Innotrack Rail Fracture and Others

IN2TRACK
Project Title: Research into enhanced tracks, switches and structures
Starting date: 2016-09-01
Duration in months: 30
Call (part) identifier: H2020-S2RJU-2016-01/H2020-S2RJU-CFM-2016-01-01
Grant agreement no: 730841
REPORT
Enhanced track structure – Status, key influencing parameters and

Deliverable Title:
prioritised areas of improvement
Due date of deliverable: 2018-10-30
Actual submission date: 2018-12-03
Responsible partner Trafikverket
Revision: F2
Deliverable Nº D3.1
Document Status: Final
Dissemination Level: PU
GA H2020 730841 D3.1 Page 1 of 268

IN2TRACK D3.1 – Enhanced track structure – Status, parameters, improvement
Project information
DISCLAIMER AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

This project has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 Programme
Research and Innovation action under grant agreement No 730841
This document reflects the views of the author(s) and does not necessarily reflect the views or
policy of the European Commission. Whilst efforts have been made to ensure the accuracy and
completeness of this document, the IN2TRACK consortium shall not be liable for any errors or
omissions, however caused.
IN2TRACK CONSORTIUM
• TRAFIKVERKET - TRV (TRV)
as coordinator
• KOMPETENZZENTRUM - DAS VIRTUELLE FAHRZEUG, FORSCHUNGSGESELLSCHAFT MBH
(VIF)
• GETZNER WERKSTOFFE GMBH (GEWE),
• KIRCHDORFER FERTIGTEILHOLDING GMBH (KFTH)
• PLASSER & THEURER EXPORT VON BAHNBAUMASCHINEN GESELLSCHAFT MBH (P&T)
VOESTALPINE SCHIENEN GMBH (VAS)
• VOESTALPINE VAE GMBH (VAE) GMBH, FN126714W,
• WIENER LINIEN GMBH &CO KG (WL)
• AC2T RESEARCH GMBH (AC2T)
• MATERIALS CENTER LEOBEN FORSCHUNG GMBH (MCL)
• ACCIONA INFRAESTRUCTURAS S.A. (ACC)
• CENTRO DE ESTUDIOS DE MATERIALES Y CONTROL DE OBRA SA (CEM)
• OBB-INFRASTRUKTUR AG (OBB)
• NETWORK RAIL INFRASTRUCTURE LIMITED (NR)
• FONDATION DE COOPERATION SCIENTIFIQUE RAILENIUM (RLM)
• SNCF RESEAU (SNCF-R)
• TATA STEEL FRANCE RAIL SA (TATA)
• VOSSLOH COGIFER SA (VCSA)
• UNIVERSIDAD DEL PAIS VASCO/ EUSKAL HERRIKO UNIBERTSITATEA (UPV/EHU),
INFRAESTRUTURAS DE PORTUGAL SA (IP)
• SCHWEIZERISCHE BUNDESBAHNEN SBB AG (SBB)
‘beneficiary not receiving JU funding’
• TURKIYE CUMHURIYETI DEVLET DEMIR YOLLARI ISLETMESI GENEL
• MUDURLUGU (TCDD)
• LIIKENNEVIRASTO (FTA),
• SLOVENSKE ZELEZNICE DOO (SZ),
• BLS AG (BLS)
‘beneficiary not receiving JU funding’
GA H2020 730841 D3.1 Page 2 of 268

Document Information
DOCUMENT DRAFTING
NAME ORGANIZATION SECTION(S)
Deliverable Anders EKBERG Trafikverket 1, 3, 4, 5.1, 7.2,

leader 10
Author(s) Knut Andreas MEYER Trafikverket 5.1

Dimitrios NIKAS Trafikverket 5.1
Casey JESSOP Trafikverket 5.1
Dimosthenis FLOROS Trafikverket 5.1
Jens NIELSEN Trafikverket 5.1
Elena KABO Trafikverket 5.1
Frédéric FAU British Steel 5.2, 6.3
Norbert FRANK VAS 5.3, 6.2
Constantine COLLIAS NR 5.4, 9.2
Brian WHITNEY NR 5.4
Francisco Javier MORALES-GAMIZ Cemosa 6.1
Noemi Jiménez-REDONDO Cemosa 6.1
Mark BRADBURY NR 6.4
Benjamin LEE NR 6.4, 7.5
Ernesto Garcia VADILLO UPV/EHU 7.1
Javier CANALES UPV/EHU 7.1
Aimar ORBE UPV/EHU 7.1
Roque BORINAGA UPV/EHU 7.1
Yusuf CATI TCDD 7.3
Charles VOIVRET SNCF 7.4
Zelong YU NR 7.5
David CONNOLLY NR 7.5
Baris Bilal ALTINTAS TCDD 8
Okan TOPCU TCDD 9.1
Ian DEAN NR 9.2
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DOCUMENT APPROVAL
NAME ORGANIZATION DATE
Review(s) Anders EKBERG Trafikverket 2018-11-11
Mitigation(s) Frédéric FAU British Steel 2018-11-19

of review
Ernesto Garcia Vadillo (sec 7.1) UPV/EHU 2018-11-20
comments
Francisco Javier MORALES-GAMIZ Cemosa 2018-11-21
(sec 6.1)
Norbert FRANK (sec 5.3, 6.2) VAS 2018-11-21
Canan KORKMAZ (sec 7.3, 8, 9.1) TCDD 2018-11-26
Ben LEE NR 2018-11-28

Anders EKBERG (Overall) Trafikverket 2018-11-26
Approval by Anders EKBERG (Deliverable Leader) Trafikverket 2018-12-03

Deliverable
Leader
Approval by Sam BERGGREN (Project Leader) Trafikverket 2018-12-03

Steering
Committee
GA H2020 730841 D3.1 Page 4 of 268

Publication history
Date Version Description Responsible
2017-03-15 6 Content outlined and responsible partners Anders EKBERG

identified
2018-06-29 10 Compilation of basis for the September Anders EKBERG

version
2018-10-27 11 Compiled final version Anders EKBERG
2018-10-29 F1 Final version for review Anders EKBERG
2018-11-28 F2 Final version with mitigated review Anders EKBERG

comments
2018-12-03 F2 NR review mitigations included Anders EKBERG
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Table of Contents
1 Executive summary .............................................................................................................10
2 Terms, Acronyms and Abbreviations ..................................................................................14
2.1 Terms ...........................................................................................................................14
2.2 Acronyms and abbreviations .......................................................................................15
3 Background .........................................................................................................................18
4 Objective and aim ...............................................................................................................19
5 Links between failures and root causes ..............................................................................22
5.1 Rail cracks ....................................................................................................................22

5.1.1 Brief introduction to rail crack formation and growth and to subsequent sections
.............................................................................................................................22
5.1.2 Squat formation and subsequent crack growth...................................................24

5.1.3 Influence of the multiaxial loading in rails on crack growth ................................27
5.1.4 Formation of anisotropy in rails, and its effect on crack formation and growth .28
5.2 Influence of rail steel grade and maintenance on RCF defects ...................................31
5.2.1 The Innotrack D4.1.5 deliverable “definitive guidelines on the use of different rail
grades” .................................................................................................................31
5.2.2 Influence of rail hardness, grinding and lubrication on the initiation of flaking
defects .................................................................................................................32
5.2.3 Influence of rail hardness and grinding on the initiation of squat looking defects
on high rails in sharp curves.................................................................................36
5.2.4 Comparison between bainitic and pearlitic rail grades on the initiation of head
checks defects ......................................................................................................40
5.3 Analysis of existing failure catalogues .........................................................................46
5.4 Analysis of rail failure data ..........................................................................................47
5.4.1 Background and issues with RCF ..........................................................................47

5.4.2 Eddy Current (EC) technology improving asset condition data ...........................52
5.4.3 Deployment and rail management strategy ........................................................59
5.4.4 UT and EC development and its future role .........................................................61

6 Maintenance technologies based on analyses of failures and costs ...................................64
6.1 Managing and analysis of information required for a cost-efficient analysis of

maintenance ................................................................................................................64
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6.1.1 Objectives ............................................................................................................64
6.1.2 Introduction and analysis of information ............................................................64

6.1.3 Maintenance actions database requirements .....................................................65
6.1.4 Definition of a framework for database for maintenance: action and maintenance
parameters ...........................................................................................................74
6.1.5 Implementation for an operational database ......................................................96
6.2 Maintenance requirements for different steel grades ................................................98
6.2.1 Inspection ............................................................................................................98
6.2.2 Maintenance technologies...................................................................................99
6.2.3 Quality of machining ............................................................................................99

6.2.4 Effectiveness to service life and total costs .......................................................100
6.3 Grinding and lubrication quality ................................................................................100
6.4 Analysis of cost data ..................................................................................................103

6.4.1 Requirement for accurate failure cost data .......................................................103
6.4.2 Example calculation of failure and cost relationships in Network Rail ..............105
7 Optimized track support ...................................................................................................109
7.1 Exhaustive analysis of existing track supporting structures ......................................109

7.2 Lessons from, and extensions to the work in In2Rail ................................................114
7.2.1 Relevant research in In2Rail...............................................................................114
7.2.2 Lessons from and extensions to the work in In2Rail ..........................................117

7.3 Investigation of USP for optimization of transition zone...........................................118
7.3.1 Scope..................................................................................................................118
7.3.2 Introduction .......................................................................................................118
7.3.3 The transition zone for optimization .................................................................124

7.3.4 Numerical model of the transition zone ............................................................129
7.3.5 Field experiments...............................................................................................138
7.3.6 Results of simulations and experiments ............................................................145

7.3.7 Conclusions ........................................................................................................160
7.4 Bituminous sub-ballast layers for less maintenance needs .......................................162
7.5 Innovative materials in track design ..........................................................................163
7.5.1 Background ........................................................................................................163
7.5.2 Introduction .......................................................................................................163

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7.5.3 Test Methodology ..............................................................................................163
7.5.4 Cyclic compression testing of ballast-asphalt track and ballast track ................170
7.5.5 Static compression testing .................................................................................174
7.5.6 Conclusions and recommendations ...................................................................176
7.5.7 Further reading ..................................................................................................177

8 Optimized mounting, connection and repairing techniques – improving welds by shot
peening..............................................................................................................................179
8.1 Scope .........................................................................................................................179
8.2 Introduction and literature review ............................................................................179
8.3 Objective....................................................................................................................182
8.4 Experimental design ..................................................................................................183
8.4.1 Material..............................................................................................................183
8.4.2 Shot peening application ...................................................................................184

8.5 Residual stress measurement ....................................................................................187
8.5.1 Fatigue life analysis ............................................................................................193
8.6 Discussion ..................................................................................................................196
8.7 Conclusion .................................................................................................................198

9 Key areas for inspection and monitoring ..........................................................................200
9.1 Enhanced rail breakage and rail condition monitoring and inspection systems .......200
9.1.1 Scope..................................................................................................................200
9.1.2 Objective ............................................................................................................201
9.1.3 Reactive broken rail detection technologies......................................................202
9.1.4 Proactive technologies for broken rail detection...............................................218
9.1.5 Treatment of rail defects ...................................................................................232

9.1.6 Used systems at Turkish state railways for rail flaw detection ..........................234
9.1.7 Conclusion ..........................................................................................................238
9.2 Key areas for monitoring and inspection of track geometry .....................................239
9.2.1 Background and current tools............................................................................239
9.2.2 Monitoring frequency (visual and detailed).......................................................240
9.2.3 Examples of current monitoring and inspection methods.................................243
9.2.4 Importance of monitoring to improve asset life ................................................248
9.2.5 Development for a more efficient railway .........................................................250

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10 Conclusions and input to demonstrators ..........................................................................252
11 References.........................................................................................................................257
12 Annexes .............................................................................................................................268
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1 Executive summary
Work package 3 in In2Track aims at enhancing the track structure. This report – Deliverable D3.1
– support this quest by identifying current status, identifying key influencing parameters and
define prioritised areas of improvement. Here “status” implies both the current status of track
design, but also the current status of knowledge. This knowledge is related to key influencing
parameters – which these are, how they are quantified and what their influence are key issues.
Finally, prioritised areas of improvement are to be defined since the outcome of this report (as
well as the entire project) will lie the foundation for subsequent projects. The track system is a
complex system that consists of a number of components that have to integrate in a system that
has to endure a large number of operational loads and fulfil a magnitude of demands. To be able
to obtain a technological and scientific depth and thereby progress the state-of-art, this project
has focused on some specific areas that were defined in the project description. A summary of
these areas and how and where in the report they are handled is described in depth in chapter 4.
After a brief summary of the background in chapter 3 and a more extensive description of the
objectives and aims in chapter 4, the “technical content” sets off with in-depth investigations of
the relation between failures and their root causes in chapter 5. Since a large portion of failures,
and in particular service-affecting failures relate to rails, the chapter focuses on rail failures.
Section 5.1 deals with rail cracks. Subsection 5.1.1 summarizes the topic and introduces the
subsequent subsections. In subsection 5.1.2 the focus is on isolated crack networks in the form
of so-called squats. Studies regarding root causes of squat initiation are here carried out both as
physical examination of field samples, experimental investigations of crack growth and in the
form of computer simulations. A good understanding of the crack networks is used as a starting
point for experimental and numerical studies on crack initiation and propagation. The results
show the morphology of squat crack networks, identifies main influencing parameter and
quantifies their impact through numerical simulations. Subsection 5.1.3 contains a more in-
depth investigation of rolling contact fatigue (RCF) cracks. These cracks are subjected to a multi-
axial state of (mainly compressive) stress induced by RCF loading. To predict the growth
direction of such cracks is essential since transverse growth poses a potential safety issue. It is
however not generally possible with current knowledge. It is demonstrated through comparison
between numerical simulations and experiments that relative crack-tip displacements are
appropriate measures for RCF crack growth evaluation in multi-axial stress conditions. To
overcome numerical difficulties associated with the quantification of RCF crack loading for
elastoplastic deformations, which rail head cracks are subjected to, computation of the energy
release rate due to crack advance including size effects pertinent to elastic—plastic
deformations is proposed. The proposed method results in a reliable quantity for measuring the
RCF crack loading for elastoplasticity. In subsection 5.1.4 the topic of anisotropy is investigated
in detail. The rolling contact loading makes the running surface of the rail head highly
anisotropic. Further, the microstructure in the surface layer has a very steep gradient, making it
very challenging to understand the properties of this layer. A method for artificially creating a
similar microstructure, suitable for further testing, is developed. Microstructural investigations
and material modeling of this material state is also conducted.
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In section 5.2 the performances of 2 bainitic rail grades in track curves are described and
compared with standard and heat treated pearlitic rails. The bainitic rails display an excellent
resistance to head checking in curves. Welding conditions still need to be optimised.
Regarding failure catalogues, it was concluded in section 5.3 that the failure catalogues from UIC
(2002) and from Capacity4Rail (2014) shall be used for further application within In2Track.
Section 5.4 aims to extend the knowledge and understanding of certain key track deterioration
mechanisms and identification of key remediation methods. The focus of this section looks at
NR’s procedures for the inspection classification and remediation of surface cracking caused by
rolling contact fatigue (RCF). It also looks at the mechanisms which cause the initiation and
propagation of RCF and how better understanding can be used to add preventative measures
that can be used to control growth as well as corrective remediation treatments once RCF is
already established.
Chapter 6 deals with failures and costs. This includes the development of a database of costs
and failures, knowledge on how different track configurations affect cost and failure levels, and
to be able to draw correct conclusions on the cost data, especially in order to establish cost-
benefit relations for different actions. These topics are handled in the sections of chapter 6 as
described below.
Lack of standardisation of historical data of maintenance tasks is one of the main problems
which the infrastructure manager must face. The use of new technologies for the optimization
increases this issue. Section 6.1 proposes a framework for generation new database structures
oriented to the new methods of maintenance based on data analytics.
In section 6.2 it is clearly shown for pearlitic rail steels that the damage per accumulated tonnage
is decreasing with increasing hardness. Starting from R260, the wear resistance of high strength
rails increases by factors between two to three for R350HT and up to six for R400HT. The same
trend is confirmed for rolling contact fatigue damage by head-checking. Altogether, harder rail
steels provide the basis to increase the total rail life and reduce the machining requirements
significantly.
In section 6.3, building on the work in section 5.2, the influence of rail grinding and lubrication
conditions on the initiation of some rail fatigue defects (in particular “flaking” and “squat”
defects in curves) is explained, from track observations and laboratory examinations and
simulations. The influence of the rail grade (hardness) is also explained. Recommendations to
mitigate these defects are given.
To demonstrate the potential life cycle cost benefits of proposed new technologies and
processes, it is necessary to understand the cost of asset failures that may be avoided. Section
6.4 outlines the key principles that should be achieved to provide clearer links between track
failure types and the costs incurred due to these failures. An example of how these principles
have been applied by Network Rail in their strategic planning process is also given. Capturing
this information for the different infrastructure operators will allow more accurate life cycle cost
modelling of proposed asset solutions and a baselining of the cost/failure relationship.
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Chapter 7 deals with track support with focus on slab track solutions. After a review of current
systems and a recapitulation of the outcomes of the related work in In2Rail, the potentials of
improving the track performance by using under sleeper pads or bituminous sub-ballast layers
are investigated.
More in detail, section 7.1 contains a bibliographic review of the existing slab track systems,
showing their respective strengths from the point of view of construction, assembly process,
maintenance and repair.
The work in In2Rail Deliverables D3.3 and D3.4 related to track forms are summarized in section
7.2. In particular main conclusions and derived Key Performance Indicators are listed. The
summary also discusses the approach in In2Rail towards an overall track form assessment and
some complications related to this approach. The overview concludes with a summary of lessons
learned from In2Rail and how the In2Rail work on track forms has been taken forward by
In2Track.
In section 7.3, effects of Under Sleeper Pads (USP) on vibration mitigation for reduction of track
geometry degradation was investigated in transition zones. For this purpose, dynamic finite
element model was built and validation experiments on transition zone site were carried out.
Results show that developed model has good agreements in time domain analysis.
Several studies and field experiences have identified the advantages of bituminous sub-ballasts.
Section 7.4 presents an investigation to answer the following: Does railway require a specific
bituminous mixture to perform and sustain specific load with respect to the classical highway
conditions? A coupled approach between numerical simulation and experimentation (in
laboratory and in track) is reported. Strong evidence is shown to conclude and drawn industrial
consequence about the choice of mixture for a better LCC.
In section 7.5 a series of lab-based tests were undertaken to assess the performance of an
asphalt track system over simulated variable subgrade stiffness. The tests comprised of a
340MGT cyclic compression test, a static compression test of the same ballast track and a static
compression tests with the ballast removed.
The study in chapter 8 focuses on surface and subsurface residual stress states in addition to
structural condition of the rail welds. Flash butt welding of rails is analyzed regarding its high
number of applications in railways both for repair and construction purposes. Flash butt welding
failures are observed with different mechanisms mostly related to conditions after welding
process. Shot peening process is applied to the welds with parametric variations to compare
their benefits on increasing their strength against initiation of fatigue cracks. The analysis is
carried out with respect to shot impact effect on the surface and subsurface. The potential of
treatment on improving the fatigue life and service performance of the rail weld zone is
investigated.
Chapter 9 deals with inspection and monitoring. Here the focus has been on two major cost-
drivers for track structures, namely rail breaks and track geometry distortions. ´
In section 9.1 current rail break detection inspection and monitoring technologies are
investigated. In addition, the main rail break mechanisms are shortly explained since
GA H2020 730841 D3.1 Page 12 of 268
understanding the contribution of the mechanisms to the breakage may help to gain perspective
about the detection methods. Finally, the deficiencies and selective properties of these technics
are discussed.
Finally, section 9.2 covers the identification of key areas for inspection and monitoring and
pertinent potential benefits. This relates to areas where current inspection/monitoring practises
have improvement potentials and where benefits of enhanced monitoring and inspection are
seen to be high.
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2 Terms, Acronyms and Abbreviations
2.1 Terms
Infrastructure manager is the organisation responsible for the management of railway lines
and related structures. (Use style Definition, mark the term in bold and write the
explanation as continued text.)
AWG the AWG is the single, coordinating body for adhesion review and management within
the UK mainline Industry
Control Period NR control Periods are the 5-year timespans into which NR, the owner and
operator of most of the rail infrastructure in the UK, works for financial and other
planning purposes.
Cost of Failure the total cost per failure incurred by the infrastructure operator for an asset
failure type
CP5 Control Period 5 (April 2014 – March 2019)
CP6 Control Period 6 (April 2019 – March 2024)

