The railroad industry is pivotal in the United States to ensure that the supply chain does not shut down for the American people. Non-Destruction Evaluation (NDE) approaches are preferred and performed on the railways to ensure the safety of the population that is exposed to the railway industry. When damage occurs on the rail base, there is an increased risk derailment of the train cars. Due to the nature of the railroad industry, there are challenges with developing a quick and reliable inspection method, along with the improvement of current NDE methods. The load, speed, and cycles of trains have increased the load that track sections endure over time. Some railways that were originally built in the early 20th century are still utilized today, designed for trains that are not nearly as heavy or fast as used today. Defects and damage on the railways lead to the need of development of an NDE approach utilizing Line Scan Thermography approaches. One of the most common defects that are formed are on the rail base is known as “base nicks” and “half-moon cracks”, these types of defects can occur over time. This research aims to study the feasibility of applying this NDE technique to detect defects that can occur on a rail base, both internal and external. For this research, a heat source up to 6000 W and tested velocities up to 447.1 mm/s (1.0 mph) are used to study the effects of line scanning thermography on various samples. In total, 10 samples are employed to test for feasibility: each one having a unique set of defects. Some defects fabricated on these samples are internal, such as bottom drilled holes (BDH) and side drilled holes (SDH); some of these samples are fabricated from actual rail samples. From tests conducted for internal defects, it can be concluded that defects with diameters of 6.35 mm (0.25”) can be detected at a remaining thickness from the observation surface of 6.35 mm. Along with internal defects, there are also external defects employed on the samples; these defects include simulated base nicks, fractures, and half-moon cracks. For surface defects tests from this research, it is found that the anomalies can be detected visually. The results from the experimental studies provide insight and limitations of LST for the possibility of a future commercial application.

Before vehicles can be placed in service it has to complete an authorisation process. At the moment,this process is largely depended on tests. This is, however, an expensive and long process. With new technologies and improved simulations this process can be shortened and the costs can be lowered. The validation of a vehicle model, however, is often limited by the available data. Often the measured rail profiles are not available and thus a new UIC60 profile is used for the simulations. The railway track often has been used and showssigns of wear and damages, therefore research has been done to investigate the influence of the rail profiles on the validation of a railway vehicle model. The current methods of validation in the European norm are used to compare simulated values with forces and accelerations available from vehicle measurements. In the first step,25 track sections with different curve radii have beensimulated with a measured rail profile every 100 meters. In the next step, the same sections have been simulated by using the standard UIC60 rail profile. The results show that the use of measured rail profiles does have a positive influence on the outcome of simulation. In the final step, one single narrow curve has been simulated to show the effect of standard and worn rail profiles. Four different wear stages of the rail profile are simulated and compared to the available vehicle measurements available. These simulations show that the use of a medium worn rail profile gives the most accurate value. / Innan ett fordon kan tas i bruk måste det genomgå en tillståndsprocess. För närvarande är denna process till stor del beroende av provningar. Detta är dock en dyr och lång process. Med hjälp av ny teknik och förbättrade simuleringar kan denna process förkortas och kostnaderna sänkas. Valideringen av en fordonsmodell begränsas dock ofta av de tillgängliga uppgifterna. Ofta finns inte de uppmätta rälsprofilerna tillgängliga och därför används en ny UIC60-profil för simuleringarna. Järnvägsspåret har ofta använts och visarDärför har forskning gjorts för att undersöka hur rälsprofilerna påverkar valideringen av en modell av ett järnvägsfordon. De nuvarande valideringsmetoderna i den europeiska normen används för att jämföra simulerade värden med de krafter och accelerationer som finns tillgängliga från fordonsmätningar. I det första steget har 25 spårsektioner med olika kurvradier använts.simulerats med en uppmätt rälsprofil var 100:e meter. I nästa steg har samma sektioner simulerats med hjälp av standardprofilen UIC60. Resultaten visar att användningen av uppmätta rälsprofiler har en positiv inverkan på simuleringsresultatet. I det sista steget har en enda smal kurva simulerats för att visa effekten av standard- och slitna rälsprofiler. Fyra olika slitningsstadier av rälsprofilen simuleras och jämförs med tillgängliga fordonsmätningar. Simuleringarna visar att användningen av en mediumsliten rälsprofil ger det mest exakta värdet.

