Correlating Corrugation Noise with Train Speed

Public rail transit maintenance includes ensuring that rails are free from the corrugation that develops naturally as trains traverse the rail. Detecting corrugation typically requires manual measurement of rail condition using a specialized measurement trolley. In a recent study we established a relationship between corrugation and the noise level produced by the train suggesting that passive noise measurements may provide a way to assess rail quality and whether rail maintenance (i.e., grinding) is overdue. The previously developed relationship was demonstrated at a single property (A) at nominal train speed operation. When the metrics were applied to a second property (B) the established rail quality metric did not match measurements. At Property B noise is shifted to another part of the audible spectrum, due to trains operating at slower speeds. We seek to establish a speed-dependent correction that can be applied to noise measurements to infer corrugation regardless of train speed.

Faculty Supervisor:

Ian Jeffrey;Jonathan Regehr

Student:

Partner:

Advanced Rail Management

Discipline:

Engineering

Sector:

Professional, scientific and technical services; Transportation and warehousing

University:

University of Manitoba

Program: