Laboratories on Luleå Railway Research Center
Research on railway operation and maintenance
Railway test bed
Infrastructure for testing, development and implementation of Railway 4.0 - the Swedish concept for future railway research and innovation.
To achieve a smooth implementation of new research and innovation, railway stakeholders, e.g. infrastructure managers and the railway industry, need to develop new methods to test new technologies and innovative solutions.
To achieve this, JVTC and the Division of Operations and Maintenance Engineering at Luleå University of Technology, have developed a framework called 'Railway 4.0', with a corresponding testbed called 'Testbed Railway'.
The framework and testbed aim to facilitate the establishment of the digitalized railway and enable decision-making through big data analytics. The tools also provide the opportunity to collect condition data, fault data and reliability data via a service-oriented and cloud-based solution.
Testbed Railway is a platform for transparent and reproducible testing of scientific theories, computational tools (such as Big Data Analytics) and new technologies. The goal of 'Testbed Railway' is to strengthen the adaptability and competitiveness of the railway industry by developing and providing a testbed for research and innovation in the railway industry, both nationally and internationally. The purpose of 'Testbed Railway' (Karim, 2016) is to enable Sweden to be a leader in railway research and innovation, which contributes to strengthening the industrial production of railway-related goods and services in Sweden. The Railway Testbed is run in collaboration with the eMaintenance Lab.
The testbed will facilitate real-time continuous monitoring of railway infrastructure and rolling stock using state-of-the-art technology. The corridor is equipped with state-of-the-art metrology and communication technologies for measuring, monitoring and storing data which is crucial for researchers at JVTC who have a strategic focus on developing maintenance models, tools and methods to facilitate accurate and timely decisions to ensure effective and efficient maintenance processing solutions.
Today, the testbed covers two track sections (about 5,000 km of railway), i.e. Malmbanan and Haparandabanan. These two track sections are instrumented so that both infrastructure and rolling stock can be monitored online and in real time. Monitoring data is used for maintenance analysis, i.e. descriptive, diagnostics, prognostics and prescriptive maintenance.
Railway 4.0 is the overall framework designed to facilitate the selection of concepts, technologies and methods aimed at developing the railway system, both nationally and internationally. Furthermore, Rail 4.0 focuses on disseminating experiences and knowledge to involved stakeholders (owners such as infrastructure, contractors, academia and consultants). Railway 4.0 provides the railway industry with improved opportunities to collaborate, interact, test and implement relevant research and development results in the areas of digitalized railway and eMaintenance. This in turn contributes to improved robustness and capacity of the railway system, as well as increased cost efficiency for operation and maintenance.
Research station
The JVTC research station is a measuring station that measures forces exerted by the vehicles on the rail. The sensors separate vertical and lateral forces. The research station delivers data 24 hours a day, identifies trains and wagons, provides a list of the top ten poorly performing axles and the data is available online.
The background
A first application for establishment funds for the research station was granted by Banverket R&D coordination in the fall of 2004, when a number of fixed sensors were installed along the railway, with data collection and analysis in the field. In 2006, JVTC in close cooperation with Damill AB, a satellite company of JVTC, established a measuring station located at Sävast 30 km northwest of Luleå on the Malmbanan.
The goal of the Research Station is that JVTC will continue to be a reputable research center with a strengthened prominent position in international research circles, and that the Research Station itself will attract interested railway specialists. With the research station it is possible to:
- to continuously collect data for ongoing and future research projects, both within the JVTC and with other national and international research partners
- test and secure technology, methods and models to support track owners and transport companies in their efficiency improvements of operation and maintenance tests, evaluate and develop analysis tools for collected measurement data.
- develop new products, services and companies
Brief facts about the research station:
- Track segment 119 Boden-Luleå
- 18 Million gross tons (1999)
- Max allowed speed 140
- Max axle load 30 tons (stax)
- R = 484 m (790 vxl 7) Curve radius
Operated by:
- Iron ore train 50-70 km/h, 25-30 tons axle load
- Steel shuttle 90 km/h, 22.5 tons axle load
- Rail Combi 90 km/h, 22.5 tons axle load
- Conv. Freight train 90 km/h, 22.5 tons axle load
- Passenger train 140 km/h
Research benefits
Real data access is an important part of graduating internationally recognized railway researchers. The fact that they can access operational data that reflects real train traffic leads to that:
- Researchers from all over Sweden, Europe and from other international partners come to the Research Station to make measurements.
- The international exchange of researchers increases. There are already established collaborations with Australia, Great Britain, India and Iran and the Research Station is an attractive "destination". JVTC is already a node in an international network for heavy rail traffic (IHHA - International Heavy Haul Association) where the USA, Canada, Brazil, South Africa, Russia, China and Australia participate with representatives from both the research community and the railway industry.