To contribute to the field of research of Projects as Social Processes, this research study will investigate the various aspects of social processes in the project environment. The study will be qualitative in nature and will use a case study methodology investigating the social processes experienced by the project managers of the various subsystems of Bombardier Transportation, as part of the Bombela Concession Company, in the delivery of the Gautrain Rapid Rail Link project. Project Managers were interviewed to understand how they experience the social processes taking place in the project environment as well as how they handle and approach these social interactions. The above methodology used in this exploratory case study is specifically used to develop a justification for enlarging the existing methodological Project Management Bodies of Knowledge (PMBOK) and the Life Cycle processes applicable to System Engineering to include Social processes.

The purpose of this research was to investigate the feasibility of a passenger rail service operating on a current rail line in Canterbury, known as the Main North Line, which connects the Waimakariri District to Christchurch. The Main North Line runs through the two main urban areas of the Waimakariri District: Rangiora and Kaiapoi. The need for research into the potential use of the Main North Line for passenger services has arisen due to increasing car congestion on arterial roads between the Waimakariri District and Christchurch. All traffic coming from the Waimakariri District into Christchurch must cross the Waimakariri River, creating a transport bottleneck. An assessment of the location of the Main North Line was conducted with respect to the travel needs of Waimakariri District residents using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to investigate how far residents live and work from the line and resident surveys to determine whether people would use rail as their main mode of travel into Christchurch. Assessment of the infrastructure was with regard to the locations of potential railways stations and the capabilities of the infrastructure for supporting different levels of passenger service. National and regional transport strategies are placing more importance on the transportation of people and freight by way of rail. A potential rail service for Canterbury will therefore likely include national and regional stakeholders in co-operation with a private service operator, as currently occurs in Wellington and Auckland. An average of 71% of Waimakariri District residents stated they would switch to rail as their main mode of transport for the journey into Christchurch. GIS analysis found that the number of journeys which start in the Waimakariri District and terminate within 1km of Christchurch stations is around 610 which increases to around 4,300 if connecting bus services were utilised in Christchurch.

To contribute to the field of research of Projects as Social Processes, this research study will investigate the various aspects of social processes in the project environment. The study will be qualitative in nature and will use a case study methodology investigating the social processes experienced by the project managers of the various subsystems of Bombardier Transportation, as part of the Bombela Concession Company, in the delivery of the Gautrain Rapid Rail Link project. Project Managers were interviewed to understand how they experience the social processes taking place in the project environment as well as how they handle and approach these social interactions. The above methodology used in this exploratory case study is specifically used to develop a justification for enlarging the existing methodological Project Management Bodies of Knowledge (PMBOK) and the Life Cycle processes applicable to System Engineering to include Social processes.

This thesis examines how the changing governance environments introduced under New Labour compromised or assisted the delivery of the 2004 Community Rail Development Strategy. It considers the origins of Community Rail and the circumstances which led to the adoption of the 2004 Strategy and its content. It explores the wider processes of governance change across multiple scales and the rise of a new neoliberal approach favoured by recent administrations, with particular emphasis of New Labour’s introduction of the Third Way and its creation of the third sector. The primary research aim and four core research objectives are tested within six Community Rail Partnership (CRP) case study areas, through the application of a multi-methodological approach combining desk-based quantitative analysis with qualitative semi-structured interviews of actors engaged in the case study areas and wider policy elites. For each of the case study areas, an empirical overview of the transport planning policies of actor members of the CRPs is undertaken, as well as visual and audio station audits. The research then examines the place of the 2004 Strategy within the wider transport planning policy landscape at all tiers of regional and sub-regional government, concluding a very mixed approach to engagement and support. The resurgent approach to localism and the role of New Labour’s Local Strategic Partnerships are considered in identifying existing levels of CRP engagement and opportunities to create functional spaces of engagement. It identifies a high level of correlation between current CRP activities and alignment with core performance indicators of this new governance framework, manifesting itself in a published national toolkit model. The research then examines the importance of a CRP’s own approach to governance; the role of core individuals; and the importance of actor engagement to support a stable platform for delivering successful Strategy outputs and outcomes. It concludes by recommending national policy options to improve on outcome delivery for individual CRPs and their members.