Criticality Bands a classification of operational sections of the UK railway, used by Network
Rail for strategic planning purposes. Criticality Bands are defined according to the
operational cost impact per asset failure. There are five criticality bands
EC testing refers to Eddy-Current testing, which is one of the many electromagnetic testing
methods used in non-destructive testing. Making use of electromagnetic induction
to detect surface and sub-surface flaws in conductive materials.
EMGTPA is a measure of the usage of track – represents passing axle loads factored to
include the impact of higher speeds
High Level Describes the level of detail the information or data has. High-level is more
abstract in nature; where overall goals and systemic features are more related to a
wider, macro system.
Low Level describes the level of detail the information or data has. Low-level is more
specific focusing on the details of micro function; such as individual components
within the system and how they operate
ORR the Office of Rail and Road is the independent safety and economic regulator for
Britain’s (NR’s) railways.
Schedule 8 Payments made by NR to compensate train operators for the impact of

unplanned service disruptions due to poor performance; intended to cover fare
revenue loss, and costs, such as those associated with running replacement bus
services.
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Strategic Route Sections (SRS) A breakdown of the UK rail network used for strategic
planning purposes – there are c300 SRSs. Each SRS is made up of largely
homogenous assets and the operational impacts of failure can be considered
similar across a given SRS. Each SRS will only have track in one criticality band
TRUST is NR’s system developed to help attribute services affecting failures to parties
involved / directly responsible to the failure which cause delays and/or requires
delay payments.
VTISM is the network wide whole life costing model, used by Network Rail to assess long
term investment plans – predicts asset condition and performance.
2.2 Acronyms and abbreviations

ACFM Alternating current field measurement
AE Acoustic emission
AL Alert level
AWG Adhesion working group

BRI Burst repetition interval
BVI Basic visual inspection
CAE Cement asphalt emulsion

CBTC Communication based train control
CCA Cause consequence analysis
CP Control period
CTD Crack tip displacement
DB Database
DC Direct current
EMGTPA Equivalent million grosse tonnes per annum
ETMS Electronic train management system
FEM Finite element method
FMS Fault management system

FWI Fatality and weighted injury rate
FTA Fault tree analysis

Geo-RINM Geographical – rail infrastructure network model
HBL Hydraulically bounded layer

HD Hole drilling
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IAL Immediate action level
IL Intervention level
ID Identifier
JU Joint undertaking
KPI Key performance indicator/index

LAMP Linux, Apache, MySQL, PHP
LCA Life cycle analysis
LCC Life cycle cost
LCCA Life cycle cost analysis
MAC Minimum action code

MAPS Magnetic anisotropy and permeability systems
MST Maintenance scheduled task
NDT Non-destructive testing

NPV Net present value
NR Network rail
ORR Office of rail and road
RAM Route asset manager

RAMS Reliability, availability, maintenance, safety
RCF Rolling contact fatigue
RDMS Rail defect management system

RS Residual stress
RSSB Rail safety and standards board
RSU Roller search unit
SAF Service affecting failure

SMART Specific, measurable, actionable, relevant, time-bound
SFT Stress free temperature
SP Shot peening
TBF Time between failures
TFF Time to the first failure
TME Track maintenance engineer
TOPS Total operations processing system
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TRUST Train running under system TOPS
UI User interface
UIC Union internationale des chemins de fer
UGW Ultrasonic guided waves
UML Unified modeling language

USP Under sleeper pad
UT Ultrasonic testing
VTISM Vehicle track interaction system model
WO Work order
WT Work time
XRD X-ray diffraction
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3 Background
The current report relates to Task 3.1 of In2Track. The main objective of this task is to extend
the knowledge regarding key phenomena and related influencing parameters. To this end, key
track deterioration phenomena are investigated regarding root causes of deterioration and
influencing parameters. The structures of databases on damage occurrence and consequences
are established as a foundation for later LCC/RAMS assessment of potential solutions. Further,
identification of key issues related to remediation, mounting/repair and inspection/ monitoring
are investigated. The work is focused on areas deemed to have the highest needs and potentials,
such as rail defects, track geometry and transition zone performance.
To bring the development further, primarily existing knowledge is extensively utilized and built
upon. This includes the partners' existing competence and previous experience in EU projects
such as INNOTRACK, Capacity4Rail, and In2Rail. In addition, the knowledge has been extended
in several key areas to leverage future research, development and implementations e.g. in
In2Track2
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4 Objective and aim

The research in WP3 aims to significantly improve the performance of the track structure. This
relates to costs (in a life-cycle sense), robustness (in a RAMS-sense) and performance (e.g. load
carrying capacity). To this end, innovative solutions in the form of methods (e.g. whole system
technical evaluation framework), products, processes (e.g. track status assessment evaluation
for maintenance planning purposes and maintenance execution) and procedures (e.g.
establishment of technical requirements) will be required
To approach the challenges in a structured manner, WP3 invokes three tasks, presented in
Figure 1. The current Deliverable relates to Task 1.
Figure 1 Contents of the three tasks in WP3.
In the Grant Agreement, the following five sub-tasks are pointed out for task 1:
1. Setting out from existing damage classifications (e.g. UIC712, UIC Failure Atlas, IHHA Best
practice handbook etc) improve the links between existing failures and root causes. Here also
the influence of operational conditions is further established. In cases where knowledge has
been identified to be insufficient (e.g. squat formation, influence of anisotropy, partial vs full
slip conditions etc.) further work will be carried out to clarify root causes and influencing factors.
In particular, the work on assessing the influence of track design, operational conditions and
material characteristics on operational damage mechanisms that was initiated in In2Rail will be
taken further.
This work was categorised into topics
• Improve and further establish links between existing failures and root causes. Further
establish the influence of operational conditions and assess the influence of track
design, operational conditions and material characteristics on operational damage
mechanisms
• Overview of damage classifications (see also D2.1)
In the current Deliverable report, an overview of damage classifications is provided in section

5.3. It is further supported by the work in sections 5.1 and 5.2, which mainly address the first
topic. In particular section 5.1 presents a wide range of in-depth studies into root causes of
GA H2020 730841 D3.1 Page 19 of 268

operational failures with details provided in 14 annexes. Section 5.2 supports these studies with
field observations.
2. Establishment of an operational database with focus on failures and cost. The core aim is to
provide the ability to establish "base level" and also provide data that enhances the precision of
subsequent LCC/RAMS evaluations of innovative solutions in IN2TRACK and in subsequent S2R
projects.
• Establishment of an operational database with focus on failures and cost.

• Establish "base level" and also provide data that enhances the precision of subsequent
LCC/RAMS evaluations of innovative solutions in IN2TRACK and in subsequent S2R
projects.
Operational databases with focus on failures and cost are presented in section 6.1 and 6.4. Base
level values and characteristics are presented in sections 6.1.5, 0 and 6.4. with the It should here
be noted that defining base levels is inherently complex since costs for identical failures vary
dramatically across the EU, and damage levels may vary significantly e.g. on the same line over
a year (see the discussion on “winter related rail damage” in Deliverable D3.3). Detailed “base
levels” exist at the different infrastructure administrations (see section 6.4), but they are usually
not directly transferable to other networks. In this report, sections 6.1.5, 0 deals with detailed
investigations on the effect of steel grades, grinding and lubrication quality on degradation
levels, whereas section 6.4 provides an example of a more focused investigation of cost data
analyses for a specified network.
3. Requirements for optimized track support will be established setting out from studies in
In2Rail WPs3.2 and 3.4. This includes innovative solutions e.g. to replace current impregnated
timber sleepers, but also to derive a track structure optimized for relevant operational
conditions. It also includes the potential use of innovative materials for supporting structures
• Track support optimized for relevant operational conditions

• Innovative solutions e.g. to replace current impregnated timber sleepers
• Use of innovative materials for supporting structures
The topic of optimized track support is dealt with in sections 7.1 and 7.2. Section 7.1 essentially
scrutinizes all existing slabtrack systems for benefits and deficiencies to define suitable
characteristics for an optimised track support. Section 7.2 reports the recently completed work
carried out in In2Rail with a focus on identified KPIs and lessons learnt from In2Rail e.g. about
the complexity in assessing track support systems. As for innovative solutions, the limited time
and resources in In2Track required prioritisations. Here, a number of infrastructure managers
(NR, SNCF and TCDD) saw the benefit of investigating the enhanced use of under sleeper pads
and the potential of asphalt sub-ballast layers. These studies, that also include the use of
innovative materials for supporting structures are presented in sections 7.3, 7.4, 7.5 and annex
15.
4. Requirements for optimized mounting, connection and repairing techniques for rails where
results e.g. from In2Rail WP3.1 are taken further to identify solution areas that maximize
benefit.
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• Requirements for optimized mounting, connection and repairing techniques for rails
Regarding optimized mounting, connection and repairing techniques, this deliverable has
focused on welds and in particular the potential of using shot-peening to improve the weld
fatigue performance. This work is presented in chapter 8. It could be noted that in particular
Deliverable D3.3 will look more into the topic e.g. with a study on repair welding.
5. Identification of key areas for inspection and monitoring and pertinent potential benefits. This
relates to areas where current inspection/monitoring practices have improvement potentials
and where benefits of enhanced monitoring and inspection are foreseen to be high. One such
example is detailed knowledge of railhead conditions
• Key areas for inspection and monitoring and pertinent potential benefits
• Detailed knowledge of railhead conditions
Regarding these topics, a solid scientific basis rail deterioration is laid in sections 5.1 and 5.2.
Potential inspection methods are investigated in sections 5.4 and 9.1. In addition, key areas for
inspection and monitoring of track geometry (in a broad sense) and potential benefits of such
monitoring is presented in section 9.2.
The Deliverable concludes with main conclusions and input to Shift2rail demonstrators from the
different sections. This information is provided in chapter 10.
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5 Links between failures and root causes

The chapter sets out with research on root causes and mechanisms of crack formation and
growth in rails in section 5.1. The presentation continues with a description of field failures in
section 5.2. These overviews are related to how rail damage is treated in existing damage
classifications in section 5.3. Finally, means of identifying and quantifying rail material defects
are discussed in section 5.4.
5.1 Rail cracks

The section sets out with a brief summary of the state-of-the-art knowledge on crack formation
and growth. The motivations for the later subsections are motivated in this introduction.
It then goes deeper into the topic of squat formation, an issue of increasing importance where
more knowledge will be required as discussed in section 5.1.1. In addition, two factors especially
important in relation to rail cracks, namely the growth of crack in multiaxial (and compressive)
loading, as well as the formation and influence of anisotropy are described more in detail in
sections 5.1.3 and 5.1.4. The text in this section is a summary of the research carried out. The
details are presented in Annexes 1 to 14.
This initial overview will also set the background for research efforts presented in Deliverable
D3.2.
5.1.1 Brief introduction to rail crack formation and growth and to

subsequent sections
There is a significant amount of research on crack initiation and growth in the literature. This
brief introduction will not aim at a complete literature survey, but instead refer to surveys such
as Ekberg & Kabo (2005) and Magel (2011). A survey with more focus on predictive modelling
can be found in Ekberg et al (2013).
In general, rail cracks can form in the foot, web and head of the rail. A concise list of different
forms of rail cracks can be found in International Union of Railways (2012). In short, foot cracks
typically relate to (mechanical or corrosive) induced damage that causes crack propagation and
eventually rail break. Web cracks typically relate to welds or drilled holes in the web. Rail head
cracks can form at the underside of the head. Such cracks typically grow under the influence of
the global stressing (bending/shearing, prevented thermal contraction) of the rail.
The current chapter focuses on cracks that initiate on the upper part of the rail head. Such cracks
are primarily driven by the wheel–rail contact stress field and are referred to as rolling contact
fatigue cracks. These are very costly since crack formation will require the rails to be ground,
milled, or in the worst case replaced.
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In general rolling contact fatigue cracks can initiate at the surface due to frictional wheel rail
contact or below the surface due to high shear stresses caused by high wheel/rail contact
pressure in combination with the occurrence of material defects.
Traditionally rolling contact fatigue has occurred in the form of so-called head checks. These
initiate in the gauge corner of the rail in curves that are sufficiently sharp for frictional contact
to occur in the gauge corner, but not sharp enough to be susceptible to large amounts of wear.
The prevention of head check cracks was facilitated by the fact that they typically occurred in
curves. However, in later years, types of more randomly occurring local cracks have become
common. The cause of these cracks, commonly denoted “squats” is much less understood.
There seems to be much less plastic deformation in connection to the crack formation. This is
especially the case for a certain type of squats often denoted “studs” that also seems to be
connected to the occurrence of a so-called white etching layers on the railhead surface. This
white etching layer is believed to be caused by rapid heating of the very surface material of the
rail due to frictional wheel–rail contact. The squat and stud defects could also be compared to
the related phenomenon on railway wheels, which is denoted rolling contact fatigue clusters.
The rolling contact fatigue clusters lead to gradual large-scale material fall-out from the wheel
tread, which is very different from the damage evolution of squats.
As squats are occurring seemingly randomly, they are costly to monitor and mitigate. Further,
any preventive measures would require a much more profound knowledge of the mechanisms
behind squat/stud formation. In particular, understanding the influence of different operational
parameters is of importance if (cost-)effective prevention should be possible. To this end, a
study of crack formation and growth in squats/studs was launched and incorporated in In2Track.
This study focuses on investigating the morphology of squat crack networks. This knowledge is
an important first step in pin-pointing formation and growth mechanisms. It is also key to design
numerical simulations and to calibrate/validate predictive models. This study is presented in
section 5.1.2.
Section 5.1.2 also includes Annex 1 that contains an overview of squats with a focus on how to
numerically simulate their initiation and damage progression. In particular, section 5.1.2.
contains a numerical study on the effect of surface defects in the form of fairly smooth surface
imprints (dimples) on squat/stud initiation. The influence of surface defects is believed to be
one cause of squat formation. The simulation-based analysis allowed for the effect of potentially
influential operational parameters to be investigated and the current study quantifies this
influence for different operational scenarios.
For studs, martensitic spots have (as discussed above) been identified as triggers for crack
formation and growth. The influence of martensitic spots is investigated in Deliverable D3.2, but
a summary of the work is included in Annex 1.
For both squats and head check cracks, one of the most important factors in planning
maintenance and mitigating action is a knowledge of the direction and rate of crack growth. This
is a severely complex topic due to the non-proportional multiaxial and compressive loading in
the contact stress field. To advance the knowledge and develop numerical methods for rail head
crack growth predictions, a project was initiated and incorporated into In2Track. The study sets
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out with a study of the effect of combined shear (mode III) and tension (mode I) on crack growth
in a tubular specimen that is presented in section 5.1.3. Even though a combination of shear and
normal stress exists also in the contact stress field, the load case in the tubular specimen is fairly
far from that which a rolling contact fatigue crack is subjected to. However, the study resulted
in a deep understanding of how the combined stresses influences the crack and hence the crack
growth. In particular, the effect of plastic crack tip deformations was established. This
knowledge was of high importance when the study continued and managed to establish suitable
methods to use for general multiaxial crack propagation and validate their ability to predict
rolling contact fatigue growth in twin disc experiments. That part of the study will be presented
in D3.3 and in In2Track2.
Going back to the head check type of cracks, the initiation mechanism for these is relatively well
known. The most common cause is ratchetting – gradual accumulation of shear deformations in
the surface layer of the rail. Due to this high shear deformation (in combination with a high
contact pressure) the rail material becomes severely anisotropic. This anisotropy is likely to have
a significant effect on the strength and ductility properties of the rail material, but the influence
is not fully understood, nor quantified. To improve the situation, the topic was studied in
In2Track. In particular, a methodology to induce high degrees of plastic deformation and
anisotropy in test specimen has been developed and employed. That test specimens with
anisotropy levels corresponding to those in operational rails can be produced allows for testing
of rail steel in realistically deformed configurations. The study has also developed methods to
numerically simulate the formation and evolution of anisotropy under progressive loading. This
allows for investigating the influence of different operational load cases on the resulting rail
anisotropy. The study is presented in section 5.1.4.
5.1.2 Squat formation and subsequent crack growth

The following section will focus on research work conducted within the current project. A
thorough literature survey regarding squats and so-called studs is provided in Andersson (2018),
see Annex 1. A picture of a typical squat is presented in Figure 2.
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Figure 2 Typical appearance of a squat with an elliptic dark spot with a L-shaped
intersection.
Studies regarding root causes of squat initiation can be divided into two main categories: a)
computer simulations and b) physical examination of field samples. When it comes to computer
simulations, two approaches are common. The first one is analysis of RCF initiation, where the
overall aim is to figure out under which conditions the cracks appear in the first place. The
second common approach is to evaluate the severity of pre-existing cracks.
The study by Andersson et al. (2016), see Annex 1 which has been conducted within the current
project, belongs to the first category of computer simulations. The overall aim of the study is to
assess the relative risk of RCF initiation between different operational scenarios. To be more
specific, the influence of rail surface irregularities in the form of dimples is investigated. Both
size and friction conditions are varied. Furthermore, the influence of recovery from a sudden
decrease of the friction coefficient is investigated. The RCF impact is quantified by the Jiang--
Sehitoglu fatigue parameter (see Jiang and Sehitoglu (1999)) as well as by the accumulated
strain. It is concluded in the study that the size of the surface irregularity, as well as possible
cluster effects, probably will increase the propensity of RCF initiation. Another important
parameter in relation to surface dimples is the friction coefficient. It is seen that an increase
from 0.2 to 0.4 will significantly affect the RCF impact. According to the results, a case of a locally
low friction coefficient and the subsequent recovery from full slip might introduce a fatigue
impact of the same order as a small surface dimple.
Andersson (2018) furthermore investigates the influence of macroscopic cracks in the vicinity of
rail surface dimples. The crack loading is quantified by the equivalent Stress Intensity Factor (SIF)
range using the SIF evaluation procedure presented in Andersson et al (2018), see Annex 2. It is
seen that the crack loading increases with dimple size for all crack lengths considered. The same
trends are obtained for double dimples representing clusters. It is also seen that the depth of
the dimples tends to become more influential as the dimple length increases.
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Another potential initiation trigger is thermal damage. The idea is that so-called White Etching
Layers (WELs) might cause squat-type defects. It should be noted that defects with such origin
are often referred to as “studs”, see Grassie et al (2012). With the aim of deepening the
understanding of stud initiation Andersson et al (2018) (see Annex 3) investigates WELs in the
form of rather thick martensite spots. To this end, finite element simulations featuring phase
transformations and subsequent mechanical loads are combined with an RCF assessment using
the Jiang—Sehitoglu fatigue parameter. Both the axle load and the traction coefficient are
varied between “low” and “high” values (12.5/25 tonnes and 0/0.4 under full slip conditions). It
is seen that the axle load has a low influence in the absence of frictional forces. The traction
coefficient, on the other hand, has a major influence.
Many methods for examination of field samples (i.e. category b) of the methods mentioned
above) are available, including destructive (i.e. metallographic cross-sectioning, topography
measurements), and non-destructive techniques (i.e. radiography, eddie current, ultrasonic),
which allow for a good understanding of the sub-surface geometry of squat crack networks. The
paper from Jessop et al (2016), see Annex 4 evaluated the potential of different destructive and
non-destructive methods for characterizing the complex geometry of sub-surface squat crack
networks. It was found that the different methods are complementary, and observations made
using one method can sometimes explain the limitations of other methods. A combination of
the different methods could accurately describe the squat crack network, however the
application is limited to laboratory-scale testing.
As mentioned above, many factors can affect crack initiation and propagation, including thermal
damage in the form of WELs. The influence of WELs on crack initiation and growth has been
investigated by Jessop et al (2017) (see Annex 5) where cracks were initiated from thermally
affected spots in pearlitic rail steel, mimicking surface defects observed in field. Uniaxial strain-
controlled low cycle fatigue (LCF) experiments were performed using an MTS 809 servo-
hydraulic test machine, and different conditions were compared: smooth (un-notched) and
thermally damaged test bars. The thermal damage was created via laser heating to create a
martensitic so-called white etching layer (WEL) on the surface of the test bars. Characterization
of the laser-induced WEL on the test bars and rail sections, revealed these are similar to those
found in field. Results from strain-controlled fatigue tests showed that the presence of initial
thermal damage acts as stress-raiser and decreased the fatigue life for tests run in all strain
amplitudes, with a larger effect on the higher strain amplitudes. The failure occurs at the level
of the WEL in all but one of the tests with thermally damaged spots, with the crack initiating in
the martensite and growing outwards.
In another study, Jessop et al (2018) (Annex 6) evaluated the variation of friction coefficient
between two surfaces of pearlitic rail steel, mimicking the friction which occurs between the
faces of a crack during RCF loading. Experiments rubbing two pearlitic rail steel surfaces against
each other were done using an axial–torsion test rig. For both dry and wet conditions, the sliding
velocity, the angles of rotation, and the average normal force were varied. After the experiments
were completed, the surfaces were observed under stereomicroscope, and the wear debris
were examined. It was found that the most significant effect of changing angles of rotation is on
the formation of ridges on the contact surface with large angles, leading to a higher friction
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coefficient. The presence of water reduces the friction coefficient and leads to less deformation
and wear in the contact surface. Although the effect of crack face friction on crack propagation
requires further investigation, the results from this study are expected to provide suitable data
for crack face friction in upcoming experimental and numerical studies of RCF crack propagation
by the authors. Additional characterization experiments are summarized in Jessop (2016), see
Annex 7.
5.1.3 Influence of the multiaxial loading in rails on crack growth

