Transposition of Noise Type Test Data for Tracks and Vehicles

New railway vehicles in Europe have to comply with noise limits as defined in the Technical Specification for Interoperability (TSI). The pass-by test has to be carried out at a site that fulfills the TSI requirements. The need has arisen to be able to perform TSI pass-by type testing at non-compliant sites. In the ACOUTRAIN project, procedures...

Transposition of Noise Type Test Data for Tracks and Vehicles

New railway vehicles in Europe have to comply with noise limits as defined in the Technical Specification for Interoperability (TSI). The pass-by test has to be carried out at a site that fulfills with TSI requirements. The need has arisen to be able to perform TSI pass-by type testing at non-compliant sites. In the ACOUTRAIN project, procedures...

An investigation into the influence of longitudinal creepage on railway squeal noise due to lateral creepage

Curve squeal noise is of growing concern for the railway industry as rail systems become more widespread in densely populated areas. In response to the pressure to minimise environmental pollution, there is a demand for a deeper understanding of the phenomenon and to develop a methodical approach to managing the wheel-rail system. Under curving,...

Model-based acoustic substitution source methods for assessing shielding measures applied to trains

A promising means of reducing the rolling noise from trains is local shielding in the form of vehicle-mounted shrouds combined with low trackside barriers. This is much less visually intrusive than classic lineside noise barriers. Various experimental methods have been proposed that allow the performance to be assessed under static conditions,...

The use of an equivalent forces method for the experimental quantification of structural sound transmission in ships

Structure-borne sound transmission is a complex phenomenon, the accurate measurement of which requires advanced techniques. A multi-dimensional substitution source method is presented by which structure-borne sound transmission paths can be quantified in practical situations where it is not possible to dismount the paths. The paper illustrates,...

Developments of the indirect method for measuring the high frequency dynamic stiffness of resilient elements

The complex stiffness of resilient elements is an important parameter required in order to model vibration isolation for many applications. Measurement methods are being standardized which allow such a stiffness to be measured as a function of excitation frequency for known loading conditions. This paper describes one such method, the indirect...

Experimental analysis of wave propagation in railway tracks

Measurements of the vibrational behaviour of railway track are presented. Because the track system is effectively infinite, its motion consists of propagating waves, and usual modal analysis concepts and techniques are not appropriate. New experimental techniques are therefore developed to handle these phenomena. In particular the various...

The dynamic behaviour of rail fasteners at high frequencies

The stiffness and damping of rail fasteners, and in particular the elastomeric pads inserted between the rail and sleeper, are important parameters determining the dynamic behaviour of railway track. For noise predictions, the frequency range from about 100 Hz up to 5000 Hz is important. Laboratory measurements are described in which the...

Theoretical optimization of track components to reduce rolling noise

The control of railway rolling noise requires a reduction in wheel and track noise emission. In this paper, a parametric study of the possible minimization of the track sound power is presented. In an initial global approach, a number of potential variations in track parameters are assessed in terms of their likely effect on rolling noise. From...

A calculation model for the noise from steel railway bridges

The sound level of a train crossing a steel railway bridge is usually about 10 dB higher than on plain track. In the Netherlands there are many such bridges which, for practical reasons, cannot be replaced by more intrinsically quiet concrete bridges. A computational model is described for the estimation of noise levels due to a train crossing a...

Experimental validation of the twins prediction program for rolling noise. Pt.2: Results

Two extensive measurement campaigns have been carried out to validate the TWINS prediction program for rolling noise, as described in part 1 of this paper. This second part presents the experimental results of vibration and noise during train pass-bys and compares them with predictions from the TWINS program. The model is found to give quite...

On the relationship between wheel and rail surface roughness and rolling noise

Theoretical models linking rolling noise and surface roughness have been available for some 20 years. For even longer, the qualitative link has been acknowledged between the presence of visible corrugation on rail or wheel surfaces and increased noise generation. This roughness, or undulation in the surface profile, has wavelengths of most...

Rapporteur's report: Session 2

Experimental validation of the twins prediction program for rolling noise. Pt.1: description of the model and method

The C163 Expert Committee of the European Rail Research Institute (ERRI) concerned with Railway Noise, has been developing theoretical models for the generation of wheel/rail rolling noise. These models have been brought together into a software package, called TWINS ("Track-Wheel Interaction Noise Software"). This is intended as a tool with...

Author's Reply

Theoretical modelling of wheel-rail noise generation

The major source of noise from railways, particularly at high speeds, emanates from the wheel—rail region. This wheel—rail rolling noise is generally attributed to structural vibrations of the wheels and rails, excited from the contact patch area. The main excitation is caused by the wheel and rail surface roughness (undulations), which...