Track forces of iron ore wagons- Comparison Between Strain Gauge Based Measurements and Calculated Results

• Main Author: Borinder, Daniel
• Format: Bachelor Thesis
• Language: English
• Published: KTH, Järnvägsteknik 2014
• Subjects: Engineering and Technology; Teknik och teknologier; Kiruna; Narvik; The ''Y''
• Online Access: http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:kth:diva-159280

Iron ore trains run from the mine in Kiruna to Narvik and LuleÃ¥. These trains are subject to wear and have to be maintained. The wheel-­â€rail interface is a major cost-­â€driver in the maintenance. In Narvik, Norway and Sävast outside LuleÃ¥, Sweden there are measurement stations that can  indirectly measure the forces that arise in this interface using strain gauges. However, it would save money if the wear could be predicted. It is therefore desirable to be able to predict the forces that arise in this interface. For this purpose a model of two coupled iron ore  wagons has been developed for simulations in the Swedish multi body software Gensys. The aim of this master thesis was to take existing measurement station results from Sävast and  compare them with simulations of trains running pn the same track section in order to evaluate and validate the model. To get as close to the measurement station results as possible several  different parameters such as wheel profiles, rail profiles and friction coefficient were varied. Vertical Q forces, lateral Y forces as well as the Y/Q ratio were evaluated and  compared. Longitudinal X forces were also evaluated in the simulations for better  understanding  of  the  dynamics.  Comparisons  show  fairly  good  agreement  between simulations and measurements. Calculated Q forces end up in the mid to upper spectrum  of measured forces. Y forces display good agreement with measured forces on all wheels except for the leading outer wheel. Measured Y/Q ratio is far above the calculated ratio.