Rolling contact loading is comprised of large cyclic compressive and shear stresses induced at
the rail at the wheel–rail contact patch. This type of loading causes a multi-axial state of stress
in the vicinity of the tips of Rolling Contact Fatigue (RCF) cracks with rotating principal stress
directions and out-of-phase characteristics, see Ekberg and Kabo (2005). In addition, RCF cracks
grow under primary compression, which magnifies the effect of crack-face friction on crack
growth. After an initial stage of shallow angled growth from the surface of the rails, RCF cracks
may a) propagate as co-planar to the initial low-angled direction (combined in- and out-of-plane
shear-modes) or b) kink or form a branch towards tensile-mode growth. This crack growth
setting imposes requirements that the current criteria for quantification of the mixed-mode
fatigue crack loading in the literature cannot fully address.
The behaviour of short shear-mode cracks under the action of cyclic torsion was studied in Endo
et al. (2016), where a static compressive load was used to suppress mode I growth. The
operational conditions that control the mode of growth (shear- or tensile-mode branch cracks)
were studied experimentally in Bold et al. (1991). Co-planar growth of cracks was achieved via
sequential action of an opening (mode I) static load followed by a fully-reversed shear-mode
cycle. The effect of load phase overlap of the two modes in the aforementioned sequential
loading scheme was investigated in Wong et al. (1996). In both the latter studies, the presence
of an opening-mode load cycle for co-planar growth to occur was found necessary, in
accordance with Bower’s fluid entrapment model, Bower (1988).
Furthermore, the mixed-mode rolling/sliding contact loading induces large plastic deformations
at the surface of the rails and near the crack-tips of RCF cracks. In this regime, SIFs are, in theory,
not valid and alternative quantities for measuring the mixed-mode crack loading are needed. In
this regard, derivation and identification of appropriate crack-driving force parameters, valid
also in the elastic—plastic regime, are performed in Floros (2018).
The appropriateness of relative Crack-Tip Displacements (CTDs) as quantities for measuring the
mixed-mode fatigue crack loading is investigated in Floros et al. (2016). In this regard, elastic—
plastic Finite Element (FE) simulations were performed on thin-walled tubular specimens
subjected to various combinations of cyclic (and static) axial and torsional loading. This type of
mixed-mode loading is typical in railway tracks and axles. The FE-models featured two
macroscopically short, through-thickness cracks emanating from a centric hole. Due to the
length of the cracks, the fatigue behavior is dictated by elastic—plastic deformations. This
invalidates the use of stress intensity factors as quantities for measuring the mixed-mode crack
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loading. CTDs in opening- and shear-modes were used as crack-driving force parameters instead.
These are based on displacements and can thereby be used irrespective of material constitutive
behaviour. The evolution of the CTDs and their ranges over the load cycles (shakedown or
ratcheting) were correlated to trends in crack growth rate curves from experiments on similar
specimens in the literature. It was found that the CTDs are appropriate measures for qualitative
assessment of the most detrimental load cases with respect to crack growth rates. For the case
of combined cyclic axial and static torsional load, shakedown was observed in the evolution of
the ranges of CTDs. This was linked to the retardation effect of static torsion (superimposed on
cyclic axial load) on crack growth rates reported in Fonte et al. (2006). Crack-tip kinking was also
observed in the simulations, which is considered as the onset, in the macroscale, of the ‘factory-
roof’ fracture surfaces observed in crack growth under the presence of static or cyclic torsion,
see also Fonte and Freitas (1997).
A quantity often employed in multi-axial fatigue analyses is the J-integral and, moreover, its
cyclic counterpart, the ΔJ-integral. Despite the good correlations against multi-axial fatigue crack
growth rate data from these quantities, the J-integral, in its classical form, suffers from so-called
path-dependence in case its evaluation is based on elastic—plastic finite element analyses. That
is, the computed energy release rate due to crack advance (equivalent to the J-integral for
elasticity) depends on the way the numerical evaluation is performed. Partly to overcome the
path-dependence, computation of the energy release rate for elastoplasticity is performed
based on configurational (or material) forces instead, see Tillberg (2010).
Apart from path-dependence, the numerical counterpart of the energy release rate suffers from
pathological FE-mesh sensitivity in the elastic—plastic regime, i.e. the computed quantity
changes value with respect to the employed FE-mesh. This is caused mainly by the large
gradients of elastic—plastic deformations in the vicinity of the crack-tip. A remedy for the mesh
sensitivity is proposed in Floros et al. (2018), see Annex 8. More specifically, computation of
configurational forces is performed while accounting for gradient effects in the solution of the
stress problem. In this way, the steep gradients are smoothed close to the crack-tips.
Investigation of the mesh sensitivity of the energy release rate computed via the proposed
formulation yielded the pertinent quantity computable with respect to mesh refinement.
Thereby, the resulting energy release rate is a reliable quantity to use for measuring the mixed-
mode crack loading for elastoplasticity. In addition, the computed configurational forces can be
used as crack-driving force parameters in the formulation of criteria for multi-axial fatigue crack
path predictions.
5.1.4 Formation of anisotropy in rails, and its effect on crack formation

and growth
Introduction
A major advantage with railway transportation is the low rolling resistance in the wheel rail
contact. Unfortunately, this comes at the cost of a very high contact pressure, which can exceed
1 GPa (Johnson, 1989; Pau et al, 2002; Marshall et al, 2006; Wiest et al, 2008). The small contact
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patch also results in large shear stresses due to the traction and cornering, resulting in wear and
severe plastic deformations. These processes lead to large geometric changes of the rail head
during service, which are visualized in Figure 3a using a field sample from (Meyer et al, 2018).
The severe plastic deformations close to the surface can be seen in the material after etching,
through the so-called flow lines visible in Figure 3b.
Figure 3 Visualization of the large deformations in a rail from the Swedish main line
between Gothenburg and Stockholm a) Nominal rail profile (BV50) (dashed)
and a worn profile from (Meyer et al, 2018) b) Flow lines showing the highly
deformed material at the gauge corner of the rail (45˚ to the longitudinal
direction).
It is well known that these large plastic deformations are closely related to the initiation of
rolling contact fatigue (RCF) (see (Johnson, 1989) for an overview). In 2012, the annual cost for
railway infrastructure maintenance and renewal across Europe was estimated to be between 15
and 25 billion Euros (EIM-EFRTC-CER working group 2012). The cost of rail defects alone was
estimated to 2 billion Euros a year in 2011 by (Magel, 2011). This equates to an average cost of
about 6.7 k€ per kilometre in Europe's 300 000 km long railway network (Lidén & Joborn, 2016).
These costs do not include the lost profit due to scheduled maintenance, nor the loss of profit
for business passengers during delays due to unscheduled repairs.
Deformation induced anisotropy is a well-known phenomenon, well known for sheet metal
rolling. The large plastic deformations occurring in the vicinity of the contact zone in rails, is also
known to produce an anisotropic material, see e.g. (Wetscher, Stock and Pippan, 2007). (Larijani
et al., 2014) found that an anisotropic crack resistance can control if cracks grow downwards
and cause crack breakage, or if it only causes spalling. Clearly there are two main factors that
govern how the deformation induced anisotropy affects the crack formation and growth:
1) The plastic anisotropy influences the strain ratchetting which is closely related to fatigue
initiation
2) The microstructural anisotropy influences the strength of the material in different

directions, and thus also the crack paths
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A challenge with characterizing the above is that large gradients of the material behaviour in the
near-surface region is present. Suitable mechanical testing is therefore very difficult, and a
methodology for obtaining an equivalent material state has therefore been developed in
(Meyer, Ekh and Ahlström, 2018; Meyer, Nikas and Ahlström, 2018). This methodology will be
utilized to characterize the material behaviour in the near-surface region of rails.
Aims
The main focus of this work is the predeformation of cylindrical rail steel test bars. Such bars can
be used to characterize the material behaviour close to the surface of the rails, from where
rolling contact fatigue cracks often originate. The specific aims are the following:
• Develop a methodology for obtaining test material with similar properties to those of
the surface layer in highly deformed rails: The methodology is developed in (Meyer, Ekh,
et al. 2018) and verified in (Meyer, Nikas, et al. 2018).
• Determine an appropriate framework for modeling large elastoplastic cyclic

deformations (Meyer & Ekh 2017).
• Investigate the role of kinematic hardening in such frameworks and evaluate

appropriate kinematic hardening laws for the modeling of the predeformation (Meyer,
Ekh, et al. 2018).
These aims are further described in (Meyer 2017)

In an effort to characterize further the microstructure of these predeformed test bars a study to
evaluate the increase in flow stress of the rail material in various shear strain levels using
microstructural parameters such as interlamellar spacing and dislocation density, was
performed in (Nikas, 2018), Annex 9, and in (Nikas, Zhang and Ahlström, 2018), Annex 10.
Summary of appended papers

Annex 10: (Nikas, Zhang and Ahlström, 2018): In this study, fully pearlitic R260 rail steel was
deformed using a bi-axial torsion-compression machine to reach different shear strains.
Microstructural parameters including interlamellar spacing, thickness of ferrite and cementite
lamellae and dislocation density in the ferrite lamellae, as well as hardness were quantitatively
characterized at different shear strain levels. Based on the microstructural observations and the
quantification of the microstructural parameters, the local flow stresses were estimated based
on boundary strengthening and dislocation strengthening models. A good agreement was found
between the estimated flow stresses and the flow stresses determined from microhardness
measurements.
Annex 11: (Nikas, Meyer and Ahlström, 2017): In this smaller paper we characterize the
deformed rail material, and determine appropriate methods that are later used in the main
paper on the topic (Meyer, Nikas and Ahlström, 2018).
Annex 12: (Meyer, Nikas and Ahlström, 2018): In this paper we evaluate if the predeformation
method can produce test material representative of the material found at the top of the rail
head. The materials are evaluated in terms of hardness, accumulated shear strain and
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microstructural reorientation. In addition to the very consistent mechanical response during the
predeformation, it is found that the predeformed test bars are very consistent in terms of these
three evaluation methods. The obtained test material is also found to be quite representative
of rail material, which seems to have experienced unidirectional loading, at a depth of 50 to 100
μm. As the material fails during the predeformation, it is not possible to represent the material
behaviour closer to the rail surface. However, this paper shows that the samples produced by
twisting the cylindrical test bars can be used to characterize the material behaviour close to the
rolling surface of rails.
Annex 13: (Meyer and Ekh, 2017): It is shown that the two considered frameworks for kinematic
hardening in hyperelasto-plasticity are equivalent, provided that the same formulations for free
energy is used. The equivalence is shown both analytically and numerically. A model within this
framework is tested with very large simple shear deformations (up to F12=50) and does not
exhibit any oscillations. The flexibility in extending this framework to anisotropy and potentially
also damage, motivates the choice of using it for coming studies.
Annex 14: (Meyer, Ekh and Ahlström, 2018): The main focus of this paper is to evaluate
different kinematic evolution laws in the framework described in (Meyer and Ekh, 2017). The
material models are evaluated using an axi-symmetric finite element simulation of the
predeformation experiments. A material parameter identification procedure is used to identify
the optimal parameter values for predeformation with a nominal axial load of -500 MPa, and
the predictive abilities are investigated for two other load cases. It is found that the combination
of the radial evanescence term from (Burlet and Cailletaud, 1986), with either the Armstrong-
Frederick (Frederick and Armstrong, 2007) or the Ohno-Wang (Ohno and Wang, 1993)
saturation terms, gives an accurate model for the material behaviour. A method for
compensating for errors in the axial torsion test rig used for the predeformation experiments is
also discussed in an appendix.
5.2 Influence of rail steel grade and maintenance on RCF defects

The existing guidelines on the use of different rail grades are mainly focussed on the wear and
head checks resistance of pearlitic grades. This chapter summarises one of these guidelines (the
Innotrack one), and describes 2 recent elements than haven’t yet been taken into account in
these guidelines:
• The influence of rail hardness, grinding and lubrication quality on the initiation of new
kinds of RCF defect
• The head checks resistance of new bainitic rail grades.
5.2.1 The Innotrack D4.1.5 deliverable “definitive guidelines on the use

of different rail grades”
This Innotrack study focussed on the influence of pearlitic rails hardness on wear and head
checks resistance. The main conclusions described in Pointner (2009) were:
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• The use of heat-treated rail grades (R350HT, R370CrHT, R400HT) is beneficial in curves
with radii less than 1000 m where wear is dominant, and with radii between 500 m to
5000 m where head check defects are prevalent.
• Pearlitic rail steels with higher hardness show a higher resistance to both wear and head
checks.
• The depth of corrugation in curves is reduced by using harder rail grades.
• The necessity of grinding is reduced with harder rails.
These conclusions are based upon track results described in the Innotrack deliverable D4.1.1
“database for actual and new innovative rail/joints” (Jaiswal (2008)). For example, the
improvement for the head hardened grade R350HT compared to standard grade R260 is about
3 times for wear and at least 2 times regarding head checks growth rates.
The deliverable proposed 2 kinds of rail grade selection recommendations:
• One based on curve radius and tonnage per year, using harder rails when radius
decreases and tonnage increases
• Another one based on actual measured rail degradation in track (wear rate and head
check crack depth rate), using harder rails when wear rate or head check crack depth
rate increases.
These conclusions are valid for head check defects, but not for all rolling contact fatigue (RCF)
defects. For example, the deliverable says that “... there are different opinions regarding the
influence of rail grades on discrete faults such as squat. The replacement of present standard
rails by head hardened ones has led to significant problems with squats at one site at SNCF
recently”.
Recent track observations showed that even on high rails in curves where wear is dominant, the
shift from standard rail grades to heat treated rail grades caused the initiation of new types of
RCF defects which were not observed on standard grades. These new RCF defects are linked
with lubrication and grinding procedures and are described in chapters 5.2.2 and 5.2.3.
Recent track tests showed that rails with a bainitic microstructure, completely different from
the pearlitic structure, displayed a much better resistance to head checks than hard pearlitic
grades. These results are described in chapter 5.2.4
5.2.2 Influence of rail hardness, grinding and lubrication on the

initiation of flaking defects
This chapter describes rail surface defects called “flaking” that can be observed in tracks with
abnormal grinding and lubrication conditions. With standard rail maintenance practices these
defects will not initiate. This is also explained in chapter 6.3 “grinding and lubrication quality”
which explains how to avoid these defects.
Description of flaking defects

The flaking defects were described in Fau (2015). They are surface initiated features that can be
found on the gauge corner of high rails in curves, with steel chipping, and without any
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association with other RCF defects, such as head checks. Flaking is not the same as shelling as
shellings initiate around 6 mm below the rail surface at the gauge corner. Typical examples of
flaking are given in Figure 4. Two types of flaking are found, namely long and discrete types.
Both types can be found at the same location.
Figure 4 Discrete (left) and long (right) type flaking defects (rail grade R350LHT)
Flaking defects have been found on metro lines and conventional tracks, with passenger trains
or mixed traffic (passengers + freight). The curve radius range was 280 m – 700 m.
The vast majority of flaking defects have been found on hard heat-treated rails, mainly R350HT
and R350LHT, but also R370CrHT, with only occasional instances on standard R260 rails.
All the rails had been ground.
Influence of lubrication
At most of the locations exhibiting flaking, lubrication was found to be excessive with build-up
of grease on the rail gauge corner (Figure 5 left on a R350HT rail). In a metro line (one direction
traffic), flaking defects were observed immediately in front of the track side lubricator and
extended to a distance of 50 m beyond the lubricator (Figure 5 right on a R260 rail). No defect
was detected before the lubricator.
Figure 5 Flakings with rail lubrication
Example of a commuter line – grade R350HT

We studied during 8 years a curve in the Paris suburb. This is a passenger line, with a 545 m
radius curve, and R350HT rails.
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The rails were ground for the first time after 37 MGT of traffic. No flaking was observed before
this first grinding.
• The next inspection took place 6 MGT after this grinding (with rotating grinding stones).
The rails displayed very deep grinding marks. Small flaking defects were then observed.
Figure 6 to Figure 7 show the initiation and propagation of long type flaking defects
observed during the track visits: Figure 6 (left) shows a plastic deformation of the
intersection of 2 grinding facets. Figure 6 (right) shows the initiation of long type flakings
at the intersection of these grinding facets; it seems that the cracks initiated just under
the fold of the plastic flow (arrow), which acted as a stress raiser. Figure 7 shows the
propagation of these long type flakings, at a low angle under the running surface,
followed by chipping.
Figure 6 Plastic flow at the intersection of grinding facets (left) and initiation of long
type flakings at the intersection of grinding facets (right)
Figure 7 Propagation of long type flaking defects at the intersection of grinding facets
(left) and further propagation of the defects (right)
The rails were then ground again (also with rotating grinding stones) and a new type of flaking
defect (discrete type) developed.
Figure 8 to Figure 9 show the initiation and propagation of these “discrete type” defects
observed during the track visits:
• Figure 8 left shows the rail surface with a rough grinding, shortly after the second
grinding.
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• Figure 8 right shows the initiation of a flaking crack; the initiation is at the extremity of
a deep grinding mark, which acted as a stress raiser; the initiation of the defect is on the
rail surface, at the intersection of grinding facets.
• Figure 9 left shows the crack propagation, towards the train running opposite direction.
• Figure 9 right shows the defects after chipping, with multiple “arrow point” defects.
Figure 8 Rail surface shortly after the second grinding (left) and initiation of a discrete
type flaking defect (right)
Figure 9 Discrete type flaking before chipping (left) and after chipping (right)
Other examples of flaking defects can be found in Fau (2015).
Metallurgical investigations
Metallurgical examinations of rails removed from track showed that:
• The cracks initiate at the rail surface

• There is no metallurgical defect in the steel at the location of the initiation
• Some white etching layer was observed around the crack initiation, but there is no
evidence of any link between the cracks and the white etching layer.
More information about metallurgical examinations can be found in Fau (2015).
Initiation mechanisms
From the track and metallurgical observations, we propose the following initiation mechanism:
a linear area on the rail surface, at the intersection between 2 grinding or machining facets (see
arrow in Figure 10), experiences high stresses during a long period of time for one or more of
the following reasons:
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• the grinding rail profile is not conformal with the mean worn wheel profile (usually
because of large grinding facets) and leads to a localized wheel-rail contact
• lubrication is heavy, so the conformation of the rail profile to the wheel profile is slow
(very low wear), and the wheel-rail contact remains localized during a long time.
• the rail hardness is high, so the conformation of the rail profile to the wheel profile is
slow (very low wear and plastic deformation), and the wheel-rail contact remains
localized during a long time.
Figure 10 Schematic drawing showing the contact between a ground rail (black line)
and a wheel (red line)
This area will thereafter be prone to fatigue and cracking. Cracks will initiate on the rail surface
and subsequently develop into discrete or long flaking defects; in some cases, these defects will
cause a detail fracture of the rail.
In the presence of plastic deformation along the facets intersection, the longitudinal fold at the
limit of the plastic flow acts as a long stress raiser, and will initiate a long type flaking defect
In the presence of deep grinding marks along the facets intersection, deep grinding marks will
act as stress raisers, and will initiate a discrete type flaking defect.
The recent increase observed in the number of flaking defects has been attributed to the
increased use of hard heat-treated rails, rail grinding and lubrication.
Recommendations to avoid these defects are given in section 0.
5.2.3 Influence of rail hardness and grinding on the initiation of squat

looking defects on high rails in sharp curves
This chapter describes rail surface defects called “grinding induced squat defects” that can be
observed in tracks with abnormal grinding conditions. With standard rail maintenance practices
these defects will not initiate. This is also explained in section 0.
Description of the defects

