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Selected Papers from the 7th International Conference on Road and Rail Infrastructure CETRA 2022

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A special issue of Energies (ISSN 1996-1073).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 January 2023) | Viewed by 7372

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Prof. Dr. Stjepan Lakušić

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Guest Editor

Faculty of Civil Engineering, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia
Interests: railway design and maintenance; transport engineering; transportation noise; vibration analysis; stray current at track infrastructure; rail infrastructure monitoring
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Prof. Dr. Andrea Mariscotti

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DITEN, University of Genova, 16145 Genova, Italy
Interests: EMC applied to industrial, military, and transportation systems; power quality and interference; power system modeling and analysis; electrical measurements, design, and construction of measurement setups and instrumentation; earthing, stray current, and lightning protection design
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Dr. Katarina Vranešić

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Faculty of Civil Engineering, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia
Interests: railway design and maintenance; transport engineering; stray current at track infrastructure; stray current monitoring and measurement; corrosion detection at urban track

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Nowadays, due to the increasing demands imposed on the transport sector, vehicles and transport infrastructures worldwide have been going through a comprehensive restructuring process. The current habits of users and operators are changing dramatically, requiring the use of new technologies that will be reflected in new, more modern road and rail vehicles. The development and modernization of vehicles must inevitably be accompanied by the modernization of transport infrastructure, which, due to the use of new and modern technologies, increasingly requires interdisciplinary cooperation, in which a highly significant role is assumed by electrical engineering.

The cooperation of experts and scientists from the fields of civil engineering and electrical engineering is becoming increasingly necessary, and the future of this collaboration is certain to yield many new technologies and solutions that will find applications in transport infrastructures around the world. To encourage this collaboration, this Special Issue welcomes papers presented at the 7th International Conference on Road and Rail Infrastructure, CETRA 2022, which focus on the field of electrical engineering and are essential for the development of vehicle and transport infrastructures. The published papers shall be related to hybrid and autonomous vehicles, rail infrastructure monitoring, sustainable mobility, remote sensors, rail diagnostics, and power supply of transport systems and traction vehicles.

Prof. Dr. Stjepan Lakušić
Prof. Dr. Andrea Mariscotti
Dr. Katarina Vranešić
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Energies is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

facilities and vehicles design
hybrid vehicles
autonomous vehicles
electromobility
rail infrastructure monitoring and optimization
sustainable mobility
remote sensors
rail diagnostic
power supply of transport systems and traction vehicles

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

21 pages, 5055 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Efficient Deployment of Dual Locomotives in Regional Freight Rail Transport

by Martin Chýle and Michal Drábek

Energies 2023, 16(5), 2159; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/en16052159 - 23 Feb 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1060

Abstract

The present article focuses on the efficient deployment of dual locomotives in regional rail freight transport considering the quantification of traction energy and energy savings. In the first part of the article, a categorization of dual locomotives, according to their power output in electric and alternative traction (and ratio of both power outputs) is proposed. The potential of deployment of chosen dual locomotives in Central European conditions (a sub-network of Czech railway network around mainlines electrified with AC) is verified by calculation of traction energy consumption of the model train (with two examples of dual locomotives). In addition to non-stop running through the entire line, traction energy consumption of stop (and following acceleration) in each intermediate station is calculated, for a particular direction. Then, appropriate freight train paths for passing passenger trains and saving of traction energy are proposed. The results are supplemented by sensitivity analysis in the form of calculation of traction energy consumption with variable numbers of loaded wagons, with the help of iPLAN/FBS timetabling software. The limitations are the maximum length or gross mass of the train. Finally, the conclusions obtained from the computational examples are evaluated and recommendations for appropriate deployment of dual locomotives and planning of targeted improvements of infrastructure are formulated. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Selected Papers from the 7th International Conference on Road and Rail Infrastructure CETRA 2022)

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16 pages, 12376 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Convenient Procedure for Measuring the Electrical Resistance of Fastening Systems in Urban Railway Tracks

by Katarina Vranešić, Ivo Haladin, Stjepan Lakušić and Krešimir Burnać

Energies 2023, 16(4), 1990; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/en16041990 - 17 Feb 2023

