bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
The Impact of Swirl Ratio and Injection Pressure on Fuel-Air Mixing in a Light-Duty Diesel Engine
Authors: Sahoo Dipankar , Petersen Benjamin R. , Miles Paul C. 
Published: July 2013

Toluene fuel-tracer laser-induced fluorescence is employed to quantitatively measure the equivalence ratio distributions in the cylinder of a light-duty diesel engine operating in a low-temperature, high-EGR, and early-injection operating mode. Measurements are made in a non-combusting environment at crank angles capturing the mixture preparation period: from the start-of-injection through the onset of high-temperature heat release. Three horizontal planes are considered: within the clearance volume, the bowl rim region, and the lower bowl. Swirl ratio and injection pressure are varied independently, and the impact of these parameters on the mixture distribution is correlated to the heat release rate and the engine-out emissions.
As the swirl ratio or injection pressure is increased, the amount of over-lean mixture in the upper central region of the combustion chamber, in the bowl rim region and above, also increases. Unexpectedly, increased injection pressure results in a greater quantity of over-rich mixture within the squish volume.
Lateral Creepage
Authors: Hasan Nazmul 
Published: July 2013

This is a theoretical work on lateral creepage, εy for both tangent and curved track. From the equation of motion on tangent track, the expression for the maximum lateral velocity is obtained and then followed by the basic definition of lateral creepage to obtain the maximum lateral creepage. For tangent track the maximum lateral creepage is given by: εy=y0RK in which,
y 0 is wheel clearance, γ is conicity, r is nominal wheel radius, s is the track width, RK is the Klingel radius.
Lateral creepage for a curve is expressed by replacing the Klingel radius with the radius of curve, R as shown below: εy=y0R
A lateral slip in the running surface exists because of the wheel’s attack angle, which causes the flange to push against the inside of the railhead; consequently, a lateral slip force will be developed [1]. Clearly, this situation provides valid grounds to find a correlation between lateral creepage and the angle of attack. Exactly this is given below.
For curved track: εy=0.069B2R+0.2862y0B in which,
B is wheel base, R is radius of curve.
This equation is suggested for the lateral creepage on the curve, as it contains both components of the angle of attack that connects all important parameters, such as radius, wheel base and wheel clearance.
A threshold creepage value of 0.0045 is suggested. It is shown that a curve with a radius greater than 300 m should not produce wheel squeal noise.
An Experimental Study About the Effects of High Speed Rail’s Construction and Operation on the Ability of These Involving Enterprises
Authors: Yin Jing , Li Xuemei , Guo Zhuxue 
Published: July 2013

Since High-Speed Rail (HSR) began planned and constructed, many involving enterprises obtain interests from the process. But with increasing number of High-Speed railways being planned, constructed, and then operated, it will inevitably bring more improvement on the ability of these involving enterprises. So, no matter policy planers and the entrepreneurs or investors, understand the inner mechanism of the mutual influence between the development of High-Speed Rail and the improvement of involving enterprises is a key point to keep harmonious and efficient development of infrastructure construction simultaneously with the enterprises. In this paper, it is presented an example of an experimental study investigating the effects of high speed rail’s construction and operation on these involving enterprises in each link of this high speed rail industry chain.
As we know, social division of labor improves the efficiency of society, and with more detailed-oriented division, more enterprises and experts are engaged in one or several domains. Thus the construction and operation of high speed way are complex processes completed by numerous enterprises, each one or some of which only need to deal with one part. By sorting the industry chain of high speed rail, 50 listed enterprises are selected with their operated data from 2006 to 2010. The comprehensive evaluation system of enterprises ability is modeled by factor analysis method to obtain the key factors, which affect the development of enterprises. The results show the ability of these enterprises are influenced by their scale, profitability, debt, operation ability and progressive ability, and the enterprises in different link own their special abilities compared with those of other links.
And next, from the time dimension, the abilities of enterprises have been changed from 2006 to 2010, especially one or several abilities that summarized in the previous part. So via variance analysis, the change laws of ability are explored in the process of construction and operation of high speed rail, which, on one hand, is confirmed the promotion of high speed rails to these abilities of enterprises, on the other hand, shows the inner mechanism and rules in the process.
Fracture Mechanics and Beam Theory Analyses of Semi-Elliptical Cracks Originating in the Base of Rail
Authors: Jeong David Y. , Carolan Michael E. , Yu Hailing , Perlman Benjamin , Gordon Jeffrey E. 
Published: July 2013