The defects that are studied in this section have been recently found on the top of high rails in
sharp curves. They look like squat defects. They have been found in the Netherlands (mainly on
grade R370CrHT, from 2014, but also on grades R350HT and R260Mn), France (grade R350HT,
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from 2014), Denmark (grade R350HT, from 2010). Photos of defects are given in Figure 11. These
defects will be called “GIS”, for “grinding induced squat defects”.
Figure 11 GIS defects in Denmark on R350HT rails (left) and in the Netherlands on
R370CrHT rails (right)
The main differences between these GIS defects and typical squat defects are:
• Squat defects are located in tangent track or shallow curves

• GIS defects are found on high rails in sharp curves (radii between 450 m and 1500 m).
Investigations in Denmark
Rasmussen (2017) observed at the rail surface of a R350HT rail, removed from track, transverse
martensite bands (Figure 12) which correspond with grinding marks. Some of these transverse
martensite bands were cut along the rolling direction and metallurgical examination showed
cracks initiating at the martensite/pearlite interface. Grinding marks from the field side (away
from the contact band) also displayed martensite patches.
It was observed in many cases that initiation of cracks with periodic intervals corresponds
roughly to the same distance between the deeper grinding marks.
In 2012 two new R260 and R350HT rails were installed in track and ground with a grinding train
using standard parameters and standard rotating grinding stones. Both rails were removed
immediately after grinding and investigated. A martensite layer was observed at the surface of
both rails (Figure 13).
Figure 12 Transverse martensite bands (left) and longitudinal cross section of

martensite bands (right) on a R350HT rail
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Figure 13 Longitudinal cross section after grinding (a) R350HT (b) R260
Investigations in the Netherlands

Steenbergen (2016) observed a 35 mm periodicity of GIS defects on R370CrHT rails, which is a
typical grinding wavelength (Figure 14).
Figure 14 Periodic defect before (a) and after (b) spalling of the running band on
R370CrHT rails
To carry out metallurgical investigation of rail surface after grinding R370CrHT and R260Mn rail
samples have been removed from track:
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• Just after grinding by a conventional grinding train with rotating grinding stones
• After a few days of train operation.
Figure 15 shows longitudinal cross sections just after grinding. Grinding marks and highly
deformed martensite layers are visible.
Figure 15 Longitudinal cross section just after grinding
Figure 16 shows longitudinal cross sections a few days after grinding:
• R260Mn: martensite is largely removed and grinding marks have disappeared. No crack
initiation is visible.
• R370CrHT: large amounts of martensite have been removed, but individual patches of
martensite are pressed into the surface, causing the initiation of cracks at the
martensite/pearlite interface.
Figure 16 Longitudinal cross section a few days after grinding
Results of laboratory studies and recommendations to avoid these defects are given in chapter
6.3 “grinding and lubrication quality”.
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5.2.4 Comparison between bainitic and pearlitic rail grades on the

initiation of head checks defects
Two bainitic rail grades have been designed by British Steel: B320 and B360. These grades were
designed to combat head checking defects on the high rails in curves. Usually R350HT rails are
used to combat head checking, as explained in section 5.2.1. The main characteristics of these 3
grades are given in Table 1.
Table 1 Main characteristics of R350, B320 and B360 grades
Chemical composition % by mass Minimum Minimum Hardness

tensile elongation of running
C Si Mn Cr V Mo strength % surface
HBW
MPa
R350HT 0,72 to 0,15 to 0,70 to - - - 1175 9 350 to 390

0,80 0,58 1,20
B320 0,15 to 1,00 to 1,40 to 0,30 to 0,10 to 0,10 to 1100 14 320 to 360
0,25 1,50 1,70 0,70 0,20 0,20
B360 0,25 to 1,00 to 1,40 to 0,30 to - 0,10 to 1200 13 350 to 390

0,35 1,50 1,70 0,70 0,20
The B320 and B360 grades are non-heat-treated carbide free upper bainite bainitic steels.
Comparison between B320 and R260 rails in a mixed traffic track (1)
B320 rails were laid in a 4230 m radius curve (high and low rails) with mixed traffic in the
Eurotunnel tunnel (Figure 17) and compared with R260 rails located at the ends of the curve.
The R260 rails display head check defects and have to be ground every 100 MGT.
On the test site R260 and B320 rails haven’t been ground until 480 MGT of traffic; unfortunately,
all rails were ground at 480 MGT.
Figure 18 shows the surface appearance of R260 and B320 high rails after 408 MGT without any
grinding. R260 rails display a network of head checks cracks. B320 rails are completely free of
RCF defects.
The B320 rails were welded together with flash butt welds and aluminothermic welds (with
bainitic portions). Figure 19 shows two welds; all welds were crack free and with very limited
cupping (0.2 mm on aluminothermic welds, and 0.1 mm on flash butt welds).
The wear resistance (measured with a Miniprof equipment) of the B320 rails was equal to R260
rails.
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Figure 17 Eurotunnel tunnel curve
Figure 18 High rails after 408 MGT
Figure 19 Flash butt and aluminothermic welds of B320 rails after 408 MGT
Comparison between B320 and R260 rails in a mixed traffic track (2)
B320 rails were laid in a 1140 m radius curve (high rails) with mixed traffic in the south of France
(Figure 20) and compared with R260 rails, which displayed head check defects.
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Figure 20 Dieupentale curve
The B320 rails were welded with flash butt welds.

Figure 21 shows a R260-B320 flash butt weld after 226 Mt without grinding. The R260 rail
displays head check cracks and the B320 rail is head checks free.
Figure 21 Mixed flash butt weld
The B320-B320 welds were crack free and with limited cupping (around 0.2 mm).
Comparison between B360 and R350HT rails in a mixed traffic track

B360 rails were laid in three curves (high rails and low rails ; radii : 571 m, 1801 m, 3002 m) with
mixed traffic in Germany close to Freiburg (Figure 22) and were compared with R350HT rails,
which displayed head check defects.
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Figure 22 Curves close to Freiburg
Figure 23 shows a R350HT-B360 flash butt weld on a high rail in the 1801 m radius curve, at
188MGT. Light head checks are visible on the R350HT rail, and the B360 rail is free of head
checks. The weld cupping is close to 0 mm on the R350HT rail heat affected zone and is 0.3 mm
on the B360 rail heat affected zone.
Figure 24 shows a R350HT-B360 flash butt weld on a low rail in the 1801 m radius curve, at
188Mt. The weld cupping is close to 0 mm on the R350HT rail and is 0.5 mm on the B360 rail.
188Mt. Light head checks are visible on the R350HT rail, and the B360 rail is free of head checks.
The weld cupping is close to 0 m on the R350HT rail and is 0.2 mm on the B360 rail.
Figure 26 shows a R350HT-B360 flash butt weld on a low rail in the 3002 m radius curve, at
188Mt. The weld cupping is close to 0 mm on the R350HT rail and is 0.1 mm on the B360 rail.
The measured wear was low, but we can estimate that the B360 wear resistance was half that
of the R350HT grade.
Figure 23 R350HT-B360 flash butt weld on a high rail in the 1801 m radius curve
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Figure 24 R350HT-B360 flash butt weld on a low rail in the 1801 m radius curve
Figure 26 R350HT-B360 flash butt weld on a low rail in the 3002 m radius curve
141MGT without grinding. Head checks are visible on the R350HT rail, and the B360 rail is free
of head checks. The weld cupping is 0.1 mm on the R350HT rail and is 0.3 mm on the B360 rail.
But an incipient crack is visible in the B360 heat affected zone. We think that the causes of this
crack initiation are:
• the metallurgical modification of the bainitic structure, which gives a less head checks
resistant structure
• the impact force due to the weld cupping.
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There were 2 issues with the welds in these 3 curves:
• the incipient crack visible in Figure 27

• a squat defect on a R350HT-B360 flash butt weld on a high rail in the 3002 m radius
curve. The crack initiated just in the fusion zone. A metallographical examination hasn’t
found any cause for the crack initiation.
Conclusions
All these test sites confirm the excellent resistance of these 2 bainitic grades to head checks,
since no head check initiation has ever been observed on these 2 grades in the sites described
in this deliverable and in the other track sites where these 2 grades have also been laid.
This excellent resistance was also observed in S&Cs and described in the In2Track D2.1
deliverable (identifying and understanding core S&C issues) chapter 4.1 (Existing rail grades and
profile test results).
But the reasons of these excellent performances were not understood. Studies have been
carried out by Railenium as part of the In2Track project in order to clarify these reasons. The
results of these studies are described in the D3.2 deliverable (Enhanced track design solutions)
chapter 9.7 (Mechanisms of head checks resistance of bainitic rails).
The weak point of these grades is the heat affected zones of flash butt and aluminothermic
welds, which are wider than with pearlitic (R260, R350LHT and R350HT) grades, and provoke
with the B360 grade weld cupping and crack initiation in sharp curves, when no preventive
grinding is performed. The reasons of this behaviour have been studied by British Steel as part
of the In2Track project; the results of these studies are described in the D3.2 deliverable
(enhanced track design solutions) chapter 6 (new alloys and welding methods).
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5.3 Analysis of existing failure catalogues

The most recent damage catalogue from Capacity4Rail (2014) is an enhancement of the
previous Innotrack (2007) failure catalogue. It was re-structured according to the definitions of
the main components of EN 13232-1 (2004) and distinguishes between moveable and rigid
crossings. Therefore, it considers more components like check rails, sleepers and driving and
locking devices. For the rail, more types of defects at the rail head as well as on welds are
described as in Innotrack (20007).
The description of the rail defects is aligned with the UIC Rail Failure Catalogue UIC 712 R
(International Union of Railways, 2002).
It is suggested to improve the Capacity4Rail damage catalogue to add “detection” as a separate

point in the defect sheet to be listed before “Corrective/Preventive Measures”.
The UIC Rail Failure Catalogue UIC 712 R contains only defects that are found on the rail itself.
These defects can also appear on all rails in Switches & Crossings.
The purpose of UIC 712 R is to provide a structured categorization for reporting and evaluation
of rail defects with the target to develop a statistical picture of the status and improvement in
rail product quality. Defects are classified by the location at the rail where the defect is found
and distinguishes between rail ends, rail body and the position on the cross-section of the rail
profile. It contains also welds and considers damage by wrong handling, manufacturing and
other unintended events.
The recent edition No. 4 is from 2002 and contains defects that were already described in the
first edition from 1956. Some of them could be discarded because the state-of-the-art
manufacturing technology has improved with respect to internal defects. This is reflected in the
manufacturing requirements of the European rail standard EN 13674-1 (2011). Mandatory
processes like aluminum-free degassing, continuous casting and the use of either electric arc
furnace or basic oxygen process, both with secondary metallurgical treatment, avoid the
formation of critical internal defects.
The purpose of the UIC Kodex UIC 725 Treatment of Rail Defects (International Union of
Railways, 2015) is to add recommendations for inspection and maintenance methods to the rail
defects listed in UIC 712 R. It was revised in 2015 to include to state-of-the-art treatment of
rolling contact fatigue defects. It contains three chapters on basic factors of inspection, defect
classification (acc. to UIC 712 R) and minimum actions required, and methods of detection. The
three annexes give information on crack growth, damage management and requirements for
qualification of personnel as well as authorization of equipment.
Rolling Contact Fatigue: A Comprehensive Review, Final Report November 2011 (Magel, 2011)
was developed under the lead of the Canadian National Research Council by collecting the
expertise of a large number of track experts from US and CAN railways. The references (U.S.
Department of Transportation, 2011) and (Magel, 2011) have identical content. It contains only
information on rolling contact fatigue defects, not on other defects. The intention of (U.S.
Department of Transportation, 2011) and (Magel, 2011) is to share and spread information
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between the railways (although competing), researchers and practitioners on RCF and its
treatment in order to improve safety, reliability, availability and to reduce costs.
It reviews the types or RCF defects on wheels and rails, causal mechanisms, and monitoring and
maintenance practices for the purpose of identifying gaps and the most pressing areas for
research and development. Although not referring to, it uses many expressions of the UIC 712 R
nomenclature for the RCF defects listed.
The Guidelines to Best Practices for Heavy Haul Railway Operations: Management of the
Wheel and Rail Interface (International Heavy Haul Association, 2015) published by the
International Heavy Haul Association with the same intention as (U.S. Department of
Transportation, 2011) for practitioners and researchers, covering many more aspects of wheel-
rail interaction and its management. Among other chapters, one describes wheel and rail
defects organized by their point of origin and is more narrative than committing. It must be
noted that the nomenclature is different to UIC 712 R as well as to most of the descriptions in
(Magel, 2011).
Defect Catalogues of individual European Railways refer to UIC 712 R and UIC 725 although
they may not address all defects listed there. The main purpose is to give more precise advice
on inspection methods and intervals as well as defect management as compared to the UIC,
which are rather recommendations than advices.
Summary/Conclusions: The Capacity4Rail (2014) and the UIC Rail Failure Catalogue UIC 712 R
(International Union of Railways, 2002) and UIC 725 (International Union of Railways, 2015) are
the most recent and comprehensive documents on failures that appear during service of both
rails in track as well as in turnouts. Consequently, they shall be used for further use within
In2Track.
5.4 Analysis of rail failure data

This section aims to extend the knowledge and understanding of certain key track deterioration
mechanisms and identification of key remediation methods. The focus of this section looks at
NR’s procedures for the inspection classification and remediation of surface cracking caused by
rolling contact fatigue (RCF). It also looks at the mechanisms which cause the initiation and
propagation of RCF and how better understanding can be used to add preventative measures
that can be used to control growth as well as corrective remediation treatments that can be
applied once RCF is already established.
5.4.1 Background and issues with RCF

The speed, tonnage, geometry of the track and vehicle type plays a huge role on the rate of
damage due to surface contact forces (Section 9.2). As discussed in Section 5.2, the rail steel
grade plays an important role in the rate that the rails wear out and its resistance to surface
damage.
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RCF can occur on all types of track (RAILTRACK, 2001) but is predominantly found on canted
curves and vertical S&C. When a high level of cant deficiency is combined with a curve radius of
1500m or above, RCF usually occurs nearer the rail crown. As the curve radius reduces the
position of RCF tends to move towards the gauge corner. It can be found on rails less than a
year-old right through the age spectrum to rails that have been in track for 30 years and which
have previously shown no signs of RCF but more recent changes in traffic type have resulted in
increases in surface contact conditions
Isolated short lengths of RCF can occur around localised geometry faults but it is much more
usual for a substantial length of track to be affected e.g. the transitions and body of a curve.
Initially the RCF is typically seen as a very fine array of small, closely spaced, nearly parallel
cracks, perhaps only 2 - 3mm long on the rail surface. RCF is typically found near the centre of
the running band where contact forces are greatest. They can be seen at a variety of angles (35°
to 60°) to the longitudinal axis of the rail and develop into a variety of shapes; some are nearly
straight and others more curved
RCF can, if not managed by detailed inspection and minimum actions for the replacement of
rails, be a major reason for rail failures. RCF is due to fatigue due to the repeated combination
of longitudinal, lateral and vertical forces from the wheel leading to crack initiation and growth.
A train wheel is supported on a small coin-sized contact (see Figure 28), (RAILTRACK, 2001) these
stresses can frequently exceed yield strength of steel, leading to fatigue crack initiation and
growth. The cost implication is talked about in Section 6.4.
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Figure 28 Image representing the contact point of the train wheel to the rail. Sourced
from Brian Whitney, presentation given to the IoRW at Derby, 30th of June
2016
The magnitude of the forces applied on the rail determines the angle, severity and position of
the RCF. The severity of the RCF will depend on a wide range of factors which can lead to light
RCF with a surface length between 0 to 10mm but if uncontrolled the RCF will continue to grow
and can lead to the formation of deeper, down-turning, branched transverse defects that can,
if unmanaged, cause failure of the rail.
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Figure 29 Example of heavy / severe surface RCF highlighted by magnetic particle

inspection. Sourced from Brian Whitney, presentation given to the IoRW at
Derby, 30th of June 2016
Figure 30 Down turning, branched transverse defect exposed by breaking open the rail
above in Figure 29. This shows the extensive transverse defect that has
propagated under the RCF surface cracking. Sourced from Brian Whitney,
presentation given to the IoRW at Derby, 30th of June 2016
Historically UK actions for RCF utilised an approximate relationship between the measured
length visible on the rail surface and it’s potential depth. The surface length of the crack would
be measured manually and this measurement used to give an estimate of RCF severity to plan
enhanced ultrasonic inspections and prioritise actions following ultrasonic testing.
NR’s Current Ultrasonic Testing (UT) equipment, provided by Sperry Rail utilises 9 probes
contained with a roller search unit, RSU that are arranged at different angles and positions on
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the head of the rail to detect a range of known rail defects. Due to surface roughness and small
imperfections the first 4 or 5mm of the rail head can be difficult to test with high speed
ultrasonics and are filtered to reduce false indications and surface noise. This leads to a section
near the top surface of the rail that is not readily inspected with high speed ultrasonic testing
alone which is focussed on the detection and sizing of defects in the body of the rail.
Figure 31 Image showing ultrasonic capability against EC testing (Sperry Rail’s Roller
Search Unit: RSU). Sourced from IoRW presentation from NR and Sperry Rail, by
Bob Crocker (Sperry Rail) and Brian Whitney (NR), on June 30th, 2016
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Figure 32 Sketch showing the interaction of shallow surface defects with the
ultrasonic signals from 70-degree probes
Figure 32 shows how ultrasonic signals can interact will shallow angle cracks from RCF near the
surface of the rail (position 1) which can cause unreliable results and incorrect sizing of defects.
As RCF cracks become longer and more severe they can also block signals to and from deeper
defects in the body of the rail (position 2).
5.4.2 Eddy Current (EC) technology improving asset condition data

This led to the development of improved inspection techniques to more reliably and consistently
measure surface RCF in the first 4 to 5mm of the rail head which was less effectively covered by
UT. Eddy Current (EC) testing was developed in the UK, initially looking to cover over 50% of the
rail head with recording speeds up to 30 MPH. After being out for tender Sperry rail was the
successful candidate, who now has it rolled out in several countries In the EU (e.g. Sweden,
Switzerland, Germany) and North America.
Concept
EC technology can be used as a non-destructive testing method to detect shallow, surface
defects and discontinuities in conductive materials. This led to Sperry Rail developing an eddy
current system contained within a roller search unit which could be fitted to both train-based
and pedestrian equipment. This could provide coverage across the majority of the width of the
rail head and is currently considered one of the more effective ways to inspect rail for RCF.
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Figure 33 Pedestrian RSU for EC testing (a), schematic of EC probes covering entire rail
head (b). Sourced from IoRW presentation from NR and Sperry Rail, by Bob
Crocker (Sperry Rail) and Brian Whitney (NR), on June 30th 2016
Principles
A magnetic field is generated by the coil when an alternating current passes through it. When
placed close to a conducting material this induces an eddy current in the surface of the material.
As the current flows through the material, any alteration of the material conductivity that
disturbs the eddy current will then be picked up and read by measuring the change in impedance
across the coil. By careful analysis this can be used for the detection of the location and depth
of RCF cracks in the surface of the material. The Sperry EC system is able to measure RCF cracks
up to about 5mm vertical depth. This compliments the coverage of the UT equipment which is
more effective detecting defects within the body of the rail. By varying the frequency of the
alternating current this can be used to influence the sensitivity to different depths of defect.
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Figure 34 EC RSU on rail before tyre fitting (a), EC and UT RSUs on a vehicle (b). Sourced
from IoRW presentation from NR and Sperry Rail, by Bob Crocker (Sperry Rail)
and Brian Whitney (NR), on June 30th 2016
The Roller Search Unit (RSU) was developed by Sperry Rail. It contains ten EC coils spaced across
the width of the running surface (Figure 33b, Figure 34a) of the rail. The EC RSU was developed
to be mounted under a train or in a pedestrian instrument. The tyre is pressed down onto the
rail and is able to flex to match the shape of the rail. The tyre also provides accurate lift off
between the coils and the rail and avoids direct contact of the coils with the rail surface.
Figure 35 CAD image of EC RSU. Sourced from IoRW presentation, by Bob Crocker (Sperry
Rail) and Brian Whitney (NR), on June 30th 2016
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Benefits of RCF remediation in relation to squats

