Developing future infrastructure systems. Network Rail strategic partnership
Mar 26, 2016
Developing future infrastructure systems.Network Rail strategic partnership
Fundamentalandappliedresearchunderpinsmanyrecenttechnicaldevelopmentsintherailindustry.ThisleafletoutlinesanumberofcurrentresearchprojectsattheUniversityofSouthamptonsupportedthroughtheStrategicUniversityPartnership,addressingtheInfrastructureassetthemeoftheNetworkRailTechnicalStrategy.TherearealsoexamplesoftheUniversity’swidercapabilityinrailresearchthroughtheTrack21programmeandothers.
Weprovidethescienceneededtobringaboutastepchangeininfrastructuredesign,constructionandmaintenance,leadingtogreatersafety,costefficiencyandbetterreliability.Theresultwillbeasustainableassetcontributingtoanoverallreductionincarbonemissions.
AsoneofthelargestandmostdiverseengineeringandenvironmentalsciencegroupsintheUKwehaveanunrivalledabilitytoprovideanintegrated,wholesystemsapproachtoengineeringchallenges.
Ballast migration
IncreasedtrainoperatingspeedsontheWestCoastMainLinehavecoincidedwiththesporadicoccurrenceofballastmigration.Ourresearchwillhelptoidentifythefundamentalmechanismsofthisphenomenonandgiveinsightsintothemosteffectivemaintenanceinterventions.
Earthworks and bridge interaction
Whereearthworksapproachbridgesthesupportconditionschange.Differentialsettlementoccurswhichcanleadtohangingsleepersandlargedynamicloads.Moreover,granularabutmentfillscangenerateratchetedpressuresagainsttheabutments.Weplantoinstrumentnewbridgesnowbeingbuilt,toimprovetheunderstandingoftheinteractionbetweenbridgesandearthworks.
Discrete element modelling of the micro-mechanics of ballast
Bydevelopingacomprehensiveunderstandingofthemechanicsofballastattheparticlescale,ourresearchwillmakepossibletherationaldesignofresilient,low-maintenanceballastedtrack.
Modelling random fibre reinforcement of ballast
Addingrandomfibrereinforcementisapromisingtechniqueforincreasingtheresilienceofballastedtrack.Togetamoredetailedunderstandingofthemicromechanicsinvolved,aseriesofnumericalanalysesisbeingcarriedoutusingSouthampton’suniquepotentialparticlebaseddiscreteelementmethod.
Using computed tomography to understand ballast fouling
Ballastfoulingadverselyaffectsdrainage,increasingtherateoftrackgeometrydegradationandreducingtheeffectivenessoftamping.Wearedevelopingasoundscientificunderstandingofthemechanismsinvolved,toenablethedesignofmoreresilienttrack.
Principal stress rotation
Newresearchintoprincipalstressrotationinunsaturatedsoilsreflectsrealconditionsbetterthantheidealisedloadingscurrentlyusedfordesign.Ourworkwillhelpengineerspredictlongtermdegradationofthesubbaseinrelationtotrafficloading,planmaintenanceanddevelopcost-effectiveremedialmeasures.Datawillalsoinputtoanimprovedtracksystemmodel
Testing sleepers and ballast in the lab
Largescaletestrigssimulatethepassageofmillionsoftrainaxles,enablingdifferentcombinationsofsleepersandballaststobetestedinthelaboratory.Verticalandhorizontaldynamicloadscanbeappliedandtheresponseandinteractionofthecomponentsaccuratelymeasured,whileayearormoreofcumulativetonnagecanbereproducedindays.
Estimating soil water by proxy using low cost sensor arrays
Againstabackgroundofincreasedloadingsandclimatechange,subgradeandembankmentperformanceisbecomingamajorissue.Cheapandreliablemeansareneededforremotelymonitoringsoilwatercontentandpressure/suction.Weareassessinghowreliablylowcost,thick-filmscreenprintedsensorarrayscanbeusedtoinferwatercontentandpressure.
Real time bridge scour measurement
Noavailablemethodologiesadequatelyrevealthephysicalprocesses,conditionsandextentofscourthatmightaffectthestructuralperformanceofbridges.Difficultaccessandtransientfeaturesmaketheextentandimpactofscourdoublydifficulttodetermine.Ourresearchappliesaffordablenewsonartechnologiestoinformdecisionsrelatedtobridgewholelifeperformancewherescourisamajorriskfactor.
Trackside noise
Noiseisproducedbybothwheelandtrack.Weareinvestigatingthenoiseproducedbydifferenttrackforms,includingtheinfluenceofrailpadstiffnessandacomparisonofsteelandconcretesleepers.Ourworkonraildampersoffersapotentialsolutionwhichcanmorethanoffsetthenoiseincreaseduetosofterrailpads.
Measuring wheel/rail roughness and track decay rates
Keyparametersinfluencingwheel/railrollingnoisearetherailandwheelroughnessandthetrackdecayrates.Ourresearchhasledtothedevelopmentofwheelroughnessmeasurementequipment.Trackdecayratemeasurementsallowtheinfluenceofdifferentrailpadstobeunderstood,includingtheeffectoftemperature.Acousticscalemodeltestsallowustoimprovethepredictionmodelsforsoundradiation.
