System Interfaces

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Advisory Group for Rail Research and Innovation
System Interfaces
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Interface contributory factors

• What are the core railway relationships?
• How do these militate against improvement in the
  railway (greater reliability, going faster,
  carrying more, being cheaper)
• Where do they present big risks if they go wrong

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Contributory factors -core railway relationships

• Wheel-Rail
• Vehicle-Track
• Vehicle-Vehicle (Crashworthiness)
• Vehicle-Structures (Gauging)
• Vehicle-Power Supply (Overhead/Third Rail)
• Vehicle-Signalling System (emc/ATP) 
• Vehicle-Atmosphere (Aerodynamics)
• Vehicle-Network (System Capacity)
• Vehicle-Environment
• Resource Utilisation

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• core relationships issues
•  
• Business Opportunity/Risk
• Technical Factors
• Potential For Research-led Improvement
• Value (Potential Business Op/Risk
  Probability of Success/ Cost)

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• Wheel/rail
•  Business Opportunity/Risk reduction in cost
  catastrophe avoidance derailment or failure to
  stop
• Technical factors material behaviour, fatigue,
  wear, vehicle stability, curving, adhesion,
  lubrication, flange climbing derailment
• Potential advances application of new types of
  material, adhesion management
• Value medium/high timescale short/medium

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• Vehicle-Track
•  Business Opportunity/Risk reduction in cost
  (track,vehicle maintenance), higher speeds,
  improved comfort, understanding of migration
  strategy to overall better quality making
  wrong decisions
• Technical factors suspension design, dynamics,
  degradation relationships, formation behaviour
• Potential advances development of system model
  to establish sound change control and improvement
  strategy
• Value high timescale medium

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• Vehicle-Vehicle
•  Business Opportunity/Risk minimising material
  damage, impact on customers of structural
  failure/fire
• Technical factorsstructural collapse behaviour,
  fire risk
• Potential advances improved understanding of
  crashworthiness, lower fire risk fuel tanks
• Value medium timescale short/medium

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• Vehicle-Structures
•  Business Opportunity/Risk maximised use of
  space, standardisation catastrophe avoidance
  collisions with bridges etc
• Technical factors knowledge of network, track
  migration behaviour, dynamic response
• Potential advances track location/dynamics-risk
  model
• Value medium/high timescale medium/long

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• Vehicle-Power Supply
•  Business Opportunity/Risk reduction in cost,
  reliability, higher speeds stopping service
  completely
• Technical factors pantograph overhead dynamics,
  power supply capability, degradation behaviour,
  condition modeling, effect of adverse conditions
• Potential advances degradation behaviour,
  performance at features, performance in wind
• Value medium-low timescale medium

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• Vehicle-Signaling System
•  Business Opportunity/Risk reduction in cost,
  standardisation collision due to losing a train
• Technical factors emc map, clarification of
  risk, train detection
• Potential advances better understanding of
  problem, otherwise application of what is known
• Value medium timescale short

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• Vehicle-Atmosphere
•  Business Opportunity/Risk removing aerodynamic
  speed limits, reduction in energy consumption
  overturning in high winds, slipstreams in
  platforms
• Technical factors wind risk map overturning
  model wind monitoring slipstream model
• Potential advances better understanding of
  problem, otherwise application of what is known
• Value low-medium timescale medium

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• Strategic research gaps
•  Wheel-Rail high-medium short-medium
• Vehicle-Track high medium
• Vehicle-Vehicle medium short-medium
• Vehicle-Structures high-medium medium-long
• Vehicle-Power Supply medium-lowmedium
• Vehicle-Signalling System medium short
• Vehicle-Atmosphere medium-low medium
• Vehicle-Network (System Capacity)
• Vehicle-Environment
• Resource Utilisation

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