Transportation Technology Center, Inc.

, a subsidiary of the Association of American Railroads

North American
Research and
Technology Overview

Semih Kalay

Sr. Vice President

Technology

TTCI/AAR,10/28/15. HALERC, p1

North American Railway Industry

Technology Development Goals

Technology Driven Safety Improvements;

Reductions in train accidents
Reductions in:
rail-highway crossing accidents
trespasser incidents
employee casualty rate
probability of hazmat releases

Technology Driven Productivity Improvements

Asset utilization improvements: increases in ton-miles/mile of

track owned
Productivity improvements: increased revenue ton-miles per
constant $ of operating expense
Continued reductions in revenue ton-miles per gallon of fuel
Continued reductions in NOx and particulates from operations

TTCI/AAR,10/28/15, HALERC p2

AAR Strategic Research Program

New technologies under development

Fatigue and wear resistant rail steels and rail welding

Improved track substructure (ballast and formation)
Advanced special trackwork designs and materials
Bridge life extension strategies and advanced designs
Improved strength sleeper systems
Laser-based rail flaw inspection and phased arrays
Machine vision inspection of track
Machine vision inspection and automated freight car
condition monitoring & preventive maintenance
Integrated truck suspension designs
Improved car component designs and materials
Fatigue and wear resistant wheel steels
Improved brake systems
Wheel/rail interface management
TTCI/AAR,10/28/15, HALERC p3

Facility for Accelerated Service Testing

FAST/Heavy Axle Load Implementation:

Test and evaluate new and untried
components before they are
implemented in revenue service
Mitigate adverse effects of HAL
HAL Operations
16,000-tonne train with 105 cars
Newer and more fuel efficient locomotives (3 SD70 locos)
Unmanned operations under computer control
Accumulated 164 MGT in 2012

TTCI/AAR,10/28/15, HALERC p4

FAST Rail Performance Testing

ERMS (USA) 1 grade: OCP

Tata Steel (France) 1 grade: MHH HE (HH)
Nippon (Japan) 1 grade: HEX (control rail)
JFE (Japan) 2 grades: JFE-A (SP2), JFE-B
(SP3)
Mittal (USA) 1 grade: HC
Panzhihua (China) PG4 (head hardened)
Voestalpine (Austria) 3 grades: VAS-1,
VAS-2, 400NEXT

Light

Medium

Severe

Extreme

Relative wear and fatigue performance:

No internal defects to date
Wear performance superior to
earlier
rail steels
Rail failure mode has changed
More rail base breaks
Rolling Contact Fatigue has become
the major problem with higher
hardness rail steels
TTCI/AAR,10/28/15, HALERC p5

Improved Rail Welding Methods

Current practice have limitations when used on HAL

lines

Rail consumption can change rail neutral temperature and

require extra work
Thermite welds can have lives shorter than parent rail

Implementation of Heat Affected Zone (HAZ), the

weakest part of a field weld, treatments in revenue

service trials of this weld life improvement technique

TTCI/AAR,10/28/15, HALERC p6

Bridge Research

Older bridges
Many bridges over 50 years old
Focus on bridge life extension
Selective member replacement
More effective repairs
Science based inspection and fatigue life estimates
Advanced designs and materials
also being developed and used

Hybrid composite
concrete spans
Light-weight tied-arch
2nd gen successfully
tested at FAST

Will install in
revenue service
TTCI/AAR,10/28/15, HALERC p7

Improved Track Substructure for HAL

Ballast test at UP western mega site

Quantify breakdown of ballast types under HAL traffic

Relate ballast condition to strength and deformation characteristics from

triaxial lab tests

Use data for improved maintenance guidelines

Repeated axial stress

(deviator stress)

Plastic
strain

Axial
strain
TTCI/AAR,10/28/15, HALERC p8

Improved Track Components

Improved strength Half-frame sleepers

Features
Tabs provide:
Larger vertical footprint
Larger end footprint
Integral bottom of tie pads
Five-fold decrease in surfacing

