How much load can a railway track bear when trains run over it for decades? And how does its behaviour change when conditions change underground? Such questions will be able to be investigated at Graz University of Technology (TU Graz) under controlled, realistic conditions. With the new Railway and Infrastructure Laboratory (RaIL) at the Institute of Railway Infrastructure Design (RID), a laboratory facility for railway research – one of a kind in Europe – is commencing operations. At RaIL, complete railway track systems can be tested for their load-bearing capacity and durability during simulated real-world operation – from rails and sleepers, to ballast and subgrade, and including subsoil. This will provide new insights into the interactions between traffic loads and the various layers of the track structure.
The facility, which cost around four million euros, was built using funds from TU Graz, the Austrian Research Promotion Agency (FFG) and with financial support from voestalpine AG. The technical testing machines are supplied by the German company Form + Test.
To date, research into new solutions for the railway track has primarily involved a combination of analytical calculations, numerical simulations and measurements taken during actual operation. The laboratory now makes it possible to test the entire rail system, as well as individual developments such as points components and fastening systems, before carrying out extensive testing while the railway is in operation. This can shorten development cycles and lay the foundations for more efficient and longer-lasting track systems. RaIL also offers possibilities for standard-compliant testing of track superstructures, as well as for product development trials and type approval.
The centrepiece of the laboratory is a track-bed simulator five metres long, 3.5 metres wide and 1.8 metres deep. Hydraulically and electronically controlled test cylinders are used to simulate the static and dynamic loads to which tracks are subjected when a train weighing several tonnes rolls over them. It can be used to investigate the dynamic force transmission within the system comprising rail, fastenings, ballast bed, track bed and up to eight sleepers. It is also possible to investigate critical areas such as isolated joints, expansion joints and bridge junctions, as well as the effects of tamping work.
For larger systems, a clamping area measuring nine by five metres is available (expandable to 14 by five metres), in which the test cylinders are also used. For example, switch sections and expansion joints, which compensate for temperature-induced changes in the length of the rails, can be tested in accordance with standards. A flexible ballast test rig enables the investigation of individual components, such as sleepers or wooden replacement sleepers, in order to study the fundamental wear behaviour of the ballast under specific frequencies and loads. This helps to ensure that elastic elements and sleepers are optimally matched, thereby minimising wear and tear on the track structure.
One of RaIL’s unique selling points is its ability to specifically alter humidity conditions. This makes it possible to investigate experimentally how different levels of water saturation affect the stiffness, load distribution and long-term behaviour of the superstructure and substructure. This will enable research to be carried out into the effects of changing environmental conditions on the durability of railway infrastructure.
“Railway research is a key area of research for TU Graz, and one in which we rank amongst the top three universities in Europe,” says Horst Bischof, Rector of TU Graz. “We work closely with industry in the Research Cluster Railway Systems. We also carry out internationally recognised research of the highest standard with our railway institutes, a number of professorships and state-of-the-art testing facilities. The Railway and Infrastructure Laboratory is the logical complement to this research infrastructure, which, taken as a whole, is unique in Austria. I would like to thank the FFG and voestalpine AG for their support in setting up the new laboratory."
“The opening of the Railway and Infrastructure Laboratory ‘RaIL’ at the Institute for Railway Infrastructure Design represents an important next step in the collaboration between TU Graz and the Austrian railway and supply industries as part of the Research Cluster Railway Systems at TU Graz,” says Franz Kainersdorfer, member of the Executive Board of voestalpine AG. “The research cluster, established by TU Graz in collaboration with ÖBB, Siemens, voestalpine, Plasser & Theurer and Virtual Vehicle, is unique worldwide in this form. The new laboratory will significantly advance its development and underlines both the capabilities of Austrian university research and those of the Austrian railway and its supply industry.”
“With RaIL, we aim to gain a better understanding of the railway track system as a whole. At the same time, we are creating an infrastructure that enables new components to be developed and tested under reproducible conditions, while allowing students to learn directly on the actual system. Our aim is to put scientific findings into practice more quickly and thus to contribute to an efficient and climate-resilient railway," says Ferdinand Pospischil, head of the Institute of Railway Infrastructure Design at TU Graz. The laboratory will be headed by Julian Torggler, the deputy head of the institute.
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