A full-scale test rig for railway rolling noise: simulation and measurement of dynamic wheelset–track interaction

A new outdoor rolling-noise test rig on a 25 m stretch of full-scale track will enable the study of vibrations of wheel and rail and of the pertinent noise emission under controlled conditions. The arrangement can be seen as a physical realization of the Track–Wheel Interaction Noise Software (TWINS) computer software. The track and wheel, which are not in mechanical contact, are excited in vertical and lateral directions using electrodynamic actuators. The track can be statically pre-loaded by up to 30 tonnes. The use of the rig is presently under development. The aim is that the radiated noise from separate railway components could be found as the wheel and the track can be excited both together and separately. Amplitude and phase of the applied forces are predetermined by use of an algorithm taking into account the real wheel–rail interaction properties. In that way different wheel–rail contact conditions can be simulated. Eight partners have co-operated in the development and operation of the CHARMEC/Lucchini Railway Noise Test Rig in Surahammar, Sweden. In ongoing experiments, the dynamics of both the wheel and rail have been examined in the frequency domain. For the track, comparisons have been made between data obtained from the rig and those from field measurements on a standard Swedish line. Both dynamic response and spatial decay rates have been studied. The performance of the rig has also been compared to results from TWINS and to results from the literature. Good agreement was obtained in the frequency range from 100 to 5000 Hz. Some results from preliminary measurements of noise emission will be given.