TTCI/AAR,10/28/15, HALERC p9

Improved Special Track Work Designs

Specialness of special trackwork

Often involves more than one track
Surface discontinuities
Change in track stiffness/structure
A continuous running surface turnout
Vertical switch
Lift frog

TTCI/AAR,10/28/15, HALERC p10

Next generation Insulated Rail Joints

Insulated & mechanical joints typically weaker than rail
Revenue Service testing of next generation designs

Eighty two prototype IJ are in RS

Center liner

Durable adhesive
and surface
treatment

Lap joint

Keyed Joint

IJ System
TTCI/AAR,10/28/15, HALERC p11

Onboard Track Inspection

Laser-based rail inspection

Inspection box

Carriage
Transducer Mounts
VSH
Stepper Motors
TD

TD
VSH

URail Inspection Box

TTCI/AAR,10/28/15, HALERC p12

Phased Array Rail Flaw Detection

Phased Array System and Roller Search Unit (RSU)

32 Element Linear Array Transducers inside the RSU

TTCI/AAR,10/28/15, HALERC p13

Automated Inspection of Track

Automated Switch Inspection Systems

Hyrail laser and camera system inspects rail portions of turnouts
Reported gage-related defect and some, but not all, running
surface conditions present
Gage calibration problem
Post-processing required before inspection report was issued

Frog flangeway obstruction - reported

Switch point gap (1/8-inch) not reported

TTCI/AAR, 10/28/15, RTWC p14

Track Structure Inspection

Poor substructure leads to geometry problems and
accelerated component failure and chronic geometry
issues
Worse with heavier axle loads
Improvements needed

Root cause analysis: trenching and cone penetrometer tests

Automated inspection using ground penetrating radar
Significant ballast pocket problems and soft clay

TTCI/AAR, 10/28/15, RTWC p15

Improved Rolling Stock Components:

Next Generation Freight Car Truck

Objectives: Test & evaluate proposed OEM truck suspension designs:

Loaded & empty car hunting; vertical & lateral track forces; curve
resistance
Five truck types been tested:
Truck 1: Improved wedge design, rubber pads, increased longitudinal
clearance between adapter & pedestal
Truck 2: Frame bracing, rubber pads, increased longitudinal clearance
between adapter & pedestal
Truck 3: Spring plank, polymer pads, increased longitudinal clearance
between adapter & pedestal
Truck 4: Frame bracing, rubber adapter pads
increased longitudinal clearances
Truck 5: Spring plank, polymer pads

TTCI/AAR,10/28/15, HALERC p16

High Performance Wheels

Revenue service test on UP train

Unit coal train, rebuilt with AAR M-976 trucks

3 years, 223,000 revenue service miles
41% of wheels inspected, other cars in different trains
Class C w/ Composition brake shoes worst condition

Type 7 similar condition to Class C

Only 1 car inspected with Type 4

Removed all Type 6, SRI wheelsets

C = Class C
Cmp = Composition Brake Shoes
TC A = Tread Conditioning Brake
Shoe Type A
TC B = Tread Conditioning Brake
Shoe Type B

TTCI/AAR,10/28/15, HALERC p17

Vehicle Health Monitoring Systems:

Next Generation Cracked Wheel Detection Systems

Ultrasonic Inspection System

Cooperative agreement signed with Sheenline/Tycho and

Chinese Academy of Railway Science (CARS)

Sensor array inside a gage-widened track segment
Liquid required for UT sensor coupling to wheel
No robotics

TTCI/AAR,10/28/15, HALERC p18

Rolling Stock Health Monitoring

Automated Inspection of Structural Components

Missing/Loose coupler pin/draft gear carrier fasteners
Brake Beam/Brake Rigging condition
Broken/Cracked/Bent side and/or center sill

Bogie condition/springs, wedge rise, etc.

TTCI/AAR, 1/11/2012, Filename p19

North American Railroad Safety

and Productivity Improvements

TTCI/AAR, 10/28/15, p20

Safety: Reduce Mainline

Derailments / Train Mile by 50%

TTCI/AAR, 10/28/15, p21

TTCI/AAR, 10/28/15, p22