Squats count for the majority of rail defects in plain line as more modern cleaners rail steels
have greatly reduced of defects growing within the body of the rail. Most squats are detected
by ultrasonic testing and removed prior to failure, only a very low percentage propagate to
branching and result in breakage.
Figure 36 Plain Line (PL) defect summary discovered 2015-16, for NR. Sourced from
Brian Whitney from VTSIC Jan 2017 presentation
Distinctive features of squats are the dark shadowy area within the running band and an
associated widening of the running band. The shadow results from the crack growing on a nearly
horizontal plane just below the running surface. This means that the running surface over the
crack is detached from the rest of the rail and as a result can flow sideways under wheel loading
more easily - hence the widening of the running band. As the metal flows out sideways however,
a slight dip develops over the crack allowing corrosion products and dirt to accumulate, resulting
in the ‘shadow’.
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Figure 34 Typical appearance of a squat with distinctive shadowing and localised

widening of the running band
Squats were first identified as a distinct type of defect in the 1970’s.
Typically, visible cracking starts near the edge of, and at an angle to the running band on the
gauge face side. As it develops the visible crack may become U, V, Y or horseshoe shaped; in
some instances, it may also break out to the surface on the far side of the running band.
Squats develop from generally the same causes as RCF. The difference is that squats usually
develop at a point where high contact stresses occur as a result of a local irregularity in the rail
head e.g. at a worn weld or from localised damage to the rail head due to corrugation, ballast
imprints or a foreign body embedded in a wheel, see section 5.1.2.
Once a shallow near horizontal crack has been established, subsequent growth follows a very
similar pattern as RCF.
The developments of ultrasonic equipment and procedures for the improved inspection of RCF
has also benefitted the early detection of squats allowing longer timescales to plan their removal
before they grow and present a risk of failure.
Remediation such as cyclical preventative grinding for the control of RCF has also benefitted in
a general reduction in the number of squats. This is believed to be due to the progressive
removal of rail head damage which may initiate squats such as ballast scars, indentations and
corrugation through regular preventative grinding. As the mechanisms that cause RCF and squat
growth are very similar cyclical grinding to improve the contact band and reduce contact
stresses may also reduce the speed at which small squats may grow.
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Squat Defects Discovered Plain Line

12000
9544 9591
10000
8887
8334
8000
5511
5518
6000
4000
2000
0
2010 - 2011 2011 - 2012 2012 - 2013 2013 - 2014 2014 - 2015 2015 - 2016
Squat Defects Discovered Plain Line
Figure 37 Graph representing Squat defects discovery in PL track for NR. Sourced by
Brian Whitney from VTSIC Jan 2017 presentation
Figure 37 represents a reduction of 38% in squat defects discovered in plain line since 2010-
2011 against a 25% increase in the volume of traffic in the same period.
Further research is also being undertaken to look at the potential for eddy current testing to
provide a much earlier indication of potential squat growth which may allow their control or
removal by grinding or milling well before they reach a larger size where rail replacement or
weld repairs are required where squats have grown to a size and depth where they are
effectively detected by ultrasonic testing.
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Case example demonstrating benefits of EC testing
Figure 38 Image of how the RSU can determine the crack depth in the first 5 mm of the
rail. Sourced from IoRW presentation from NR and Sperry Rail, by Bob Crocker
(Sperry Rail) and Brian Whitney (NR), on June 30th 2016
A rail was found to contain very severe RCF cracks with a depth of over 5mm deep. The crack
depth was confirmed and reported accurately by the eddy current system (Figure 36 shows an
example report showing the maximum depth of RCF cracks in each yard of rail inspected). The
cracks were removed by multiple cutting passes with a milling machine. The rail depth following
this removal was still 161.3mm and well above for minimum depth to avoid wheel
flange/fishplate strikes) with no side wear, leaving a further 3.3mm of allowable vertical wear
left for: “60 E 1 (UIC 60)/60 E 2 FB” flat bottom rail. Using this extreme example (>5mm RCF
cracks), rail milling effectively removed all cracking and reset the clock in terms of management
of rail surface defects. Considering the life expectancy of rail at this location, and vertical wear
being 0.31mm/year, another 14 years of serviceable life could be expected (as there is 3.3mm
vertical wear left). This is illustrated in Figure 39 which shows:
• The blue outline is the original rail section when new.
• Red outline (in the middle of the 3 profiles) is the worn rail profile recorded at the time
where very severe RCF cracks were detected by EC testing
• The green area is the position of the RCF defects found
• Bottom outline is the new rail profile reinstated after milling was used to remove the
RCF.
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Figure 39 Cross section of rail head, demonstrating capacity to remove cracks and
defects in the rail. Sourced from IoRW presentation from NR and Sperry Rail,
by Brian Whitney (NR), on June 30th 2016
The RSU (10 EC probes) provides added functionality. It is capable of testing most of the width
of the running surface enabling both high rail RCF towards the gauge side of the rail as well as
low rail RCF damage which can occur towards the field side of the rail head. The flexibility of the
EC RSU also accommodates worn rail profiles and allows testing through joints, welds, S&C and
other potential discontinuities whilst minimising the risk of probe damage even at speeds up to
55km/h.
5.4.3 Deployment and rail management strategy

NR currently has combined the use of visual, UT and EC testing in their rail management strategy.
This is set out through their Standards and procedures covering the frequency of testing, the
analysis, reporting and classification of surface damage along with minimum actions based on
the results following EC and UT inspections. New technology such as EC testing has reduced the
need for many detailed visual inspections to identify and classify RCF and more reliably and
consistently that was achieved from visual inspection alone.
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Table 2 Classification of RCF based on depth measured by eddy current testing
Eddy Current Categorisation of RCF based on depth
Indicated depth of RCF RCF Category Eddy current measured depth
High or low rail RCF in full head section rail Light 0.1 ≤ 1.5mm deep
High or low rail RCF in full head section rail Moderate 1.6 ≤ 3mm deep
High or low rail RCF in full head section rail Heavy 3.1 ≤ 4mm deep
High or low rail RCF in full head section rail Severe 4.1 ≤ 4.9mm deep
Indicated 5mm deep

High or low rail RCF in full head section rail Very Severe (>5mm but beyond
measurement capability)
Following identification of the crack depth from EC testing and RCF categorisation, we use
actions based on crack depth, track speed and tonnage to plan inspection, grinding, milling and
replacement of rail to better manage RCF. These actions are intended to maximise the life of the
rail, avoid unnecessary rail replacement and minimise the risk of service affecting failures.
Table 3 Planned remediation and actions based on crack depth
RCF Crack depth RCF Recommended Remediation Description

Severity
0.1 ≤ 1.5mm Light Plan Inspection and undertake Single pass periodic preventive grinding
deep preventive Grinding over long distances
0.2mm < X < Light & Plan and undertake corrective Single pass milling or multi-pass
3mm Moderate Grinding and or Milling aggressive grinding required over short-
medium distance to remove cracks and
restore correct profile
3mm < X < 5mm Heavy & Plan and undertake Milling Single or multi-pass milling over short-
Severe medium distance to remove cracking
and restore correct profile
> 5mm Very Plan more frequent ultrasonic May be unable to remediate by milling
severe inspection. Plan and undertake due to remaining rail depth. Rail
rail replacement replacement may be the most effective
action
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Figure 40 Diagrams illustrating the potential remediation procedures that could be

employed to better manage RCF. Sourced from IoRW presentation from Peter
Watson NR, by Brian Whitney and Sperry Rail (NR), on June 30th, 2016
5.4.4 UT and EC development and its future role

In Sectio 6.4 the significance of reducing rail breaks will be considered and related to the LCC
and RAMS directly with cost attribution. As mentioned later in Section 9.2 having more train-
borne monitoring equipment mounted to passenger and freight vehicles would provide more
frequent and up to date data on the condition of asset to determine a true LCC of the assets.
This would also increase the frequency we record data – providing better understanding of rail
deterioration rates, which can be analysed alongside other parameters to help determine root
cause and plan more effective treatments. The overall benefit from EC testing can be
summarised as:
• Significant reduction in the number of manual site inspections being undertaken,

improved workforce safety and reduced costs
• Reduction in the risk of rail breaks and service affecting failures from RCF through better
asset data and more effective planned, preventative maintenance
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• Longer timescales to plan the removal of rail before ultrasonic testing detects a defect
which may require an immediate action, speed restriction and emergency rail
replacement
• Improved understanding of true deterioration rates to better predict rail life and allow
longer timescales to allow more efficient planning and reducing the need for disruptive
possessions
• More accurate data on the initiation and growth of RCF and better understanding of
effectiveness of remedial actions and preventative maintenance of the wheel and rail
interface
• Optimised grinding strategies, re-railing volumes and rail milling activities to remove or
control the growth of RCF cracks
• Linking with other data streams such as track geometry and alignment to better
understand conditions and triggers that could be corrected to reduce the future
formation of RCF
• Optimised use of premium rail steels to target specific sites where increased resistance
to RCF will be of greatest benefit
Recent work has shown that visualisation of rail defect data can provide a useful tool and a quick
way of assessing very large volumes of data to provide useful information on the location and
severity of surface damage. The plots below are created from part of a typical defect
management produced by Sperry Rail where left and right rail condition can be displayed against
linear position along the track. This form of visualisation can provide a quick way to identify the
location of RCF sites and how they may have changed over time using the severity of RCF based
on eddy current test measurements over many train inspection runs. The graphical display can
be scaled to provide a wide overview of 10s of miles of track to show the location of sites or
clusters of RCF or zoomed in to show detail over 10s of yards of track and specific crack severities
within each yard in an individual site. This type of display can help in providing a quick way of
visualising very large volumes of data providing useful information and understanding as well as
benefits in planning other activities and remediation more effectively. Figure 40 shows an
example from Sperry’s system. The key point to Figure 40 is to demonstrate as an example the
benefit to a tool with visualisation: which can help engineers make more informed decisions
over smaller and larger scales (depending on their zoom).
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Figure 41 Plots of eddy current data with left and right rail RCF depth shown against
linear position over four train inspection runs
As such, a further recommendation lies within having an intelligent user interface or rail
management system that could encompass a wider range of data streams such as track
geometry and configuration, traffic volumes and types, eddy current and ultrasonic test results
alongside rail age and maintenance activities could provide an assessment of rail health and
would be beneficial for the rail industry as a whole. This is looked into in later Shift2Rail projects.
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6 Maintenance technologies based on analyses of

failures and costs
This chapter includes several developments of maintenance technologies based on analyses of
failures and costs. The chapter sets out in section 6.1 with a proposal of how to implement a
new generation of databases in order to perform optimised maintenance tasks based on failures
and costs. It continues in section 6.1.5, with the investigation on how the requirements for
maintenance depend on the rail steel quality. In section 0, previous research is complimented
by a more focused analysis of the influence of grinding and lubrication quality. Finally, section
6.4 discusses how cost data can be quantified related to track status and maintenance actions.
6.1 Managing and analysis of information required for a cost-

efficient analysis of maintenance
6.1.1 Objectives
New methodologies for the optimization of the maintenance tasks are starting to be used during
the operational management of the infrastructure. However, some new problems are
appearing. One of the most common problems, which the infrastructure managers must face, is
the lack of standardisation of historical data of maintenance tasks. This section will focus on the
management of information with the final goal of improving and easing the analysis of the
planning tasks.
The developments carried out are this section is linked to work performed and needed in WP 8
and WP 9 of IN2SMART project.
6.1.2 Introduction and analysis of information

There are usually two kinds of information needed for a cost-efficient analysis of maintenance.
One is gathered in the accounting system or costs database (DB), and the other in the field data
of maintenance actions carried out, or failure database. The accounting system contains data
related to costs of acquisition, maintenance actions (corrective or preventive), replacement, and
operation. On the other hand, failure databases usually store three types of data: event data,
operation data, and engineering data (which can be generic for each component or particular
to a certain type of components). Each component data included in the database is given an
identifier (ID) which links with all other data associated with it. Event information also deals with
different possible events for a component, as for instance: unscheduled maintenances or repairs
(fail or malfunctioning), system undergoes an unanticipated change from normal operation
(attributed to component malfunction which may affect other components), repair or
replacement, component abnormal behaviour observed during maintenance operation, etc.
Current databases are insufficient for an accurate and efficient analysis of different maintenance
actions. These databases are based on a different number of parameters, in particular:
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• Costs database
• Maintenance actions database according to the infrastructure manager procedures.
• Failure database of some of the most relevant components of the infrastructure

However, as said above, these parameters are not enough for some of the new methodologies
which are appearing in matter of optimization and assessment of the maintenance actions. In
this regard, the architecture for a new concept of database of maintenance actions and failures
are required. These new concepts of managing the information must be aligned with some of
the methodologies which are started to be spread such as the reliability, availability,
maintenance and safety analysis (RAMS analysis), life cycle cost analysis (LCC) or life cycle
assessment (LCA).
6.1.3 Maintenance actions database requirements

Maintenance-oriented definition of railway system at subsystem and component level
Different actions could be classified based on different criteria such as type of component, level
of importance, or the resources needed to achieve the level of service.
A definition of a subsystem level will be defined in order to determine the link between the
different components of the railway subsystems and the different new parameters which will
be used in the analysis of the maintenance actions.
The definition of the railway subsystem at a component level will be based on two different
methodologies. On the one hand, fault tree analysis (FTA) will be used for the determination of
the different relationships between the components of the infrastructure. On the other, a cause
consequence analysis (CCA) will allow to determine the relationships in the matter of the failures
for the given system. All this methodology are based on the failure rate analysis at a component
level λ(t) which is an intrinsic parameter for each of the different components.
The use of the failure rate λ at a component level and the definition the FTA and CCA allow the
holistic approach for the failure rate for the global subsystem.
Posed architecture for the database oriented to efficient maintenance actions, will be defined
in order to allow the introduction of this type of parameters at a component level, which will be
used during the subsequent analysis.
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Figure 41 Example of hierarchical fault tree analysis for design and operation phases of
a steel bridge
Additional parameters in maintenance actions: RAMS analysis

The goal of the definition of a new generation of databases in maintenance actions is to ease
the implementation and to implement advanced tools of analysis which allows the increase in
the level of efficiency of the maintenance actions. These types of analysis include RAMS analysis,
LCC or LCA analyses.
Although some of the basic requirements for these databases are exposed in the previous
sections, mainly related to the definition of the relationships between the different components
of the railway subsystem and its failure rate, some additional parameters are necessary to
carried out other analysis such as RAMS analysis.
RAMS analysis (acronym for reliability, availability, maintainability, and safety), allows
forecasting failures from the observation of operational field data. It is possible to define the
RAMS analysis as a number of techniques which help to predict, from failure data and repair
interventions, previously collected, the number and distribution on frequency of failures in a
system, giving as a result an estimation of the availability of the system.
In this regard, reliability and availability are referred to the capacity of a system to operate
correctly. This capacity depends, among others, on the following factors:
• Failure modes in the system and in the environment
• Probability of failure or rate of failure
• Effects of a failure in the operability of the system
Maintainability is inversely related to the duration and the required strength for the
maintenance activities. Maintainability focuses in the preventive measurements to remove or
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decrease the vulnerabilities and threats overall. Its final goal is to avoid any type of failure
through the early detection of degradation or anomalies. It will depend on several parameters
such as the duration of those actions, time used in failure detection, identification, and location,
or time used to restore the system to its normal operation. Among, main factors which affect
the maintainability, the following ones could be highlighted
• Downtime as a definition of the sum of logistic times (waiting times), corrective actions
and lost times.
• Type of operation of restoration at a component level
• Time to the first failure (TFF)
• Time between failures (TBF)
• Time to maintain or downtime during which the system or asset is not available for
operation (TMM). It is defined as the difference of time between the finishing of
corrective action and the failure identification
• Up time or available state during which the system is in full operation (UT)
• Waiting time in which the work order has been opened and the system is waiting for a
corrective action to be taken (WT)
• Time to restore in which the failure has been already identified and the corrective action
is taking place. It is considered the difference between the time at finishing corrective
action and the time at starting corrective action (TTR).
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Restoration
Asset mode
Failure
Failure
TFF TBF
Available
TTM
WT TTR
Unavailable
Time
Corrective
Start corrective action
Open WO
Logistic
action
Figure 42 Example of analysis of different types of maintenance time slots (Infralert

Project, 2016)
Regarding safety, the target is to provide a framework of safety with non-existence of an

unacceptable damage risk.
Most of discussions are concerned about the determination of reliability, because the rest of
RAMS parameters, namely, availability, maintainability and safety are derived from it, as it is
shown in the following table:
Table 4. RAMS parameter according to IEC 61703 (IEC,2016)
Reliability
𝑇𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑜𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑎𝑙 𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒
𝑀𝑇𝐵𝐹 (𝑀𝑒𝑎𝑛 𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒 𝑏𝑒𝑡𝑤𝑒𝑒𝑛 𝑓𝑎𝑖𝑙𝑢𝑟𝑒) =
𝑇𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑛𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑓𝑎𝑖𝑙𝑢𝑟𝑒𝑠
𝐹(𝑡): Probability Distribution Function (PDF) of failures
𝑓(𝑡): Density functon of probability of failures
𝜆(𝑡): Failure rate
Availability
𝑀𝑈𝑇 (𝑀𝑒𝑎𝑛 𝑢𝑝 𝑇𝑖𝑚𝑒)
𝑀𝐷𝑇 (𝑀𝑒𝑎𝑛 𝑑𝑜𝑤𝑛 𝑇𝑖𝑚𝑒)

𝑀𝑈𝑇
𝐴 (𝐴𝑣𝑎𝑖𝑙𝑎𝑏𝑖𝑙𝑖𝑡𝑦) =
𝑀𝑈𝑇 + 𝑀𝐷𝑇
Maintainability
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𝑇𝑇𝑀
𝑀𝑇𝑇𝑀 (𝑀𝑒𝑎𝑛 𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒 𝑡𝑜 𝑚𝑎𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑎𝑖𝑛) =
𝑀𝑇𝑇𝑅 (𝑀𝑒𝑎𝑛 𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒 𝑡𝑜 𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑡𝑜𝑟𝑒/𝑟𝑒𝑝𝑎𝑖𝑟)

𝑇𝑇𝑅
=
𝑀𝑇𝐵𝐹
𝐴T (𝑂𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑎𝑙 𝑎𝑣𝑎𝑖𝑙𝑎𝑏𝑖𝑙𝑖𝑡𝑦) =
𝑀𝑇𝐵𝐹 + 𝑀𝑇𝑇𝑅
𝐹𝐴𝑅 (𝐹𝑎𝑙𝑠𝑒 𝐴𝑙𝑎𝑟𝑚 𝑅𝑎𝑡𝑒)
Safety
𝑀𝑇𝐵𝑆𝐹 (𝑀𝑒𝑎𝑛 𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒 𝑏𝑒𝑡𝑤𝑒𝑒𝑛 𝑠𝑎𝑓𝑒𝑡𝑦 𝑠𝑦𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑚 𝑓𝑎𝑖𝑙𝑢𝑟𝑒)
𝑇𝐻𝑅 (𝑇𝑜𝑙𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑏𝑙𝑒 𝐻𝑎𝑧𝑎𝑟𝑑 𝑅𝑎𝑡𝑒)
𝑇𝑇𝑅𝑆 (𝑇𝑖𝑚𝑒 𝑡𝑜 𝑅𝑒𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑛 𝑡𝑜 𝑆𝑎𝑓𝑒𝑡𝑦)
Moreover, the statistical nature of most of these parameters, such as failure rate analysis,
requires a sufficient amount of data in the study to be able to make reliable predictions. In this
regard, to improve the efficiency in the deployment of these analyses, the architecture of the
databases will include a number of parameters which are not widely taken into account in the
current databases of infrastructure managers.
RailTopo model background

In 2013, UIC starts the development of a systemic model, called RailTopo model for describing
the topology-based railway infrastructure as needed by various applications. The development
of the RailTopo model is a result of the ERIM project (European Rail Infrastructure Modelling)
within UIC that aims at standardized data representation and exchange concerning railway
networks.
As a result, an international standard IRS 30100 (UIC,2016) RailTopoModel was developed. This
standard is intended to be used in all business processes dealing with the design, construction,
operation, and maintenance of a railway network by using an abstracted and generic model of
the railway topology, applying any aggregation levels in which a railway network may be
represented.
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Figure 43 RailTopo flow diagram (UIC,2016)
Levels of detail in which the different assets, elements or components of the railway systems
are classified are defined in the following table according to the prescriptions established in the
UIC standard.
Table 5 Usual levels according to RailTopo model (UIC,2016)
Level Description Use cases/ examples
Large scale ETCS, Interlocking, maintenance, asset

Detailed information at track level (lifecycle) management
Micro
Bases = switches or buffer stopos that are
connected by tracks
Intermediate scale Visualise and process capacity properties of

Functional information at track level. Sections of lines.
Meso
Basis= operating points that are connected by Capacity properties are directly linked with
one or more tracks the number of track
Small scale Network of railway lines and stations.