Collaborative benefits
- The research station is a piece of the puzzle in the testing activities that have been established in northern Sweden.
Innovation
The only measurements that are normally carried out along the railway are from a safety perspective, such as the risk of derailment and overheating. The research station means that measurements can now be made in real time and during normal operation, which means that the basis for maintenance decisions for both railways and rolling stock can be made simultaneously.
The research station has established a completely unique channel between JVTC and all players in the railway industry, both nationally and internationally.
The wheel film eater
The equipment automatically detects passing wheel pairs and fires laser-based devices to measure wheel profiles on trains at operating speed.
At the wheel profile meter in Sunderbyn, 20 km northwest of LTU, a measuring equipment for wheel profiles has been installed in 2011 by the Swedish Transport Administration and LKAB. The equipment automatically detects passing wheel pairs and fires laser-based devices to measure wheel profiles on trains at operating speed. By combining this information with RFID readings of the wagon's identity, the test bed can provide a unique opportunity for, for example, optimization of wheel maintenance for individual wheels. Generated information is sent to the eMaintenance LAB at LTU.
eMaintenance LAB
eMaintenance LAB provides digitalized infrastructure, platform and software as services, adapted to improve maintenance decision support.
eMaintenance LAB provides digitalized infrastructure as a service (IaaS), platform as a service (PaaS) and software as a service (SaaS), tailored to improve maintenance decision support. The integrated services can be seamlessly adapted to different application areas and industries. Today, the lab supports research and innovation (R&I) projects in the aviation, mining, rail, energy and process industries.
To support a wide range of R&I projects and initiatives, the lab offers a combination of physical and virtual locations. Today, the physical locations of the eMaintenance Lab are in Luleå, at the university and in Kiruna in close collaboration with LKAB. These locations are designed and developed to facilitate practical experiences in research and innovation.
The services provided by the lab are used in research, education and innovation in operations and maintenance. In addition, the eMaintenance LAB is used to encourage and strengthen cooperation and collaboration between industry and academia.
The eMaintenance LAB provides various services to both national and international stakeholders. This includes industry and research partners from Slovenia, Spain, Italy, Germany, Norway, Finland and the USA.
The Railway Cloud
The Railway Cloud is operated by eMaintenance Lab and is a platform that enables tools, data and information aimed at Big Data Analytics related to the railway system, including railway infrastructure and vehicles. Today, this platform is used for research projects with contextualized services.
CBM Lab
The Condition Based Maintenance Laboratory (CBM LAB) conducts research and training in condition monitoring through experimental testing.
The Condition Based Maintenance Laboratory (CBM LAB) carries out research and training in condition monitoring, experimental trials and product development. The laboratory, which focuses on condition monitoring of railway and mechanical equipment (switches, roller bearings, etc.), currently houses the following test equipment:
- Test rig for condition monitoring of cracks in switches.
- Test rig for condition monitoring of different sizes and types of gearboxes loaded with realistic torque and speed.
- Test rig for testing roller bearings where radial force is controlled by computer and where accelerations and temperatures are to be analyzed with smart algorithms.
- Equipment for measuring rail friction and wear resistance
- Ultrasonic, phased array and SAFT measurement equipment
- Water tank for measuring cracks with ultrasound
Measuring trolley with current technology for detecting fasteners - Level gauge for track position measurements
- Gauges according to the resistance measurement method
- Track profile meter and surface finometer
- Equipment for wireless transmission of measurement data from the railroad
In 2019, a boogie, a rotating train undercarriage, was delivered to perform tests at the university's full-scale switching laboratory.
At LTU there is also a complete full-scale track switch mounted. It is 30 meters long and has been donated by the Swedish Transport Administration. The switch will initially be used to study the engine. Furthermore, there is also a 30 m long railway track for detection of fasteners.
Other equipment - Drones, loggers etc.
Equipment and measurement systems located in connection with the Railway Testbed.
TheeMaintenance drone is part of the tools and services provided by the eMaintenance LAB, which aims at research related to topics such as remote maintenance, condition monitoring, remote control, safety and security.
Track Log ger is a portable logger that can be installed on railway vehicles and scans the rail for defects using accelerometers on axle bearings. The Track Logger is an equipment provided by Damill AB.
S&C Vision Logger is a camera monitoring system installed in the overhead contact line system above special track components such as switches. Real time images for condition monitoring to control snow conditions and to be used by corrective maintenance personnel before going out to the site to repair, to bring the right spare parts, equipment and the right personnel with the right skills to repair the fault. The Visionen Logger is an equipment provided by Damill AB.
A top-of-rail lubrication unit has been installed to perform research in the field of rail friction management. The unit is powered by wind and solar energy and can be programmed to apply different amounts of friction modification to investigate the effect on e.g. frictional forces, wear and noise & vibration.
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