Tese de mestrado. Manutenção Industrial. Faculdade de Engenharia. Universidade do Porto. 2004

Le bruit de crissement émis par les véhicules guidés sur rail dans les courbes serrées (rayon inférieur à 200 m) est caractérisé par un niveau de pression acoustique élevé et un spectre de raies à moyennes et hautes fréquences. La littérature est riche en modèles de simulation du crissement en courbe. Cependant, le mécanisme d'instabilité est toujours controversé. De plus, les modèles de crissement en courbe existants sont souvent simplifiés (lois de pseudo-glissement analytiques ou hypothèse de massif semi-infini élastique).Le premier objectif de la thèse est de contribuer à la compréhension du mécanisme de génération. Pour ce faire, une analyse de stabilité du contact de roulement roue/rail dans le cas du glissement latéral total est réalisée en utilisant un modèle de contact ponctuel et des bases modales roue et rail. On constate que même avec une hypothèse de coefficient de frottement de Coulomb constant, la flexibilité verticale dynamique du rail joue notamment un rôle important dans l'occurrence d'instabilité sans "décroissance du coefficient de frottement" ni sans "couplage de modes". Le second objectif de la thèse est de développer un modèle élément finis complet de contact roue/rail pour calculer des solutions de référence. Des techniques numériques appropriées sont développées pour résoudre les équations discrètes non linéaires. Ces méthodes sont ensuite appliquées à un modèle réaliste de contact roue/rail en courbe. On constate que la discrétisation de la zone de contact ne modifie pas les mécanismes d'instabilité mais les taux de divergence des modes instables en raison du couplage plus fort entre les degrés de liberté de contact normaux. / Squeal noise of railbound vehicles emitted in tight curves (radius lower than 200m) is characterized by high sound pressure levels at pure medium and high frequencies. State-of-the-art abounds with models trying to simulate curve squeal. However the instability mechanisms are still controversial. In addition, existing curve squeal models are often simplified (analytical frictional contact laws or elastic half-space assumption). The first aim of the thesis is to contribute to a clarification of the possible generation mechanisms. For this purpose, a stability analysis of wheel/rail rolling contact in the case of lateral full sliding is performed by using a point-contact model and wheel/rail modal bases. It is found that, even with a constant Coulomb friction coefficient, the rail vertical flexibility is notably found to play an important role on the instability occurrence without "falling friction" nor without "mode-coupling". The second aim of the thesis is to develop a full Finite Element model of wheel/rail contact in order to compute reference solutions and especially to verify the effects of the simplifications carried out in the point-contact model. Appropriate numerical techniques are used in order to solve the nonlinear discrete equations. In order to reduce the computational effort, reduction strategies are proposed for both domains. The methods are then applied in a realistic wheel/rail model in curve. It is found that the discretization of the contact zone does not substantially modify the instability mechanisms but the divergence rates of the unstable modes due to a stronger coupling between the normal contact degrees of freedom.

Ce travail réalisé dans le cadre d'une collaboration industrielle avec la société ALSTOM Transport porte sur l'étude de la dégradation des voies ferrées urbaines. Les composantes de voie retenus pour cette étude sont le rail et la dalle de voie en béton. Concernant le rail, différents problèmes sont abordés : contact roue - rail, usure du rail, usure ondulatoire du rail, et fatigue de contact de roulement (RCF) du rail. Un outil numérique avec des interfaces graphiques, nommé CONUS, est développé pour le problème de contact roue - rail et le problème d'usure du rail. Des théories classiques (Hertz, Kalker, Archard, etc.) sont implantées dans cet outil. La méthode stationnaire est implantée dans un code de calcul par éléments finis pour étudier l'état asymptotique de l'acier du rail sous le chargement répété des trains. Ceci nous permet de prédire les régimes de RCF du rail. La mécanique de l'endommagement est utilisée pour prédire la fatigue du matériau béton. Le formalisme de Marigo couplé avec le modèle d'endommagement de Mazars permet de modéliser la dégradation progressive de la rigidité du matériau sous chargement cyclique. Une campagne d'essais de fatigue du béton en flexion a été réalisée. Elle a pour but de valider le modèle théorique et d'identifier les paramètres du matériau. Le dimensionnement d'une dalle de voie en béton a fait l'objet d'une application de cette méthode. Le modèle de réseau de poutres (lattice model) a été utilisé pour étudier la propagation des fissures dans les structures en béton. Ce modèle a été implanté dans le logiciel de calcul par éléments finis, CESAR-LCPC. Les résultats numériques (propagation de fissures) obtenus pour les structures simples sous chargement statique sont en tout point comparables avec les résultats d'essais expérimentaux. Ce modèle a ensuite été utilisé pour étudier la fissuration sous chargement de fatigue. Pour cela un modèle d'endommagement simple modélisant la dégradation des éléments "poutres" s'est avéré suffisant pour décrire la cinématique de propagation des fissures

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