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: RailResearch@soton.ac.uk

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