Minimal track level information Timetabling information
Macro Basis= operating points connected with each
other via single connections (one or more
tracks)
Some previous European Research Projects, such as Infralert (Fraunhofer, 2014) project, was
aligned with this model, designing a topology model which is considered the basis for the
database proposed in this section.
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Railway infrastructure assets hierarchy

Railway infrastructure can be classified in different levels, starting from a first level called ‘Level
0’ in which the entire railway system is represented. Next levels compound from this level 0 until
the smaller and basic elements are called assets of the infrastructure.
The following sections define the required data for every one of these assets in order to be able
to develop the cost-effective analysis.
Section has been divided in three main subsections. Firstly, a number of ‘general assets’ has
been defined and managed in tables in order to complete a general framework of parameters
which could be used in any kind of linear transport assets. Then, a specific set of assets for
railway has been defined in which the particular assets such as crossings or stations have been
included. Finally, a set of additional information about the parameters used in the maintenance
tasks, campaigns tasks, reports generated or events.
Previously to this, it is necessary to stablish a clear framework for the classification of the
different levels. This framework will be based on the existing European normative such as the
2008/57/EC (EC, 2008) of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 June 2008 on the
interoperability of the rail system within the Community. In this European Directive, the rail
system is broken down into a number of different subsystems and components which are shown
in the following figure:
Figure 44 Railway assets according to the TSI and 2008/57/EC
According to the 2008/57/EC, Directive of Interoperability, definition of each subsystem is listed

below:
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Infrastructure
‘The track, points, engineering structures (bridges, tunnels, etc.), associated station
infrastructure (platforms, zones of access, including the needs of persons with reduced mobility,
etc.), safety and protective equipment’.
Energy
‘The electrification system, including overhead lines and on-board parts of the electric
consumptions measuring equipment’.
Control-command and signalling
‘All the equipment necessary to ensure safety and to command and control movements of trains
authorised to travel on the network’.
Operation and traffic management
‘The procedures and related equipment enabling a coherent operation of the different structural
subsystems, both during normal and degraded operation, including in particular training and
train driving, traffic planning and management’.
‘The professional qualifications may be required for carrying out cross-border services’.
Telematics applications
In accordance with Annex I of the Interoperability Directive European 2004/57/CE, this

subsystem comprises two elements:
a) ‘applications for passenger services, including systems providing passengers with

information before and during the journey, reservation and payment systems, luggage
management and management of connections between trains and with other modes of
transport’;
b) ‘applications for freight services, including information systems (real-time monitoring of

freight and trains), marshalling and allocation systems, reservation, payment and
invoicing systems, management of connections with other modes of transport and
production of electronic accompanying documents’.
Rolling stock
‘Structure, command and control system for all train equipment, current-collection devices
traction and energy conversion units, braking, coupling and running gear (bogies, axles, etc.) and
suspension, doors, man/machine interfaces (driver, on-board staff and passengers, including the
needs of persons with reduced mobility), passive or active safety devices and requisites for the
health of passengers and on-board staff’.
Maintenance
‘The procedures, associated equipment, logistics centres for maintenance work and reserves
allowing the mandatory corrective and preventive maintenance to ensure the interoperability of
the rail system and guarantee the performance required’.
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Requirements specific to each subsystem
The 2008/57/EC establishes a number of essential requirements which must be complied by the
different defined subsystems. These requirements are crucial for the post development of the
definition of database in order to meet them. Requirements are defined as a number of different
criteria such as safety, reliability and availability, health, environmental protection, technical
compatibility and accessibility.
Table 6. Essential requirements for rail subsystems (own production based on

2008/57/CE)
Environmental
Reliability and
compatibility
Accessibility
availability
protection
Technical
Controls
Health
Subsystem Safety
Infrastructure
Structural subsystems
Energy
Control-command
and signalling
Rolling stock
Maintenance
Functional subsystems
Operation and
traffic management
Telematics
applications for
freight and
passenger
Within of the infrastructure system a complementary classification is proposed during this

project in which the subsystem is broken down into two main different levels: substructure and
superstructure. Moreover, these levels are additionally subdivided into elements and
components as could be seen in Figure 45.
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Figure 45 General proposed scheme for Infrastructure assets classification (own

production based on 2008/57/CE)
6.1.4 Definition of a framework for database for maintenance: action

and maintenance parameters
In this section, the general structure of fields is described in order to define the database
oriented to a cost-efficient analysis of maintenance. These fields will cover different approaches
of the whole rail system, including general assets data definition, specific railway parameters for
turnouts, stations and so on, and finally, the collection of needed parameters regarding
maintenance and monitoring actions to calculate the RAMS parameters in an efficient way.
The final goal is to establish a common framework for the future generation of databases, based
on the existing models such as RailTopo model, which eases and accelerate the process of
calculation of the RAMS parameters as performance indicators of the cost-efficient analysis of
maintenance.
General assets data

As stated, an abstract representation of the graph network is provided. This graphical network
is based on the graph theory where every graph is constituted of nodes and edges. A set of
tables will reflect and include the characteristics of these objects, the properties that can be
associated to them and the required information about location.
Relationships or dependencies between these elements in a graphical network are shown in the
following UML schema.
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Nodes properties
PK Id
Nodes Id_node
PK Id Id_property
Property value
Latitude
Longitud
X
Y Nodes location
Swtich/crossing PK Id
Station/locality
Line Id_node
Type Geo_point Edges properties
Schema_point
PK Id
Id_edge
Start_position
End_position
Lat_Start
Edges Long_Start
PK Id Lat_end
Long_end
Start node Edges location Id_property
End_node Property value
PK Id
Length
Weight Id_edge
Geo_line
Schema_line
Edge navigation
Mileages PK Edge_Id
PK Id
Edges and nodes links Start_position
Id_edge End_position
PK Id_node
Start_position Weight_max
PK Id_edge
End_position Speed_limit_min
Start_km Speed_limit_max
Node_start
Node_Star_descr End_km
Node_end
Node_end_descr
Extension
Km_start
Km_end
Width
District
Figure 46 Dependency relationships in UML schema
Following sections will define the different fields and requirements for every one of the above
dependencies.
Nodes
Regarding the nodes, a set of different properties should define in order to complete the
required fields to draw and locate them. This definition includes associated stations, turnouts,
or coordinates. The whole different field name, data type, and description are well explained in
the Table 7.
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Table 7 Nodes general data
Field name Data type Description

INTEGER, PRIMARY KEY, AUTO
Id Line identifier
INCREMENTING
Latitude FLOAT Latitude of the node
Longitude FLOAT Longitude of the node
X INTEGER Coordinates within a schematic picture
Y INTEGER Coordinates within a schematic picture
Id of the switch/crossing associated to the
Switch/crossing INTEGER, FOREIGN KEY
node
Id of the station/locality associated to the
Station/locality INTEGER, FOREIGN KEY
node
Line INTEGER, NULL, FOREIGN KEY Line associated to the node
Type INTEGER, NOT NILL, DEFAULT(0) Real node if type=0, virtual node if type=1
Nodes Properties
Additionally, nodes should be defined with a tag or an identifier to distinguish nodes between
themselves and allocate own properties to them. The definitions for these properties are shown
in Table 8.
Table 8 Nodes properties in database

Id Line identifier
INCREMENTING
Id_Node INTEGER, FOREIGN KEY (nodes.Id) Id of the node
Id_property INTEGER, FOREIGN KEY Type of property
Property value VARCHAR(255) Value of the property
Nodes Location
A complementary definition for the location of the nodes is required. This definition includes a
set of points associated to a geographical representation to draw the nodes in a map or in a
geographical system. Definition of this location is explained below.
Table 9 Nodes location in database

Id Line identifier
INCREMENTING
Point associated to a geographical
Geo_point POINT
representation
Schema_point POINT Point associated to a schema representation
Edges
Regarding the edges, once again, a set of different properties should be defined in order to
complete the required fields to connect them between nodes. This definition will cover
approaches such as starting and ending of the edge. The following table will define the required
fields to complete this general data.
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Table 10 Edges general data

Id Line identifier
INCREMENTING
Start_node INTEGER, FOREIGN KEY, NOT NULL Starting position of the edge
End_node INTEGER, NOT NULL, FOREIGN KEY Ending position of the edge
Length FLOAT Length of the edge
Weight FLOAT Weight of the edge
Properties
Aligned with the definition of nodes, properties data definition for edges should require. A set
of different fields that cover latitude or longitude from starting point to the end of the edge is
defined. Moreover, complementary fields such as identifier or values for properties are added
to this definition as can be seen in the following table.
Table 11 Edges position data

Id Line identifier
INCREMENTING
Id_edge INTEGER, FOREIGN KEY, NOT NULL (edges.id) Id of the edge
Spatial starting position in meters of the
Start_Position FLOAT
property start on the edge
Spatial position in meters of the property
End_Position FLOAT
end
Latitude of the starting position of the
Lat_start FLOAT
property
Longitude of the starting position of the
Long_start FLOAT
property
Latitude of the ending position of the
Lat_end FLOAT
property
Longitude of the starting position of the
Long_end FLOAT
property
Id_property INTEGER, FOREIGN KEY Id of the considered property
Property value VARCHAR(1024) Value of the property
Location
Finally, a location is needed in order to complete the definition of the edges. This location will
allow the graphical representation of nodes in GIS or similar system.

Id Line identifier
INCREMENTING
Id_edge INTEGER, FOREIGN KEY, NOT NULL (edges.id) Id of the edge
Vector of coordinates associated to a
Geo_line LINESTRING
geographical representation
Vector of coordinates associated to a schema
Schema_line LINESTRING
representation
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Nodes & Edges links
Different nodes and edges must be connected between themselves, particularly in the case of
different lines. For that goal, it is required the definition of a set of elements name as links, which
will provide the connection between lines and navigation through them.
Moreover, the abstract representation schema should include the mileage to position and
define the different length of the edges and tools for easing the navigation through them.
Turnout general schema definition
Crucial elements for these connections are the turnouts. Turnouts could be defined as
mechanical installations which enable railway trains to be guided from one track to another in
railway junctions or where a spur or siding branches off.
There are several types of turnouts depending on the potential paths or the number of tracks to
connect. In the definition of the database for abstract representation, turnouts play a major role
and a set of general properties must be defined.
a)
b)
Figure 47 Schematic representation of some types of turnouts: a) Single slip switch;
b) English double switch
The general required data for the abstract schema definition is presented in the following table
(Table 12)
Table 12 Turnout properties in database

Id Line identifier
INCREMENTING
Type INTEGER, FOREIGN KEY Type of turnout
Value VARCHAR(255) Value of the property
A more complete definition of the different elements and components of the turnouts will
define in following sections.
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Mileages
The set of data required to navigate and locate the position in the edges are defined in the
following table. This definition includes identifiers, start and end position and kilometre
definition among others.
Table 13 Mileages properties in database

Id
INCREMENTING
Id_edge INTEGER, FOREIGN KEY Id of the edge
Start_position FLOAT Starting position on the edge
End_position FLOAT Ending position on the edge
Start_km Decimal(8,3) Km reference of starting position
End_km Decimal(8,3) Km reference of ending position
Edge navigation
Finally, the edge navigation required field are shown in Table 14
Table 14 Edge navigation

Edge_Id INTEGER, PRIMARY KEY Id of the edge representing a road or a track
Distance in meters from the beginning of the edge of the
Start_position FLOAT
starting point of the property
Distance in meters from the beginning of the edge of the
End_position FLOAT
starting point of the property
Weight_max FLOAT Maximum weight of the vehicle covering the edge
Speed_limit_min FLOAT Minimum speed permitted on the edge
Speed_limit_max FLOAT Maximum speed permitted on the edge
Specific railway assets data

AREA
Lines
General features of the line should be described as a number of parameters which offer
information about a certain route which connects two points in the space. Having considered a
graphical representation, a line could be defined as a succession of a number of edges where
lines are fixed but the route of lines can change through the time, adding edges or deleting
others from the original route. For that reason, the definition of general architecture for the
database must take into consideration all these possible changes in the time, and it should be
defined as a dynamic table where edges could be removed or added.
In this regard, a table is defined where the main parameters for the description of a line are
collected. This table allows the representation of a line in a network diagram.
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Table 15 General parameters for description of lines the database

Id Line identifier
INCREMENTING
Name VARCHAR(225) Name of the line
Start_line VARCHAR(225) Locality or station from which the line start
Locality or station which is the end of the
End_line VARCHAR(225)
line
Id of the company belonging of the line
Comp_line INTEGER, FOREIGN KEY
(company which uses the line)
Area_line INTEGER, FOREIGN KEY Id of the area in which the line is allocated
Line_map_bounds TEXT Bounds of the map of the line
Line_tile_bounds TEXT Bounds of the schema of the line
Line_tile_photosize VARCHAR(255) Size of the photo of the line
Line_mapstatus CHAR State of the map
Del_lines INTEGER Deleted lines
Map Status
Map status represents the possibility of representing a map with the abstract schema previously
defined in a geographical information system or similar. Several options will be included in this
definition in order to descript the ‘status’.
Table 16 define the general parameters for every one of these options.
Table 16 Map status
Value Definition Description

First status, when the map is still being created, everything can be
E Editing
modified
P Properties Only properties can be added or modified in this status
R Ready The map is completed, and not even properties can be added
In this state, if necessary to delete and edge for example, this can be
H History done but you have to put the end date for that edge in the database, the
same applies if you want to create a new one
Railway navigation links
Firstly, a connection between the general abstract schema of nodes and edges and railway links
must be defined. This relationship will allow associating the general schema of nodes and edges
to a particular railway navigation link. This dependency will be done through the following fields
(Table 17) which establish relationships between the identifiers of nodes and edges in the
abstract schema to particular case of railway line.
Table 17 Railway navigation link definition

Node_id INTEGER, PRIMARY KEY Node identifier
Entry_edge_id INTEGER Edge identifier
Exit_edge_id INTEGER Edge identifier
SC_side CHAR Frog position (Left ‘L’ or right ‘R’)
Route INTEGER Navigation route
Moreover, the dependency relationship will associate a turnout to link definition. A complete
definition of the turnouts will develop in following sections.
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TURNOUTS
General data
First step in the process of definition of turnouts starts with the description and localisation of
them. The description includes the type of turnout, coordinates to locate, slope, or side. All
these data are collected in the Table 17.
Table 18 Turnout general parameters for description and localisation of turnouts in
the database

INTEGER, PRIMARY KEY,
SC_id S&C unique identifier
AUTOINCREMENTING
SC_reportid INTEGER, FOREIGN KEY
SC_type VARCHAR (20) Type of S&C
SC_X INTEGER S&C coordinate
SC_Y INTEGER S&C coordinate
SC_slope DOUBLE Slope of the S&C
SC_side VARCHAR(5) Side of the S&C
Types
Different types of turnout are considered in this database. All these types collect the different
ways of changing the direction depending of many parameters as number of tracks, potential
paths, or category of the track (see Figure 48).
a) Single crossover b) Double crossover or Bretelle
c) Crossings d) Double slip switch – English connection

Figure 48 Types of turnouts
Fields required to a complete definition of the turnouts are collected in the following table
(Table 19). In this definition, some parameters such as station, line, exploitation responsible or
type, taking into consideration the most remarkable types of turnouts are included.
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Table 19 Turnout parameters definition in the database

Id Switch identifier
INCREMENTING
Station INTEGER, FOREIGN KEY Station belonging of the switch
Line INTEGER, FOREIGN KEY Line belonging of the switch
Tech_office VARCHAR(255) Technical office whom the switch is assigned
Name VARCHAR(255) Name of the switch
Type = 1 if ‘single crossover’, 2 if ‘double
Type INTEGER crossover’, 3 if ‘crossing, 4 if ‘double slip
switch’
Notes TEXT
Del_switch INTEGER
Properties and components

A set of properties for the components of the turnout must be defined in order to provide a
general framework of data for the different elements which compound the turnout. This
definition includes all different components which their definitions, according to RailSystem
(RailSystem), are listed as follows:
§ Points (switch rails or point blades) are the movable rails which guide the wheels towards
either the straight or the diverging track. They are tapered on most switches, but on stub
switches, they have square ends. In ordinary conversation, it is common to use the word
‘switch’ when referring to a ‘turnout’, which is technically incorrect.
§ Stock rails are the running rails immediately alongside of the switch rails against which the
switch rails lay when in the closed position. The stock rails are otherwise ordinary rails that
are machined, drilled, and bent as required to suit the design of the turnout switch and the
individual switch point rails.
§ Frog is a component placed where one rail crosses another, refers to the crossing point of two
rails. The rest of the English-speaking world calls such units by the more obvious term
‘crossings’.
§ Closure rails are the straight or curved rails that are positioned in between the heel of switch
and the toe of frog.
§ Guardrail (checkrail) is a short piece of rail placed alongside the main (stock) rail opposite the
frog. These exist to ensure that the wheels follow the appropriate flange way through the
frog and that the train does not derail.
§ Heel block assemblies are units placed at the heel of the switch that provide a splice with the
contiguous closure rail and a location for the switch point rail to pivot at a fixed spread
distance from the stock rail.
§ Switch point rail stops act as spacers between the switch point rail and the stock rail. Stops
laterally support the switch point from flexing laterally under a lateral wheel load and thereby
possibly exposing the open end of switch point rail to head-on contact from the next wheel.
§ Switch-operating device moves switch rails. Switch rails can be thrown (moved) from one
orientation to another by either a hand-operated (manual) switch stand or a mechanically or
electro-mechanically (power-operated) switch machine. In both cases, the operating devices
are positioned at the beginning of the turnout opposite the switch-connecting rods near the
point of the switch rails.
§
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Figure 49 Turnout components (Railsystem)
An identifier for the turnout linked to the component id and the property list is mandatory in
order to complete the definition of these elements. For that, a table will collect all required data
(see Table 20).
Table 20 Turnout component properties definition in the database

INCREMENTING
Id_switch INTEGER, FOREIGN KEY Unique switch identifier
Id_component VARCHAR(1024) Name of component
Id_property INTEGER, FOREIGN KEY Id of the property
Value VARCHAR(1024)
Localisation
To end, localisation data are mandatory to position the turnout. This localisation will include
odometer values for locate the turnouts, length of them, and identifiers to link to the general
schema.
Table 21 S&C localisation definition in the database

INCREMENTING
Id_turnout INTEGER, FOREIGN KEY Unique turnout identifier
Id_edge INTEGER, FOREIGN KEY Id of the edge of the switch
Odometer value corresponding to the
Odo_start FLOAT
starting position of the turnout
Odometer value corresponding to the
Odo_end FLOAT
starting position of the turnout
Turnout_length FLOAT Length of the switch
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Stations
Stations represent crucial nodes in the railway network where interchanges of passenger and
freight are carried out. Due to their importance, stations must be precisely defined as special
points of the network from a number of parameters such as type, distinguishing between
freight, passenger or technical stations, name, company responsible or area where is located.
All required fields to comply with the requirements to complete the description are collected in
the following table.
Table 22 Stations definition in the database

Id Station identifier
INCREMENTING
Name VARCHAR(255) Name of the station
Venue VARCHAR(255) Venue of the station
Type VARCHAR(255) Passenger, freight or technical
Company INTEGER, FOREIGN KEY Belonging company of the station
Area INTEGER, FOREIGN KEY Area in which the station is located
Map_bounds TEXT Bounds of the map of the station
Tile_bounds TEXT Bounds of the schema of the station
Tile_photosize VARCHAR(255) Size of the photo of the station
Mapstatus VARCHAR(3) State of the map
Del_stat INTEGER Deleted stations
Thresholds and defects

This section collects a number of fields required to identify, classify, register, and afterwards,
analysis the different faults or defects which occur in the different components of the railway
track.
To do that, a number of thresholds are defined. These thresholds allow the determination of the
state of the components by comparing every parameter with its associated threshold. The
threshold represents the estimated value from which, the component could be considered in
good state or in bad state, that it to say, if the measured value for a given parameter is over the
threshold, the defect or failure is considered.
In this regard, a schematic structure to relate the different sets or clusters of information has
been defined (see Figure 50). This figure shows the different fields and their relationship in order
to develop a database of thresholds and defects which allow the analysis from a point of view
of maintainability and availability of the system.
This database includes different clusters of information such as:
• An asset properties history
• A list of measured parameters and its history
• Threshold associated to every measured parameter
• Defects associated to every threshold including types and categories
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• A severity alert estimator to generate alerts