Ground vibration
Groundvibrationfromtrainshastobeconsideredalongwithnoiseinenvironmentalassessment.Comparedwithairbornenoise,however,therearemanycomplicatingfactorsandpredictionsaresubjecttolargeuncertainty.Ourresearchhasledtothedevelopmentofpredictionmodelsforgroundvibrationfromtrains,complementedbyfieldmeasurementsofvibrationandlabtestsofballaststiffness.
Simulating transport environments and measuring human response
Trackgeometryanddefectsaffectpeopletravellingontherailway.Wehaveuniquefacilitiestoinvestigatetrack,trainandhumaninteractions,facilitatingthedesignoftrainsinwhichpeoplecancomfortablywalk,usethecomputer,read,eatanddrinkwhilethetraintravelsatspeed.Oursix-axissimulatorisusedtoundertakefundamentalandappliedresearch.
Demand and economic modelling
Wehavedevelopedmodellingandappraisalprocedurestoidentifylocationsfornewstationsandservices,forecastpassengernumbersanddestinationsandcalculatebenefitsandcosts.Newmodelswillquantifythewholelifeeconomicandenvironmentalbenefitsandcostsofimprovementstothesub-base,ballastandtracksystem.
Tribology
Tribologyiscoretofuturetransportandenergyefficientmachines,thecontrolofemissionsandlowmaintenancerenewableenergysystems.Currentworkincludestheinvestigationofearlystageaxle-bearingfailure,leadingtoareductioninin-servicefailuresandincreasedserviceintervals;conditionmonitoringsystemstodetectrollingelementbearinghealth;nextgenerationlubricants;andtransienttestingforwearandfrictioncontacts.
SR2bringstogetherresearchgroupsacrosstheUniversitytoundertakeinterdisciplinaryresearchandconsultancyonrailwaysystemsthat:
− Drawsonengineering,physicalandsocialsciences
− Integratesscientifictheorywithpracticalapplications
− Isinternationalinscope,coveringtheUK,Europeandbeyond
SR2hassubstantialknowledge,experienceandfacilities,andanimpressivetrackrecordofpublicationsandresearchgrantfunding.
MajorcurrentprojectsincludetheEPSRC-fundedT400study,theEPSRCTrack21ProgrammeGrant(whichSR2leads),aNetworkRailStrategicUniversitiesPartnershipfocusingoninfrastructure,andeconometricsresearchforATOC.Wehavepreviouslycarriedoutworkforarangeofclients,includingtheEuropeanCommission,theDfT,Arup,Bombardier,Hitachi,HS1,ORR,RSSB,SNCFandThales.MembersofSR2haveattractedsome£10Moffundingforrailway-relatedresearchsince2003.
Infrastructure
Utilisingcoreskillsingeomechanics,structures,materialsandhydraulics,workonrailwayinfrastructurecoverstracksystems,performance,monitoringandstabilizationofearthworksincludingvegetationandclimateeffects,andbridgescour.LedbyProfessorWilliamPowrie.
Noise and vibration
FormanyyearstheUniversityhasplayedaleadingroleinresearchintorailwaynoiseandvibration,usingfundamentalmodelstosolvepracticalproblems.Areascoveredincluderollingnoise,groundvibrationandground-bornenoise,bridgenoiseandaerodynamicnoise.LedbyProfessorDavidThompson.
Human factors
SR2conductsfundamentalandappliedresearch,providestrainingandoffersconsultancyservicesandadviceincomfort,performanceandhealthinvibrationandmotionenvironments.Wecarryoutresearchintothesocial,cognitiveandbehaviouralaspectsofhumansintransportationsystems.LedbyProfessorMikeGriffinandProfessorNevilleStanton.
Railway planning and operations
SR2hasanextensivetrackrecordofresearchinthefieldsofraildemandforecasting,capacitymodelling,timetablingandthesocio-economicevaluationofbothinfrastructureandoperations.LedbyProfessorJohnPreston.
Tribology
SR2hasdevelopedtribology-basedconditionmonitoringsystemsanduseddatafusiontechniquesfrommultisensoroutputstodetectrollingelementbearinghealth.Italsohasresearchprogrammesintonextgenerationlubricants,transienttestingforwearandfrictioncontacts,andfailureinvestigationofbearings.LedbyProfessorRobertWoodandDrLingWang.
Southampton Railway Systems Research (SR2)
Contact us
Southampton Railway Systems Research (SR2) Faculty of Engineering and the Environment University of Southampton Highfield Southampton so17 1bj
Tel: 023 8059 3960
e-mail: [email protected]
Web: www.soton.ac.uk/engineering
Images of computed tomography laboratory and thick-film screen printed sensor: Sharif Ahmed Image illustrating demand and economic modelling contains Ordnance Survey data ©Crown copyright and database right 2013