In May 2011, a derailment of a passenger train occurred in a tunnel in the northeast region of the United States. Fortunately, no serious injuries or fatalities resulted from this derailment. The probable cause of the derailment was determined to be a broken rail from a defect originating in the base of the rail. This internal rail base defect is characterized as having a crescent, thumbnail, or semi-elliptical shape. In addition, the formation and growth of this defect may have been exacerbated by corrosion.
This paper describes engineering calculations to estimate the growth rate of this type of rail base defect. These engineering calculations are based on applying the principles of fracture mechanics and beam theory. Fracture mechanics principles are applied to determine stress intensity factors for the semi-elliptical shaped defect with different aspect ratios. Stress intensity factors are then used to estimate the growth of the defect under the accumulation of tonnage from repeated wheel passages. For this purpose, the rail is assumed to behave as a beam in bending.
Automated Train Brake Effectiveness (ATBE) Test Process at Canadian Pacific
Authors: Aronian Abe , Jamieson Michelle , Wachs Kim 
Published: July 2013

In 2011, Canadian Pacific (CP) implemented a new Automated Train Brake Effectiveness (ATBE) process for coal trains which replaces the visual Class 1 (No.1) Air Brake test required under Canada’s Department of Transport (Transport Canada – TC) regulations. The ATBE process relies on Wayside Detector technology to assess the operation of brakes on each railcar under dynamic conditions.
CP began analyzing wayside detector information in 2008 as the basis for evaluating the braking performance of coal trains in Canadian Export service, specifically targeting existing Hot Box / Hot Wheel Detectors strategically situated alongside the track. Using the wayside detector output, the new ATBE process improves upon the visual No.1 Brake Test by evaluating brake effectiveness. The wayside detector information is automatically transmitted to a central Equipment Health Monitoring System after each train passing, where train brake effectiveness is evaluated and results published to mechanical maintenance facilities and train crews. The published results constitute the completed ATBE Test for the train.
Given the substantial number of mechanical components requiring visual inspection each day by railway train inspectors, and taking into account the considerable investment CP has made into Wayside Detection technology, focus has moved towards Technology Driven Train Inspections (TDTI), preferring predictive, proactive maintenance practices and condition-based maintenance policies instead of the traditional reactive maintenance approach.
Assessment of a Diesel Vapor Reclamation System for Use in Diesel Electric Locomotives
Authors: Parida Basant K. , Zaouk Abdullatif K. , Punwani John , Maryott Dana 
Published: July 2013

Diesel fuel used in locomotives generally does not pose a fire hazard. However, diesel vapor generated within tank vapor space attains flammability condition as the fuel temperature gets closer to the fuel-flash point, which may cause a fire hazard in the event of a tank breach due to collision or derailment of the locomotive. As a part of an ongoing Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) sponsored research effort, a proof-of-concept laboratory scale demonstration has shown that it is possible to circulate the mixture of diesel vapor and air through a small vapor condenser unit to reclaim the fuel vapor. The recovered fuel is shown to possess almost similar specific heat value and hydrocarbon constituents as that of neat diesel fuel and hence reusable. Furthermore, the vapor reclamation process enables mitigation of fire hazard and reduction of diesel vapor escape to the environment. In order to assess the real potential of diesel vapor reclamation on a running locomotive, real-time fuel temperature data was collected during a medium-haul run of a BNSF Railway freight locomotive.
This paper presents the real-time fuel temperature data collected on a BNSF Railway instrumented locomotive tank as well as results of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analyses performed for the full-scale locomotive tank. In continuation of the research and development effort, the design of a scaled up diesel vapor reclamation system is presented. The scope of its integration with a railroad freight locomotive is summarized and subsequent steps for its performance evaluation on a running locomotive are discussed.
Improving Safety and Security Management Programs to Realize Successful Outcomes by Focusing on Requirements Management
Authors: Stokes Timothy , Cox Sue 
Published: July 2013

A vital aspect of safety and security management during the development of new rail and transit projects is ensuring that safety and security requirements are properly developed and incorporated into the work products in a planned, systematic and traceable manner. The completed rail or transit project will need to operate as a fully integrated system, but it will likely be designed, supplied, constructed and tested by many parties organized through multiple contracts. Each contracted entity has a responsibility to do some aspect of the work, and can have an impact on the safety and security of the completed rail or transit project. In addition, other impacts to safety and security can arise from system interfaces and inter-modal systems, from other rail and bus systems servicing the corridor/region to highways, bike, pedestrian walkways and para-transit.
This paper discusses the critical role of safety and security requirements management during the development and delivery of rail or transit projects to ensure that safety and security is inherent in the project, consistent with US DOT regulations. Safety and security requirements management should be an integrated part of project management, rather than an after-thought at the end of the project. Requirements are not prescribed solutions; rather they are explicit statements, categorized into a logical framework, describing the functions, behaviors and qualities to be achieved. Requirements are typically specified by the owner to express what a new rail or transit project needs to accomplish from an operations perspective. Amongst the project requirements are the safety and security requirements that must be satisfied. The designer proposes a solution to satisfy the requirements, taking into account risk, cost, schedule, and other constraints such as technical issues and human factors.
By using the techniques of requirements management, owners of rail and transit properties will have visibility into the status of safety and security throughout project implementation to facilitate control over the project to realize successful outcomes. It should be noted that requirements management techniques are also applicable during the operations and maintenance, retrofit and disposal phases of a rail or transit project. Managing safety and security requirements including the verification process in a planned, systematic and documented manner confirms to the owner, operators, oversight agencies and the general public that safety and security risks have been appropriately taken into account. Thus the owner can ultimately state with confidence that the completed system is safe for operations and public use.
Feasibility of a Variable-Directivity Locomotive Horn
Authors: Ross Jason C. , Parida Basant K. , Zaouk Abdullatif K. , Nash Grant S. , Punwani Swamidas K. (John) 
Published: July 2013

