D. K. Petersen","doi":"10.1109/RRCON.1999.762409","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1109/RRCON.1999.762409","url":null,"abstract":"The operation of heavily loaded diesel locomotives in long tunnels is a problem due to the inability to provide adequate air flow into the annulus between the train and tunnel walls. The existing solutions are expensive, sometimes ineffective and prone to damage. To understand the dynamics of the air flow in a 2 mile long tunnel, measurements were taken of the flow ahead and behind the train and in the annulus between the train and tunnel walls. Air flow measurements were taken from a cross section at each end of the tunnel 50 feet in from the portals. Air flow instruments were mounted on a swing arm on the tunnel wall to record data while the train was in the tunnel. Flow, temperature and flow direction were measured near the tunnel wall to measure the annulus air properties as the train passed the instrumentation. Results from these tests show that for freight trains the annulus air flow in the direction opposite the train is small, resulting in little flow of fresh air past the locomotive. For more aerodynamic trains such as a passenger train there is a definite annulus air flow that is opposite the train direction. The flow pattern ahead of the train is a well developed parabolic pattern whereas the flow behind the train is essentially uniform across the cross section of the tunnel. The momentum of the air after the train exits the tunnel and the natural draft of the air through the tunnel greatly affect the speed at which the exhaust gases are purged from the tunnel. These data are being used to develop a model to predict air flow patterns in a tunnel.","PeriodicalId":233147,"journal":{"name":"Proceedings of the 1999 ASME/IEEE Joint Railroad Conference (Cat. No.99CH36340)","volume":"6 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"1999-04-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"115435897","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Corrosion control for the Dallas Area Rapid Transit system","authors":"E. D. Kale, M. Sanders, W. Sidoriak","doi":"10.1109/RRCON.1999.762399","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1109/RRCON.1999.762399","url":null,"abstract":"The Dallas Light Rail Transit System (DART) operates it's traction power system at 800 volt direct current (DC). Several generations have passed since electrified transit operated in Dallas, the possible dynamic effects of stray current have not been realized by local utility companies. Stray current corrosion is caused by an earth path of direct current from a source external to an underground metallic structure. DART, like most modern transit systems, incorporates corrosion control measures to insure that the DC traction return current travels along the running rails and does not generate stray current interference on surrounding metallic structures. Other routine corrosion control methods must also be addressed such as galvanic corrosion on metallic structures, which results from electro-chemical reactions. This is mitigated by barriers, which prevent a chemical reaction from taking place on the structure. Another method of controlling corrosion is the use of cathodic protection, where sacrificial anodes are installed to afford protective currents to mitigate the corrosive effects on a buried metallic structure. DART is active in coordinating corrosion control methods with other utilities that own and operate underground structures subject to corrosion damages. This paper explains the interaction of the traction power, signal, and corrosion control disciplines and methods used for the effective control of corrosion. The interaction of these disciplines, and coordination with local owners of buried metallic structures will keep corrosion under control and maintain a high level of engineered protection.","PeriodicalId":233147,"journal":{"name":"Proceedings of the 1999 ASME/IEEE Joint Railroad Conference (Cat. No.99CH36340)","volume":"138 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"1999-04-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"134525388","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Design of grounding systems for Tri-Met Portland Westside light rail traction power substations","authors":"R. S. Thomas, K. Pham","doi":"10.1109/RRCON.1999.762404","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1109/RRCON.1999.762404","url":null,"abstract":"The Westside and Hillsboro Light Rail extensions in Portland, Oregon, USA, were open for revenue service in September, 1998. The 18-mile extensions extend the existing Eastside line rail service from downtown Portland to downtown Hillsboro. The alignment includes at-grade street crossings, street-running operation, several fully grade separated sections and a 3-mile tunnel. Primary power is provided by the utilities at 12.5 kV and rectified by 18 mainline traction power substations to deliver 750 DC power to the light rail vehicles. Each substation has three separate grounding systems: (a) an AC ground mat designed per IEEE Std 80-1986 for safe step and touch potentials; (b) a DC ground mat for DC surge arrestor ground; the DC switchgear enclosure is connected to the DC ground mat through a low-resistance grounding scheme; and (c) an isolated ground rod for the utility incoming shields. This paper provides a detailed technical description including grounding calculations for each grounding system. Test and measurement data obtained for the installed grounding systems are presented and discussed.","PeriodicalId":233147,"journal":{"name":"Proceedings of the 1999 ASME/IEEE Joint Railroad Conference (Cat. No.99CH36340)","volume":"1 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"1999-04-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"127413780","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Distortion and power factor of nonlinear loads","authors":"T. Kneschke","doi":"10.1109/RRCON.1999.762403","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1109/RRCON.1999.762403","url":null,"abstract":"When large nonlinear loads, in the order of tens of megawatts, are connected to utility systems, significant harmonic voltages and currents are produced. These loads include static frequency converters serving 25 Hz and 16 2/3 Hz intercity and commuter rail systems. The converter harmonics cause increased heating of the utility and other customer equipment and can lead to system resonance. Therefore, the harmonics need to be taken into account in various system evaluations. The difficulties in dealing with nonlinear loads encountered by the author include the following: calculation of the harmonic distortion; and calculation of power factor. The IEEE method of harmonic distortion calculation is compared with an alternative method proposed in technical literature. The alternative method resolves the intuitive difficulty of visualizing harmonic distortion of over 100% when one or more of the frequencies in the harmonic spectrum is higher than the fundamental frequency, but introduces other difficulties, such as understating the magnitude of distortion. The complexity of determination of