Dependencies between these clusters and accurate definition of every one of them are
explained below, in the following figures and sections.
Parameters
Parameter history
PK Id
Asset properties
PK Id
PK Id Shortdesc
Name YEAR
Instrument AV_param_value
Cat Measurements
Um
Properties threholds
Properties history
PK Id_pro
PK Id
Thres_id
YEAR Thresholds LS
Property value Thres_min
PK Id Thres_max
Optimal
UND_OV OPT
Company_id
UND _ OV PRTG
Area_id
Thr_name
Thr_def_cat Parameters thresholds
Thr_um
Defects PK ID
PK ID Param_id
THR
Edge_Id LVL
Asset
Report_Id
Set_Id
Cat_Id
Type
Start_km_dist
End_km_dist Severity Alert parameter
Lat Defects types PK ID
Long
Def_desc PK ID Id_LVL
Thres
Def_inf Name
Defects categories
PK ID Defect set
Def_id PK ID
Cat_name
Report_id
Def_cat
Description
Figure 50 Dependencies relationship in UML schema
Thresholds
The general table for thresholds contains generic information the company responsible of
maintenance of the track, localisation (area) covered, definition of threshold including its
category and the unit of measure.
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Table 23 General threshold parameters

Id
INCREMENTING
Company_id INTEGER, FOREIGN KEY Id of the company
Area_id INTEGER, FOREIGN KEY Id of the area
Thr_name VARCHAR(255) Name of the threshold
Thr_def_cat INTEGER, FOREIGN KEY Defect category id
Thr_um VARCHAR(10) Unit of measure
Properties thresholds
Properties threshold table definition includes information about the threshold definitions, level
of severity of failure associated to the threshold and extreme values acceptable for the
maintenance tasks.
Table 24 Properties thresholds

Id_pro INTEGER, PRIMARY KEY Id of the property considered
Thres_id INTEGER, FOREIGN KEY Id of threshold table
LS CHAR Level of severity
Thres_min FLOAT Minimum acceptable value
Thres_max FLOAT Maximum acceptable value
Parameters thresholds
For every parameter, a set of thresholds could be defined. These thresholds offer information
about the range in which the given parameter could be considered in certain level of state from
a resistance point of view. In this regard, several levels could be defined according to the EN
13848-5 (CEN,2009) where there main levels are defined:
i. Immediate action level (IAL): refers to the values, which if they are overcome, requires
taking action to reduce the risk of derailment to an acceptable level. This could be done
closing the line, reducing the speed or correcting the track geometry
ii. Intervention level (IL): refers to the values, which if they are overcome, requires
corrective maintenance to avoid that the IAL will not be achieved until the next
inspection.
iii. Alert level (AL): refers to the values, which if they are overcome, requires that the track
geometry condition will be analysed taking into account the planned maintenance
actions.
The tables below define the required parameters to carry out this kind of classification in levels
of severity along with the severity alert parameter.
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Table 25 Thresholds for parameters

ID INTEGER, PRIMARY KEY Threshold identifier
Param_id INTEGER, FOREIGN
THR FLOAT Thresholds
LVL FLOAT Level of severity
Table 26 Severity Alert Parameter

ID INTEGER, PRIMARY KEY
Id_LVL INTEGER Ext key to LVL Parameters Thresholds Table
Defects
A complete definition of the defects or failures associated to every component and its level of
quality is included in the following table. In the moment of exceeding a level of failure, the defect
is generated. In case of many different types of defects, it is required to specify which one of
them has occurred. Moreover, the precise location of the failure must be included.
The following table collects all these data in a proper way which allow the afterward analysis.
Table 27 Defects or failures database

Edge_Id INTEGER, FOREIGN KEY Id of the edge of the defect
Asset CHAR Asset affected by the defect
Report_Id INTEGER, FOREIGN KEY Id of the report
Set_Id INTEGER, FOREIGN KEY Id of a set
Cat_Id INTEGER, FOREIGN KEY Id of the category
Type INTEGER, FOREIGN KEY Type of the defect
Start_km_dist FLOAT Distance in km from starting node of the edge
End_km_dist FLOAT Distance in km from ending node of the edge
Lat FLOAT Latitude of position of the defect
Long FLOAT Longitude of the position of the defect
Def_desc VARCHAR(255) Defect short description
Thres INTEGER Thresholds of the defect
Def_inf TEXT Infrastructure affected by the defect
Defects types and categories
The classification and identification of failures is mandatory in any management system for
maintenance. In this regard, is extremely relevant to determine the category and type of the
failures.
For that aim, the tables below will allow the identification and categorisation of the defects.
Table 28 Defect types
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ID INTEGER, PRIMARY KEY Defect identifier
Name VARCHAR(255) Name of the defect
Table 29 Defect categories

Def_id INTEGER, FOREIGN KEY Id of the defect
Cat_name VARCHAR(255) Name of the category
Table 30 Defect set

Report_id INTEGER, FOREIGN KEY Id of the report
Def_cat INTEGER, FOREIGN KEY Id of the category
Description VARCHAR(500)
Maintenance interventions
Track geometry parameters definition
Firstly, it is required to define the parameters which are taken into consideration to carry out
the maintenance interventions. According to the prescriptions EN 13848 (CEN,2009), five
parameters to assess the geometric quality of the track must be taken into consideration:
i. Track gauge
Track gauge is defined as the minimum distance, in millimetres, between both rails measured
14 millimetres below the running surface, on the Y direction, Deviations of the original track
gauge may be caused by mechanical properties of the track structure or/and the passage of the
rolling stock.
Figure 51 Track gauge as defined in EN 13848
ii. Longitudinal level

Longitudinal level (LL) is measured for both rails and it is defined as the rail axis vertical deviation
(Z-axis) from its theoretical reference line, in millimetres. The effects of the vertical loads applied
on track quality are best illustrated by these deviations. Longitudinal level defects are
considered to be the main factor for maintenance planning purposes, through the analysis of
the standard deviation for short wavelength defects (3–25 m) in 200 metres-long track sections
and absolute values on local defects.
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iii. Alignment
Alignment is the lateral deviation of the rail axis regarding its reference mean location,
measured in millimetres. It depends on the transverse effects of the rolling stock upon the track
structure.
iv. Cross level
Also known as cant, this geometric parameter is the difference in millimetres between the actual
running surface and its horizontal reference plan, or theoretical cant. On straight lines, it may
be interpreted as the difference of elevation between both rails.
Figure 52 Lateral alignment as defined in EN 13848
v. Twist
Track twist is the deviation between one point of one cross section and the plan defined by other
three points, considering two cross-sections several metres apart. Hence, it is directly related
with the track cross-level, being the rate of change of cross level. This factor (together with the
alignment) is the most important when concerning safety on railway as it is considered the
primary reason for derailments due to the possibility of causing absence of wheel-rail contact.
Track geometry defects are characterized by their amplitude, but also by the wavelength, which
is usually included between 3m and 70m. For the longitudinal level and the alignment, domains
of wavelength are defined to distinguish between different types of defects:
• D1 wavelength range: 3 m < λ ≤ 25 m
• D2 wavelength range: 25 m < λ ≤ 70 m
• D3 wavelength range: 70 m < λ ≤ 150 m for longitudinal level; 70 m < λ ≤ 200 m for
alignment
D3 is usually considered only for high-speed lines (speed > 250 km/h).
Three indicators base on the five parameters could describe the track geometry quality:
• Extreme values for isolated defects
• Standard deviation over a predefined length, typically 200 m
• Mean value
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From these parameters a definition of required field associated to tracks with their symbols,
names, description and unit of measure are describe in the following table:
Table 31 Track geometry parameters required in the database
Symbol Name Description Unit

Horizontal distance between points at internal profile at 14 mm
G Gauge mm
below the top of the rail
Top/long. level of Vertical displacement of the top of the right rail in a certain band
ZRD1 mm
right rail of wavelengths
Top/long. level of Vertical displacement of the top of the left rail in a certain band
ZLD1 mm
left rail of wavelengths
ZRD2 mm
ZLD2 mm
ZRD3 mm
ZLD3 mm
ZRDx mm
ZLDx mm
Top/long. level of Horizontal displacement of the point at right internal profile at
YRD1 mm
right rail 14 mm below the top of the rail in a certain band of wavelengths
Top/long. level of Horizontal displacement of the point at left internal profile at 14
YLD1 mm
left rail mm below the top of the rail in a certain band of wavelengths
YRD2 mm
YLD2 mm
YRD3 mm
YLD3 mm
YRDx mm
YLDx mm
Superelevation Difference in height between the two rail tops
h mm
Cant
C Curvature 100 The inverse of the radius of the curve rad/km
C30 Curvature 30 The inverse of the radius of the curve rad/km
XTrace N/A
ZTrace N/A
AZtrace N/A
Mean Gauge on x
Gmx Arithmetic mean of gauge over a x m long sections of track mm
meters
Ideal Gauge on x Track gauge recalculated using a new reference rail profile
Gid mm
meters aligned to the actual profile at internal side (Gi point)
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Mean ideal gauge Arithmetic mean of the ideal gauge over a configurable base
Gidmx mm
length
Top/long. level of Vertical displacement of the track centreline in a certain band
ZOD1 mm
track centreline of wavelengths
ZOD2 mm
ZOD3 mm
ZODx mm
track centreline x of wavelengths
Line/alignment
Horizontal displacement of the track centreline in a certain
YOD1 level of track mm
band of wavelengths
centreline
Line/alignment
band of wavelengths
centreline
Line/alignment
band of wavelengths
centreline
Line/alignment
YODx level of track mm
band x of wavelengths
centreline
XLD1 Cross level Cant filtered in a certain band of wavelengths mm
XLDx Cross level Cant filtered in a certain band of wavelengths mm
Twist over 2,5 m Difference between two cants taken at a defined distance apart
Gs2,5 mm/m
base
Twist over 3 m Difference between two cants taken at a defined distance apart
Gs3 mm/m
base
Gs5 mm/m
base
Gs9 mm/m
base
Cross-cross-level Difference between the current cant and the mean of cant 5 m
SXL5 mm
before and after the current position
Cross-Cross level Difference between the current cant and the mean of cant 5 m
SXL17 mm
long waves before and after the current position
Cross-Cross-level Difference between the current cant and the mean of cant 10
SXLEd long waves for points before and after the current position mm
SNCF
Filtered alignment Right alignment filtered by a versine-chord filter (Chord= 10 m;
YR10 mm
of right rail versine 5,5 m)
Filtered alignment Left alignment filtered by a versine-chord filter (Chord= 10 m;
YL10 mm
of left rail versine 5,5 m)
Track centreline
YDall alignment filtered Track centreline alignment filtered over a ±200 m base mm
over a long base
Right long. Level
ZRAsym filtered Right longitudinal level filtered asymmetrically mm
asymmetrically
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Level long. Level

ZLAsym filtered Left longitudinal level filtered asymmetrically mm
asymmetrically
Right long. Level
ZRSym filtered Right longitudinal level filtered symmetrically mm
symmetrically
Level long. Level
ZLSym filtered Left longitudinal level filtered symmetrically mm
symmetrically
Track centreline
ZDall long. Level filtered Track centreline longitudinal level filtered over a ±200 m base mm
over a long base
Right rail cant The angle of inclination of the right rail relative to the
CantR deg
horizontal
CantL Left rail cant The angle of inclination of the left rail relative to the horizontal deg
Relative Right rail The angle of inclination of the right rail relative to the
DCantR deg
cant reference rail
Relative Left rail The angle of inclination of the left rail relative to the reference
DCantL deg
cant rail
Campaigns of measurement and maintenance interventions

This section defines the database structure to comply with the aim of easing advance techniques
for the analysis of maintenance which minimise costs and optimise interventions.
In this regard, measurement campaign data represent a key point in the process of definition of
a cost-effective database. Measurement campaign data will include a number of different
actions to determine the used parameters to assess the state of the components of the railway
track.
On the other hand, a historical maintenance interventions database is linked to the campaigns.
This historical maintenance database will include all the parameters required to perform a RAMS
analysis from maintenance interventions, based on Infralert Project (Infralert Project, 2016)
developments. One the most relevant problems related to this type of analysis, detected during
the mentioned project, was based on the lack of maintenance data, particularly, times of
intervention and restoration that allow the calculation of the RAMS parameters according to IEC
61703 (IEC, 2016) included in the Table 4.
The whole dependencies schema is shown in the following picture, where it can be seen the
close relationships between measurement campaigns and historical maintenance interventions,
where a campaign of measurement could result in a required intervention which will be stored
and registered in a historical intervention registering file.
Complementary, feedback from track geometry parameters according to EN 13848 (CEN,2009)

is defined along with other potential measurement from other measurement data which should
be defined for the infrastructure manager according to its particular practices.
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Historical Maintenance Interventions

Measurement campaign PK Id
PK Id
Asset
Campaigns
Campaign_code Thr_level
PK Id Asset Asset_cond_befint
Abscissa_START Int_cause
Name Abscissa_END Defect
KM_START Int_type
KM_END Operations
MEAS_DIRECTION Asset_cond_aftint
WAY Info
Year Time of restoration
MEAS_date Time of intervention
Track geometry measurement data Data_start_intervention
MEAS_extension
PK Id MEAS_time Data_finish_intervention
Cost_of_intevention
Gauge Traffic_afection
Top/long level or right rail
Top/long. level of left rail
Superelevation Cant
Curvature 100
Curvature 30
Mean Gauge on x meters Measure track class
Ideal Gauge on x meters
Mean ideal gauge PK Id
Top/long. level of track centreline
Line/alignment level of track centreline Parameter_id
Routings
Cross level Class
Twist PK Id Odo_start
Cross-cross-level Odo_end
Cross-Cross level long waves Report_id
Filtered alignment of left rail Nodes_odo
Level long. Level filtered asymmetrically Odo_start
Level long. Level filtered symmetrically Odo_end
Cant Measure localisation
Relative cant
(...) PK Id
Odo
Type
Node
Other measurement data Entry_edge
Exit_edge
PK Id Switch
Slope
(...)
Figure 53 UML dependencies diagram
General data for campaigns

A preliminary table is developed to define and identify the different campaigns of
measurements and interventions. This table defines the name of campaign and identify by using
an identifier.
Table 32 General data for campaign

Id Campaign unique identifier
INCREMENTING
Name VARCHAR(255) Name of the campaign
Measurement campaign
Every one of the campaigns is compound by several measurement campaigns. In these

campaigns, a number of data are required to locate, identify the assets, time of campaigns, and
other parameters needed to collect all the information. All this data are collected in the
following table.
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Table 33 Track geometry parameters required in the database

Id INTEGER, PRIMARY KEY Campaign unique identifier
Code that identifies the campaign regarding the
Campaign_code INTEGER, FOREIGN KEY
measurement
Asset CHAR Asset/component measured
Abscissa_START FLOAT Distance of the node from section start
Distance of the node from section start (ending of the
Abscissa_END FLOAT
edge)
Km reference (starting of the edge of the
KM_START DECIMAL
measurement)
KM_END DECIMAL Km reference (ending of the edge)
MEAS_DIRECTION NUMBER Direction of measurement according to km references
WAY NUMBER(1,0) Lane measured
Year NUMBER(4,0) Year of the measurement
MEAS_DATE DATE Date of the measurement
MEAS_EXTENSION NUMBER Extension measured
MEAS_TIME TIME Time of the measurement
Historical maintenance interventions

A main table will contain information about the maintenance interventions carried out on the
infrastructures through their service life. This table could be considered one of the key points of
the cost-effective database since it includes all the required parameters to perform the RAMS
analysis based on maintenance intervention developed during the Infralert Project. This data
includes times for restoration and interventions, data of the maintenance interventions, asset
involved, cost of the interventions, root causes of failures, thresholds considered, operation
carried out or traffic affection during the interventions.
These data will allow better and more effective calculations to perform the RAMS analysis,
obtaining a set of real data from maintenance which could be used as key performance indicator
of the maintenance actions, allowing afterwards optimisation of the maintenance.
The following table collects all the data mentioned above.
Figure 54 Historical maintenance interventions database

INCREMENTING
Asset CHAR Asset or component subjected to intervention
Thr_level INTEGER, FOREIGN KEY Id of the threshold level
Asset_cond_befint VARCHAR(255) Asset condition found before the intervention
Int_cause VARCHAR(255) Real cause of the intervention
Defect INTEGER, FOREIGN KEY Defect found
Int_type INTEGER, FOREIGN KEY Type of intervention made
Operations VARCHAR(255) Operation carried out during the intervention
Asset_cond_aftint VARCHAR(255) Asset condition after the intervention
Info TEXT Other useful information about the intervention
Time spent on the restoration of the service level
Time of restoration INTEGER, FOREIGN KEY
of the line
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Time of intervention INTEGER, FOREIGN KEY Time spent on the intervention

Data_start_intervention DATE Data of the day in which starts the intervention
Data_finish_intervention DATE Data of the day in which finishes the intervention
Cost_of_intervention DECIMAL Costs of intervention in current values
Traffic_affection NUMBER Traffic affection in t-eq.
Routings
A definition table collects information regarding the route of measurement along the track. This
table will report the nodes and their respective odometric values.

INCREMENTING
Report_id INTEGER, FOREIGN KEY Id of the report
A list of nodes met during the measurement and the
Nodes_odo TEXT
odometric measure for each one of them
Odo_start DECIMAL(15,2) Initial odometric value of the measurement
Odo_end DECIMAL(15,2) Final odometric value of the measurement
Measures track class
The definition of track class is mandatory in order to classify the different lines measured during
a campaign. The following table shows the required data for that.
Figure 55 Measures track class definition

INCREMENTING
Parameter_id INTEGER, FOREIGN KEY Id of the parameter
Class INTEGER Class of the route
Odo_start DECIMAL(15,2) Initial odometric value of the measurement
Odo_end DECIMAL(15,2) Final odometric value of the measurement
Measures localisation
Finally, a table will collect the information regarding the localisation of measurements.
Figure 56 Measures localisation data

INCREMENTING
Odo INTEGER Odometer considered
Type VARCHAR(10) Type of node
Node INTEGER Node referred to the odo
Entry_edge INTEGER Edge from which started the measurement
Exit_edge INTEGER Edge in which the measurement ends
Switch INTEGER Parent switch of the node
Slope FLOAT(11,8)
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6.1.5 Implementation for an operational database

In this section is described the potential technologies for the implementation of the operational
database are described along with the more remarkable issues during the integration and
implementation of the database. It is considered a crucial point at the time of checking and
developing the database.
Technologies
The database has been planned in a way that allows the implementation as a LAMP solution by
using a set of different tools such as:
- Linux as an operating system