It is estimated that up to 9.3 million persons may be impacted by locomotive horn noise and up to 4.6 million of those may be severely impacted.1 In 2009, there were over 1,900 incidents, over 700 injuries and over 240 fatalities at highway-rail grade crossings.2 The National Academy of Engineering Committee on Technology for a Quieter America has indicated that the public would benefit if train warning horns were more directional and has recommended that research and development be undertaken to better understand the effects on safety and benefits to the public.3 A directive train horn has the potential to focus audible warning signals to desired locations including pedestrians and motorists at highway-rail grade crossings while minimizing noise to the surrounding community and employees in the locomotive cab.
As a part of an ongoing Federal Railroad Administration (FRA)-sponsored research and development effort, the authors have examined the feasibility of and recommended an acoustical specification for an optimized train horn that would improve the detectability of the warning signal for motorists at critical positions along the crossing road while reducing the area of environmental noise impact. The detectability, noise impact area and occupational noise exposure have been compared for the optimized horn and several typical standard horns.
Near the beginning of most sounding events (1/4-mile from the grade crossing) the optimized horn reduces noise exposure because a narrow beam of sound can be generated and focused at the grade-crossing. As the train approaches the crossing, the beam width must become wider. It is found that detectability could be improved and noise impact area reduced by up to 57%, but the optimized horn must have a directivity pattern and amplitude that dynamically changes as a function of train position relative to the crossing.
Current acoustic source technologies which generate directive sound were examined including “acoustic hailing devices” (AHDs) which are recent technological advancements typically used for naval communications. Capable of focusing high amplitudes of sound within a narrow beam and dynamically changing the directivity pattern through electronic beam steering, AHDs have been identified as a feasible means of meeting the required specifications. A critical design issue for the optimized horn is controlling the directivity pattern at low frequencies. Development and testing of a prototype is in progress and actual improvements to detectability and reductions in noise impact will be analyzed. The paper briefly discusses the feasibility of the optimized horn and general information on cost and implementation.
Preservation and Reuse of Abandoned Rail Corridors: Legal and Policy Issues
Authors: Morgan Curtis A. , Loftus-Otway Lisa , Hutson Nathan M. , Warner Jeffery E. 
Published: July 2013

The paralleling of existing rail lines in excess right-of-way (R/W) and/or the re-use of corridors first used by railroad companies has long been a method for acquiring linear corridors for other transportation uses. The practice of re-using rail alignments is a logical one given that railroads steered development patterns in the United States prior to the highway era and the corridors that served the railroads also effectively serve existing population centers. The long period of railroad consolidation since the end of World War II resulted in the abandonment and loss of many rail corridors that would now have been extremely valuable for transportation development. Preserving former rail corridors is beneficial to transportation planners at the local and state level, as they can be employed for new transportation uses or multiuse recreational trails.
This paper discusses the findings of a multifaceted research project that examined issues associated with acquisition, preservation, and re-use of abandoned rail corridors in Texas. The paper summarizes the legal and policy review that analyzed Texas, Federal, and other state abandonment policies to determine what, if any, changes would be necessary for the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) to take advantage of future opportunities to acquire and preserve these corridors. The paper also reviews results that identified and documented past Texas rail abandonments and identification of potential uses for existing/prospective abandoned corridors. The paper concludes with an overview of the findings of this study which noted that as the state’s population continues to grow, preserving all potential transportation corridors for rail or alternative uses will grow in importance.
Challenges in Current Wireless Sensor Technology for Railcar Status Monitoring for North America’s Freight Railroad Industry
Authors: Rakshit Sushanta Mohan , Hempel Michael , Sharif Hamid , Punwani John , Stewart Monique , Mehrvarzi Shahram 
Published: July 2013

