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U.S. Department of Transportation U.S. Department of Transportation Icon United States Department of Transportation United States Department of Transportation

Testing and Validation of Special Trackwork for Automated Cracked Wheel Detector

Document Series:
Technical Reports
Author:
  • Federal Railroad Administration
Report Number
DOT/FRA/ORD-20/35
Office
RDI-22
Subject:
Rolling Stock
Keywords:
Automated cracked wheel detector, gage widened, special trackwork, NUCARS®, track stiffness, dynamic loads, wheel and track interaction, ultrasonic sensors, wheels, track, rolling stock, testing
Document
Testing and Validation of Special Trackwork.pdf (1.83 MB)

In 2013, Transportation Technology Center, Inc. (TTCI) performed testing on the gage widened special trackwork segment designed for the ultrasonic automated cracked wheel detector system; and continues to perform well in 2020. The trackwork is assessed for the risk of wheel drop and back of flange climb derailments. No undue derailment risk was discovered. TTCI determined lateral and vertical stiffness of the trackwork and measured dynamic loads with an instrumented wheelset to assure that there was no unreasonable loading at the gage transitions. TTCI also performed a tolerance analysis to verify acceptability of the special trackwork for all the Association of American Railroads’ (AAR) freight car wheels.


Last updated: Monday, August 31, 2020