power factor for distorted voltage and current increases as more harmonics are included in the calculation. Due to distorted waveforms, the true power factor is always lower than the power factor calculated when, as often is the case, the harmonics are ignored. In this paper the concepts of nonlinear load and harmonics are reviewed first. Subsequently, calculation of the harmonic distortion and power factor are discussed in mathematical terms and supplemented with practical examples.","PeriodicalId":233147,"journal":{"name":"Proceedings of the 1999 ASME/IEEE Joint Railroad Conference (Cat. No.99CH36340)","volume":"26 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"1999-04-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"124962512","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Field demonstrations of two prototype high-speed tribometers","authors":"R. Reiff, J. Cooke","doi":"10.1109/RRCON.1999.762418","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1109/RRCON.1999.762418","url":null,"abstract":"Transportation Technology Center, Inc. (TTCI), a subsidiary of the Association of American Railroads (AAR), operated two high-speed tribometer (HST) prototypes on five revenue railroad sites to evaluate their ability to collect friction data in the field. TTCI initially tested these prototypes for basic operating, safety and data collection performance under closed loop conditions at the Federal Railroad Administration's Transportation Technology Center (TTC), Pueblo, Colorado, USA.","PeriodicalId":233147,"journal":{"name":"Proceedings of the 1999 ASME/IEEE Joint Railroad Conference (Cat. No.99CH36340)","volume":"177 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"1999-04-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"116292321","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Ronald Mafllle, R. Stringfellow, R. Rancatore, Little
{"title":"Development of a passenger rail vehicle crush zone","authors":"Ronald Mafllle, R. Stringfellow, R. Rancatore, Little","doi":"10.1109/RRCON.1999.762408","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1109/RRCON.1999.762408","url":null,"abstract":"The use of crush zones in passenger rail vehicles is rapidly growing in the United States and throughout the world. Such crush zones are an important part of the crash energy management philosophy of train occupant protection. The objective of this study was to determine the advantages, disadvantages and issues related to incorporating crush zones at the ends of coach cars for protection in collisions between two trains. The general specifications for the crush zone were selected after consideration of the energy and forces that can be accommodated in such structures. Various designs were considered to meet these requirements and one of these was selected for more detailed development and evaluation. The effort included design layout and nonlinear dynamic finite element analysis to determine crush response.","PeriodicalId":233147,"journal":{"name":"Proceedings of the 1999 ASME/IEEE Joint Railroad Conference (Cat. No.99CH36340)","volume":"13 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"1999-04-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"123466505","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Software-how do we know it is safe?","authors":"I. B. Pirie","doi":"10.1109/RRCON.1999.762411","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1109/RRCON.1999.762411","url":null,"abstract":"Microprocessors are used in nearly every system of a rail vehicle from the brake controls to the automatic train control. Microprocessors are being used in systems that have been traditionally designed using fail-safe hardware techniques proven safe over the years. The use of microprocessors to replace these traditional systems raises a new set of concerns and methods to verify their safe operation. This paper concentrates on the safety related aspects of software as a basic primer on software safety giving some of the concerns and methods to mitigate these concerns.","PeriodicalId":233147,"journal":{"name":"Proceedings of the 1999 ASME/IEEE Joint Railroad Conference (Cat. No.99CH36340)","volume":"105 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"1999-04-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"114534334","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Filtering effects of mid-cord offset measurements on track geometry data","authors":"M. Ahmadian","doi":"10.1109/RRCON.1999.762415","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1109/RRCON.1999.762415","url":null,"abstract":"The filtering effects of mid-cord offset measurements on the track geometry data are evaluated. A common method of measuring track geometry is using track measurement railcars that record the track deviations from the nominal measures at the mid cord of two points that are 62 feet apart. Alternatively, the track measurements can be made at discrete points, commonly one foot apart, independent of any other measurements. This method is referred to as space curve measurements. This study shows that special attention must be paid to the distortion effect of 62-foot mid-cord measurements on the data. A comparison of the gain and phase response of a space curve and mid-cord offset data in the frequency domain shows that mid-cord offset measurements greatly attenuate the low-frequency contents of the data and also introduce a ripple or scalloping effect at the higher spatial frequencies.","PeriodicalId":233147,"journal":{"name":"Proceedings of the 1999 ASME/IEEE Joint Railroad Conference (Cat. No.99CH36340)","volume":"205 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"1999-04-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"132055895","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"An experimental evaluation of the effect of rail vehicles truck suspensions on wheel-rail forces","authors":"M. Ahmadian, D. White","doi":"10.1109/RRCON.1999.762413","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1109/RRCON.1999.762413","url":null,"abstract":"This study evaluates the effects of truck (or bogie) suspensions on the vertical and lateral forces that are generated at the wheel-rail interface. Two different three-piece, two-axle trucks, similar to those that are commonly used in freight cars in the US, are considered for this study. One truck contained a standard suspension that had been in service a few years, the other track was equipped with an improved suspension. The results of a series of tests that had been conducted at the Heavy Tonnage Loop (HTL) of the Transportation Technology Center, Inc. (TTCI) in Pueblo, Colorado were analyzed to evaluate the effect of the two suspensions on the forces at the wheel-rail interface. The results indicate that the lateral loads are lower for the improved suspension, as compared to the standard suspension, for curved tracks.","PeriodicalId":233147,"journal":{"name":"Proceedings of the 1999 ASME/IEEE Joint Railroad Conference (Cat. No.99CH36340)","volume":"12 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"1999-04-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"115308041","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}