Virtual Testing for Authorization of Railway Vehicle Brake Systems

Abstract

Railway vehicles have to undergo extensive authorization tests before they are put into service. This is especially true for railway vehicle brake systems, as these tests are very costly, extensive, and time-consuming. Virtual testing is assumed to represent a feasible solution to decrease these efforts. The use of simulation methodologies requires a technically accepted process, a credible and trusted model, calibration of this model, and a minimum of available measurement data. The challenge is to guarantee the exactly same safety levels that are achieved through real testing, and to provide a convincing argument, why simulation methodologies are suitable for that purpose. In our contribution, we highlight the results of the European Shift2Rail PIVOT-2 project, contributing to these challenges. Our approach integrates into existing railway vehicle development processes. Existing measurement data is selected to calibrate and validate the model. This allows for virtual testing as a novel tool, to be applied before or during vehicle development. The presented approach is under discussion with important bodies like the European Railway Agency (ERA) and NB-RAIL. Furthermore, the approach is also based on existing standards that already recommend the application of simulation methodologies, e.g., standards regarding methods for calculation of stopping and slowing distances (EN 14531) or wheel slide protection (EN15595). Many methods, tools and processes of the railway industry are currently pushed by increasing levels of digitization. The application of simulation technologies in the railway sector is also driven by ongoing standardization activities of international consortia. In the end it is expected that these innovations will lead to a more competitive railway engineering market, including more software tool vendors and service providers, striving for higher quality railway vehicles and products. It is expected that these innovations contribute to a decreased time-to-market, putting new vehicles faster into service, to ultimately contribute to sustainability goals, like reduction of emissions in transportation.