Track modulus is an important parameter in track quality or performance. Modulus is defined as ratio between the rail deflection and the vertical contact pressure between the rail base and track foundation. This paper describes the design of a system for on-board, real-time, non-contact measurement of track modulus. Measuring track modulus from a moving rail car is non-trivial because there is no stable reference for the measurements. The proposed system is based on measurements of the relative displacement between the track and the wheel/rail contact point. A laser-based vision system is used to measure this relative displacement. A mathematical model is then used to estimate track modulus. A mathematical analysis is presented to evaluate the design and sensitivity of the proposed system. A simulation of a moving railcar is used to show the effectiveness of the system. Finally, the results of field tests are presented for a slow (<10 mph) moving railcar over various sections of track including road crossings, rail joints, and bridges.


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    Title :

    Design of a System to Measure Track Modulus from a Moving Railcar


    Contributors:
    C. Norman (author) / S. Farritor (author) / R. Arnold (author) / S. E. G. Elias (author) / M. Fateh (author)

    Publication date :

    2006


    Size :

    20 pages


    Type of media :

    Report


    Type of material :

    No indication


    Language :

    English




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