Ensuring rail safety is a priority for the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) and the railroad industry in North America. One such endeavor is to leverage Wireless Sensor Networks (WSN) to monitor and report in real-time the status of mechanical and electrical components for each railcar, and in conjunction with other railroad subsystems, ensure the safety, security and integrity of transported goods.
The envisioned solution utilizes sensors installed on each railcar to form a train-based wireless network and collect real-time (or near real-time) information on different elements of a train and transmit aggregated information to the locomotive, dispatch centers or regional offices for early fault detection and accident prevention. The railroads have been interested in using a standards-based low-cost communication protocol for this purpose, such as IEEE 802.15.4, often referred to as ZigBee.
Our results show, however, that ZigBee was designed for smaller wireless networks, such as a single railcar. It exhibits several critical problems associated with the unique network topology found on a freight train and the size of such a network. In essence, the network would take the shape of a very long chain of nodes. Some of the problems stemming from this topology are excessively long synchronization delays for establishing the network along the entire train, severe problems with route discovery and maintenance necessary for selecting the next relay node along the chain, aggregation of data errors and a resulting unacceptable packet loss rate, the lack of a traffic prioritization mechanism to protect important packets such as those containing critical alarms of equipment failure, and many more.
In this paper, we describe our findings and experiences in our evaluation of ZigBee for railcar monitoring onboard freight trains, a detailed analysis of the identified problems and their impact on the envisioned railcar monitoring as well as discuss potential solutions to these problems.
Examining Intercity Rail Passenger Station Access Patterns
Authors: Sperry Benjamin R. , Warner Jeffery E. 
Published: July 2013

Travel on intercity passenger rail is growing in popularity across the U.S. Amtrak, the nation’s intercity passenger rail operator, reported a steady growth in ridership over the last decade; for the 12-month period ending in September 2011, Amtrak carried more than 30 million passengers, a first in the company’s 40-year history. This growth has resulted in widespread interest in developing new intercity passenger rail services or improving existing services with new station facilities and other investments. An issue of interest to the rail planning and policy community revolves around station access patterns, and there are many questions that remain unanswered on this subject. For this paper, these questions include: What is the mode share for passenger trips to and from the rail station? How far do passengers travel to access rail services? Has the market area for intercity passenger rail expanded with increasing ridership, or has the market area remained unchanged during this recent period of growth?
Using data obtained from on-board surveys of existing Amtrak passengers in Michigan and Wisconsin, USA, this paper examines the evolving nature of rail passenger station access patterns over the last decade. Specifically, patterns in the overall station access trip mode split, the passengers’ self-reported travel time to and from the rail station, and the spatial distribution of passenger home residential zip codes relative to the rail station are analyzed. Analysis shows that 50 percent of rail passengers reside between 8 and 20 miles from a rail station, depending on the route, and that the market area for selected routes has expanded in recent years. Rail planners can use the findings from this paper to develop new station facility designs or to correct issues that may be present at existing stations. The findings of this paper can also be used to guide the deployment of marketing and promotion of rail services to residents within the “catchment area” of a station.
Railroad Tie Responses to Directly Applied Rail Seat Loading in Ballasted Tracks: A Computational Study
Authors: Yu Hailing , Jeong David 
Published: July 2013

This paper describes work in-progress that applies the finite element (FE) method in predicting the responses of individual railroad crossties to rail seat pressure loading in a ballasted track. Both wood and prestressed concrete crossties are examined. The concrete tie is modeled as a heterogeneous medium with prestressing wires or strands embedded in a concrete matrix. The constitutive relations employed in the models are: elasticity followed by damaged plasticity for the concrete material, linear elastic bond-slip relations with potential initiation and evolution of damage to the bond for the steel-concrete interfaces, orthotropic elasticity followed by failure dictated by orthotropic stress criteria for the wood ties, extended Drucker-Prager plasticity for the granular and frictional ballast material, and elastic half space for the subgrade. The corresponding material parameters are obtained from the open literature.
Under a simplified pressure load uniformly distributed over the rail seat area, the FE method predicts tensile cracking at the tie base below the rail seats of a concrete tie and compressive failure in the rail seats of a wood tie. The rail seat force-displacement relations are obtained from the simulations. The resultant rail seat forces at which tie failures occur are compared for concrete and wood ties.
The FE method appears to be a promising tool for studying the railroad tie behavior under rail seat loading conditions in a ballasted track. Experimental data will be sought to calibrate the material parameters and verify the modeling approach. Additional track components, particularly rails, rail pads and fasteners, will be incorporated in future modeling efforts. This detailed modeling approach may help to shed light on the rail seat deterioration failure mechanisms observed in some concrete ties.