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1952

Abstract

Electrical resistance is among the characteristics that fastening systems must meet to ensure the proper functioning of signaling systems in railway infrastructure. The EN 13146-5:2012 standard specifies a laboratory testing method for determining the electrical resistance under wet conditions between running rails provided by a fastening system on steel or concrete sleepers. In urban railway tracks, the electrical resistance of fastening systems affects the stray current; however, there is no standardized electrical resistance measuring method. There is also no definition for the minimum value that the electrical resistance of fastening systems must satisfy to prevent stray currents. For this reason, this paper analysis the possibility of using the standard EN 13146-5:2012 for the measurement and analysis of the electrical resistance of fastening systems in urban railway tracks. In this study, the electrical resistance of different fastening systems used in urban railway tracks was measured. Based on the tests results, the modifications needed in the EN 13146-5 standard for it to be suitable for urban railway tracks were identified. The proposed modifications include the use of a DC current source. The test should be performed on a rail sample fastened to the concrete base, and the current circuit should be closed by the reference electrode installed in the base. Spraying water from nozzles is not applicable for this measurement. The test should be performed under dry conditions and at different water levels (water on the top of the concrete base and on the top of the levelling layer). Different water levels were used to simulate the most common conditions in urban railway tracks built as part of the road surface, where the track-drying process is very slow. The test should not be performed when the rails are immersed in water, because the current flows directly from the rail into the water in such case, and the fastening system has no influence on the measured electrical resistance value. In addition to describing the proposed changes, the calculation of the minimum electrical resistance value that fastening systems in urban railway tracks must satisfy is also presented. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Selected Papers from the 7th International Conference on Road and Rail Infrastructure CETRA 2022)

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17 pages, 9469 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Investigations on the Heat Transfer between an Electrical Heating Rod and a Rail for Heated Railway Switch Points

by Markus Schladitz, Robert Adam and Stephan Schlegel

Energies 2023, 16(4), 1678; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/en16041678 - 08 Feb 2023

Viewed by 1105

Abstract

Electrical heating rods are a commonly used application for switch point heating in order to keep switch points free from ice and snow. Clamps made of spring steel usually attach the heating rod to the rail. They are localized at certain positions at a distance from each other. Thermal images showed significant temperature differences on the surface of the heating rod depending on the longitudinal position. That might be an indicator of a varying heat transfer due to a changing joint force applied by the clamps. In order to investigate the correlation between the joint force and the heat transfer between the heating rod and rail, the clamping force of newly manufactured heating rod clamps was measured initially. Therefore, a modified tensile test was used. Applied thermal and mechanical loads over a period of 4000 h could reduce the clamping force by 13%. Finally, the correlation between the heat transfer resistance, the joint force and the surface condition was experimentally determined with a heating test setup. Considering only the clamp area, the specific thermal contact resistance will not change due to a change in the joint force. However, surface preconditioning, such as milling or an application of a thermal-conducting paste, is capable of significantly reducing the thermal contact resistance. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Selected Papers from the 7th International Conference on Road and Rail Infrastructure CETRA 2022)

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14 pages, 5020 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Effectiveness of Distributed Acoustic Sensing (DAS) for Broken Rail Detection

by Adrian Wagner, Andrew Nash, Frank Michelberger, Hirut Grossberger and Gavin Lancaster

Energies 2023, 16(1), 522; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/en16010522 - 03 Jan 2023

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2341

Abstract

Broken rails remain one of the main causes of railway accidents despite improved rail quality and inspections. Today, signalling system with track circuits are often used to detect broken rails, however new signalling systems such as the European Train Control System (ETCS) with axle counters are replacing track circuits and therefore new methods are needed to detect broken rails. One promising technology is distributed acoustic sensing (DAS). The best DAS analytical techniques to show the position of the rail break are gradient analysis, convolution using the train consist and 2 D sinusoidal convolution. This paper describes field tests carried out on DAS to evaluate its ability to detect broken rails and the moment when rails break. The testing showed that DAS has good potential for detecting broken rails in both scenarios. Especially helpful is the ability of DAS to identify the moment of rail breakage and its potential for determining the break’s location on open lines. Recommendations for further research include testing these qualities in more detail and considering how DAS could be efficiently combined with new signalling systems. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Selected Papers from the 7th International Conference on Road and Rail Infrastructure CETRA 2022)

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Selected Papers from the 7th International Conference on Road and Rail Infrastructure CETRA 2022

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