- Apache as a web server
- MySQL as a database server
- PHP or Python as a programming language
These technologies are particularly useful due to the possibility of interaction between
themselves, are free software correctly updated by the community and are used in a
professional level showing high quality and productivity standards.
Moreover, the possibility of implementing a database based on web server on-cloud

technologies is especially interesting from the point of view of the different infrastructure
managers which management systems are different between themselves. A web server system
could avoid the required adaptation and integration in the existing databases through the only
requirement of developing an API to read and import data from those existing databases.
The technologies Linux, Apache, and MySQL are external components to the database.
On the other hand, PHP is a language for programming server-side scripts included within the
HTML code, being free and multiplatform. The use of PHP is fundamental in the application.
Pages are dynamically generated on the server using the processed PHP scripts. Complementary
a set of PHP libraries located on the level access to data and that allow independence of the
application is developed. Dynamic pages make it possible to:
- Add modifications to the entire inventory of elements (rails, fastenings, sleepers,

maintenance operations, traffic, times of restoration, etc.) immediately reflected in the
mentioned listings and searches.
- Access control to the different sections of the application
- Validate of data entry by users in forms
- Check the various restrictions that can be made on operations.
- Listings of all the inventories and their searches. These pages change when you update
those inventories and searches allow for personalised listings.
- Dynamically redirect to different pages according to user conditions.
- Sending, according to the identification of the client browser, of different elements
- Access to the database where the application data and its modifications are located.
- Execute of automated tasks.
- Compute statistics based on the offers made.
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Style sheets are a formal language used to define the presentation of a structured document
written in HTML, XML, or XHTML. These can be inserted directly into the HTML code in a
separate stylesheet file linking to the main document. This method, in which the changes are
limited to a single file and furthermore, the size of XHTML documents is reduced in order no
longer to contain information about the style, is gaining in efficiency. Another advantage lies on
the fact that a change in the sheet of styles results in a general style change for the application,
otherwise one would have to revise one by one all the documents applying them the
corresponding styles.
The style sheets in the application have been used to present the web pages generated by the
server in a structured way, applying design to the application so that the browsers show the user
more pleasantly.
Details of implementation
General aspects
The information displayed should be formatted in HTML and generated by the code in PHP,
which gives functionality to the application. Therefore, the access of the database will be
considered a set of HTML pages with PHP scripts that runs the server.
The various classes used in the scripts that make up the application are classified into three
types:
- Related to the user interface, which show and get information from them
- They make the logic of the application
- Persistence Level Managers (retrieve and save database information)
Based on the layered structure, certain independence is achieved between the different parts
of the application; it is possible to refine the functioning of the data access functions or change
the DBMS used without worrying about the level of presentation or the logic of the program.
Moreover, it has been included a series of PHP libraries in charge of the level of persistence or
access to the data, so that the logical level of the application accesses these and not the
database itself.
The information entered by users to the system is collected through HTML forms. The form fields
are sent between pages using the POST method coding the data to send in HTML.
It could be highlighted the use of hidden fields in the HTML forms, so that the application passes
through own information from one page to another.
User profiles
Different types of users of the database, depending on the permissions obtained or assigned at
any given time, are defined. The database, depending on the type of user that uses it,
automatically will adapt automatically the interface with the appropriate functionality to the
level of permissions of that user. Therefore, to any user not that accesses the application will be
redirected to the main page. As follows, it is reported the different types of users are required:
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A basic user, who will be able to consult any information on any of the following components of
the database. This type of user will get information about components, maintenance actions,
facilities, or structures. Other functionalities will be the request to register a new component
and check the status of your registration request. A basic user can also modify data and to make
any type of consultation on any given work order of discharge (responsible, components, orders,
order dates, project, hours spent, and money spent).
The responsible user who shares with the basic user the functionalities of the database and,
additionally, will obtain the permissions to add and remove some of the different fields of the
structure of the database, creation of new sections, modify the existing ones, and the possibility
of granting license for new basic users.
Finally, a system administrator will be in charge of all the above and apart. It will be possible to
have access to the administration part of permissions for each of the users as well as the
registration to a new user within the system. This user will also be responsible for registering a
list of components by massive additions if the file containing them is correctly created under the
agreed structure.
6.2 Maintenance requirements for different steel grades

As a basic and mandatory requirement for maintenance, all technologies used today
shall be applicable to any rail steel, independent of its metallurgy and hardness.
6.2.1 Inspection
Maintenance starts with inspection, applying non-destructive methods such as
ultrasonic and eddy current (see e.g. section 5.4). These technologies depend on
material properties that are not specified in any standard and usually also not in
customer specifications, such as magnetic permeability and dynamic yield modulus.
Both properties are frequency dependent and change by elastic and plastic deformation
that happens at and below the rail head surface, induced by the wheel-rail contact
forces. For pearlitic rail steels, there is a neglectable dependence of these properties on
the rail hardness or chemical composition (only internal references available, not sure
to present this data here). This allows using common inspection methods straight away,
maybe needing small adaptions in calibration or tuning.
Rail steels having microstructures different to pearlite must be assessed separately to
make sure that the inspection technology is suited and provides reliable results. The
biggest deviation is for austenitic manganese steel used in turnouts, which is
paramagnetic, not ferromagnetic like pearlites. In addition, the microstructure of cast
manganese steel consists of large grains, so that both magnetic as well as ultrasonic
testing is not applied in practice.
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6.2.2 Maintenance technologies

Maintenance activities for rail focus on profile restoration by machining and repair of
localized defects by welding. All technologies must be applicable but may need for
adjustment to the rail metallurgy. In particular, welding processes are used in a similar
manner for all chemical compositions, but the parameters may need to be tuned and
verified depending on the rail chemistry. As an example, aluminothermic welding of high
strength alloyed rail steels containing significant amount of Chromium and/or Vanadium
require longer preheating and special care about the cooling after welding, which can
be controlled by insulating covers.
A special case are grooved rails used in embedded track, where re-profiling of entire
curves is done by deposit welding followed by reprofiling to a designated head profile.
This requires low levels of Carbon and Manganese, which are met for the R200 and R220
as-rolled rail steels as well as for the heat-treated R290GHT.
6.2.3 Quality of machining

Chapter 5.2 shows a number of examples, where deviations from normal practices were
present and the requirements of specifications were not met. Chapter 6.3 explains how
to avoid these unusual defects.
While wear and head-checking are clearly understood today, the squat defects still
require research in order to get a complete picture of their initiation and development.
Many squat cases address an influence of the steel grade, supported by field findings,
but neglect any other influences. Besides that, it is shown in Deliverable D2.1, chapter
6.7, that a bainitic rail, which has a high resistance to crack formation, may also develop
squats.
In contrast to focusing on the steel grade only, Jörg et. al. have shown that a squat defect
must be considered in a system analysis approach (Jörg 2015b). Usually, squat defects
initiate in rails in a low-wear regime and where the contact patch is small and the load-
transfer between wheel and rail takes place in a concentrated way in a small area of the
rail head, which is not beneficial for the overall system anyway. In these cases, i.e. in an
adverse system situation, which however was created by decision the choice of very
hard rails (pearlitic or bainitic) may not be optimum, except if a preventive grinding is
performed, which will remove the fatigued surface and widen the contact patch. In spite
of intensive research, no grade resistant to wear and head checks and squats has yet
been found, and no recommendation for the design of such grades is evident. Today it
is recommended to study the wheel-rail contact of any individual case in order to
increase the width of the running band by machining and define an appropriate
specification for the profile shape and tolerances for machining.
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6.2.4 Effectiveness to service life and total costs

Many of the previous chapters show data on the performance of different rail steels
with respect to wear, rolling contact fatigue, corrugations and squat development. It is
a clear picture for pearlitic rail steels that the damage per accumulated tonnage is
decreasing with increasing hardness. Starting from R260, the wear resistance of high
strength rails increases by factors between two to three for R350HT and up to six for
R400HT (Jörg 2015a, Prettner 2015, Pointner 2009). The same trend is confirmed for
rolling contact fatigue damage by head-checking.
Altogether, harder pearlitic rail steels provide the basis to increase the total rail life and
reduce the machining requirements significantly, leading to notable reductions of the
life-cycle costs. Quantification of the benefit is a matter of the application depending
mainly on the track curvature and the expected total service life of the entire track
structure. Detailed examples were e.g. given by Marschnig et at. (Marschnig 2006).
Bainitic rail steels were also addressed, showing no head-checking at reasonable wear
resistance comparable to R260. This is sufficient for wide curves and tangents with the
advantage that no machining is required to remove any surface crack.
6.3 Grinding and lubrication quality

The grinding technology which is studied is the common grinding train with multiple rotating
grinding stones described in Figure 57 (left: principle of rotating grinding stones; right: typical
ground surface). Each grinding stone creates a grinding facet and grinding marks.
Figure 57 Grinding stones (left) and ground rail surface (right)
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Laboratory simulations
Caër (2017) carried out a laboratory simulation of rail grinding with conditions close to track
grinding. 3 rail grades were tested: R260, R370CrHT, B360 bainitic grade.
The results were, for the R260 and R370CrHT grades:
• the specific power and the surface temperature increase with the grinding depth
• with the same grinding depth, the surface temperature is higher with R370CrHT grade
than with R260 grade
• when the surface temperature is close to and above the austenitisation temperature we
observe the formation of a martensite layer
• the thickness of the martensite layer increases with the grinding depth; at low grinding
depths there is no martensite formation
• if there is no martensite layer the surface residual stresses are tensile
• if there is a martensite layer the surface residual stresses are compressive.
For the B360 grades the results are similar, except that there is no martensite layer, but a
different surface metallurgical modification, which hasn’t been clarified.
Figure 58 shows the relation between the martensite thickness and the specific power for the
grades R260 and R370CrHT (= MHH). It shows that, with the same specific power, the martensite
will be thicker with R370CrHT than with R260.
Figure 58 Correlation between the specific power and the martensite thickness
Uhlmann (2015) also carried out a laboratory simulation of rail grinding (grade R260) and
observed an increase of the martensite layer thickness when the depth of cut increases.
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Discussion – GIS defects

We can now propose the following initiation mechanism for the GIS defects described in chapter
5.2.3 :
• the grinding operation increases the rail surface temperature, which exceeds the
austenitisation temperature; the rail surface will then transform into martensite
• on standard grades (R260, R260Mn), this thinner martensite layer will be more easily
removed by the trains
• on hard grades (R350HT, R370CrHT), this thicker martensite layer will be partly
removed, but some martensite patches will be crushed into the rail surface
• cracks will initiate at the martensite/pearlite interface, propagate and create GIS
defects.
The formation of martensite is easier with hard grades than with standard grades.
There is no martensite formation at low grinding depths.
To avoid the initiation of GIS defects, it is then recommended that the rail temperature during
the last grinding pass does not exceeds the austenitisation temperature (around 730°C). This
can be obtained for example with a reduced grinding depth.
The high rails in curves are often ground with an anti-head check profile (see Figure 59), where
steel is removed from the top of the gauge corner, so there is no wheel-rail contact on this
“gauge corner relief” band. This results in an increase of the stresses on the top of the rail head,
where GIS defects initiate. These increased stresses facilitate the initiation and propagation of
these defects. It is therefore recommended to limit the width of the gauge corner relief, but no
limit value can be given now.
Figure 59 Rail ground with an anti-head check profile
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It was observed in many cases the initiation of cracks with periodic intervals corresponding
roughly to the same distance as that between the deeper grinding marks. There can be two
explanations for that:
• deep grinding marks can initiate cracks

• the highest wheel-rail contact stresses are located on the tops of grinding corrugation,
which facilitates cracks in the martensite layer and the subsequent crack propagation.
It is therefore recommended to avoid deep grinding marks and obtain low grinding corrugation,
but no limit values can be given now.
All these recommendations are especially important for hard rails.
Discussion – Flaking defects

From the initiation mechanisms described in chapter 5.2.2, we can now propose the following
recommendations in order to avoid flaking defects:
• Grinding practices do not introduce large facets on the active gauge corner
• Care must be taken to avoid deep grinding marks on the active gauge corner
• A minimum amount of lubricant is applied (no over-lubrication of the active gauge
corner).
But no limit values for facet width and grinding mark depth can be given at this point.
All these recommendations are especially important for hard rails.
6.4 Analysis of cost data
6.4.1 Requirement for accurate failure cost data

When assessing the impact of proposed new technologies on the life cycle cost of an asset, all
significant costs associated with that asset must be considered. Asset failures as outlined in
section 6.1 of this document will incur financial costs to the operator, these costs will consist of:
• Direct costs of repairing/replacing the asset
• Performance costs due to delaying trains – these will vary widely according to the
section of track in question
o unplanned disruption
o speed restrictions
• Potential regulatory fines
Principles
To understand the costs associated with different failure modes we need to undertake the
following:
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• assign identified failure modes into standard classifications.
• classify different “operational” parts of the railway networks according to the

performance/cost impact of asset failures.
o e.g. in the UK, Network Rail categorises the track into 5 “criticality bands”
according to the delay and cost impact of failures – the network is broken down
into c300 “Strategic Route Sections” (SRS) that have largely homogenous
operational characteristics. Each SRS maps to one of the criticality bands:
Band Definition
Band 1 SRS with costs per incident more than two times the
mean
Band 2 SRS with costs per incident between the mean and two
times the mean
Band 3 SRS with costs per incident between the mean and half
the mean
Band 4 SRS with costs per incident between half the mean and
one quarter the mean
Band 5 SRS with costs per incident less than one quarter the
mean
Figure 60 Definition of Network Rail’s criticality bands
• Calculate “as-is” baseline failure rates for each failure mode classification for different
asset types,
o These should be based on either time or usage (passage of vehicles), whichever

is most relevant.
o Need to differentiate between different sub-types of asset (e.g. UIC60 vs legacy
Jointed Rail types).
o Need to calculate different rates for different criticality tracks.
• Calculate average delay cost per failure for each delay type in the different criticalities.
o it is recognised that while the average delay cost does not represent the full
possible range, this methodology is applicable to a generic, global analysis
calculating high level changes in outputs. Catastrophic events represent a
breakdown in controls frameworks and are therefore excluded from this
analysis.
• Extract (from maintenance work records) the cost of repairing different faults.
o note – this is not always straightforward as reactive repairs to failures are often
undertaken at short notice, and so restrictions on efficient access and planning
mean that they cost more than the same work would on average.
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6.4.2 Example calculation of failure and cost relationships in Network

Rail
Network Rail strategically utilises whole life cost models to determine predicted long term spend
requirements across the different assets and the devolved routes. One of the tools that is used
to do this is VTISM (Vehicle Track Interaction System Model).
VTISM models the condition and performance of the track asset and its response to traffic and
different levels/types of investment (e.g. maintenance and renewal strategies). Outputs of
VTISM include predicted track condition measures which include:
• Track Quality
• Rail defects
• Track Geometry faults

VTISM uses these calculated measures in conjunction with empirically derived relationships to
determine an expected number of Service Affecting Failures due to the condition of the track
asset.
Figure 61 VTISM Data inputs
VTISM is fed with data from a wide range of corporate sources as shown below.
Calculation of delay costs associated with asset failure

The highlighted section in figure 33 above shows how failure and delay data from the Network
Rail TRUST database feeds into the model.
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For each strategic route section (SRS) a five-year failure history is used to determine:
• Average number of service-affecting failures (SAF)
• Average delay cost per service affecting failure
Cost
Recorded per
SRS SAF SAF
A.01 1642 7936
A.02 21 5557
A.03 1490 18267
A.04 591 7590
A.05 686 3616
A.06 573 7586
A.07 1295 10146
A.08 21 883
A.09 1005 8793
A.10 93 921
A.11 265 1064
A.12 1167 5635
A.13 216 2421
A.14 449 4378
A.99 59 2471
Figure 62 Example of SRSs and Average Costs per SAFs

(Note this table only shows a small subset of the c300 SRSs)
Where the historic number of failures on a strategic route section is considered too low to be a
representative sample, a regression analysis of mean cost vs effective EMGTPA (a measure of
usage) across the whole range of SRSs is used to provide a more meaningful estimate.
The figures in Figure 624 relate to all asset failure types (not just track) as this gives us a larger
population of failures for each route section and more confidence in the calculated cost per
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incident. To allow for the fact that different failures across different asset types a set of global
adjustment factors has been produced to scale the mean cost per failure according to failure
type. As can be seen in the table below there are currently only five classifications of track failure
used in the delay attribution database.
Figure 63 Existing Network Rail asset failure classifications used in delay attribution
Combining these datasets means that for a given failure type on a given route section we can
estimate the delay costs that would be incurred (example below):
Figure 64 Example calculation of cost per rail failure
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Calculation of repair costs associated with asset failure

VTISM does not currently calculate explicit volumes of work or costs associated with repairing
track failures. Instead, track condition data is fed into a separate maintenance model which
generates predictions of overall amounts of work required, not differentiating between reactive
and proactive activities. Network Rail uses ELLIPSE as its master source of maintenance activity
and cost data. As stated earlier, reactive maintenance/repairs are often more expensive than
planned interventions – this is not currently separated in our work database and so further
analysis would be required to generate relationships that define the cost ratio between the two.
It is worth noting here that costs of doing the same activities across different parts of the
network vary widely due to geographical distances, workforce availability, operational
constraints and many other variables. To this end, maintenance data is collated and reported at
a granular level, so that these differences can be observed, understood and built into financial
and engineering planning processes.
Conclusion and recommendations

Network Rail holds detailed information on:
• track condition and failures

• train performance/delay minutes
• the cost of repair works and maintenance
Currently the links between these systems vary in their reliability (e.g. the repair work and costs
associated with a rail defect can be easily tracked, whereas connecting the delay minutes
associated with a geometry fault may require manual inspection of the data sources).
To simplify and improve the robustness of the process, the source systems should be mapped
and the best method of linking fault-delay-cost recorded.
Applicability of methodology to other operators

It is envisaged that other infrastructure operators face similar issues with data existing in various
systems. The creation of a framework model that defines and holds the links between the
different types of information could be generated and populated with data from operators’
source systems. This would mean that cross-operator information would be stored in the same
format allowing comparison and deeper analysis.
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7 Optimized track support

The chapter starts with an overview of existing slabtrack solutions in section 7.1. To bring the
development further, the chapter then summarizes the main conclusions from the research on
track support in In2Rail in section 7.2. Section 7.3 then investigates possibilities to optimise
under sleeper pads for enhanced dynamical characteristics of the track structure. Another
option to achieve this is the use of sub-ballast layers. In2Track has here focused on bituminous
layers. Requirements for such layers in relation to regulations for asphalt on highways are
investigated in-depth in section 7.5 and in Annex 15. In section 7.5 additional testing of the
influence and characteristics of asphalt layers are taken further. Here, the main aim is to
investigate differences in deflection characteristics towards standard ballasted tracks.
7.1 Exhaustive analysis of existing track supporting structures

The interest for reducing maintenance cost and providing a higher quality and stable support for
the rail, have led to increased use of different ballastless track systems. Among the several track
types, multiple classifications may be observed regarding the rail support type, material for the
bearing layer (concrete or asphalt), resilient levels, etc.
In order to analyse the existing ballastless track systems, Table 1 to Table 3 summarise the main
characteristics of the most widely known system according to their prefabrication degree. This
classification will be of great interest for the subsequent proposal of a continuously supported
modular track to be developed in following deliverables.
Concrete is the common denominator for the bearing layer of the major systems. The durability
and stability provided by the concrete slab is considered a basic requirement. This slab is usually
cast on-site, embedding the sleepers (RHEDA 2000, STEDEF, ZÜBLIN, LVT), or the fastening
systems (FFC, BES, BTE) within the fresh concrete or placing them once it is hardened (EDILON,
BBERS). In some cases, the sleepers and concrete slab are merged in a unique precast concrete
element (BÖGL, ÖBB-PORR, SHINKANSEN), reducing noticeably the required construction steps.
In a few designs however, the sleepers are laying on the top of an asphalt layer (ATD, GETRAC,
SATO, FFYS, BTD).
The criteria for adopting one or another ballastless track system vary according to multiple
requirements. Tracks inside the stations may require lower noise and vibration emissions, while
it expedites cleaning operations and evacuation. Besides, tunnels present some other
requirements, associated with system height reductions to minimize excavation volumes. On
the contrary, in large bridge structures, load reduction and simplified systems are predominant.
Overall, the main drawback in the wider use of ballastless track systems is the greater initial
investment, compared to ballast track. However, there is no consensus in the literature about
the ratio between these two track types: it ranges from 1.2 up to 4.0, depending largely in the
line layout. In case of tunnels, the ratio will be closer to the lower bound, and in case of large
span bridges with monolithic tracks (RHEDA, EDILON, STEDEF, etc.) the upper one; tracks over
embankments present average values.
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Regarding the maintenance costs, the experience with much of the systems is reduced.
Moreover, taking into account that the traffic intensity or mixed traffic (freight + passengers) of
each line is different, these costs cannot be inferred universally. However, the reduced
maintenance cost of ballastless tracks is generally acknowledged and according to CEDEX (2008),
it can be as much as 30% lower compared to ballast track according to the Japanese experience,
or even lower. Therefore, a whole life cycle cost (LCC) analysis can prove the economic feasibility
to adopt ballastless track systems.
In addition, repair or replacement possibility and cost are of paramount importance. Although
the ballastless track requires a great initial investment, the following reduction of maintenance
costs may present it as an economically competitive alternative. However, in many cases, the
uncertainty about how to address the repair of this type of tracks causes the rejection of its
implementation. The embedded rail systems (EDILON) do not require almost any maintenance,
but the geometric corrections may be complicated. Some other on-site designs (PACT, BES) are
not widely used due to noticeable maintenance on the fastening systems and difficulties for
geometric corrections. Usually as the degree of prefabrication of the track system increases, it
becomes easier to replace some of the components. However, if the components are embedded
in fresh concrete or monolithically cast on-site, this will be more problematic.
Nevertheless, there are some other issues that must be faced to ensure a satisfactory
performance. The ballast pick-up phenomenon is a key parameter to decide whether it is
necessary to implement a ballastless track or not. For high speed (V>300Km/h) lines there is no
doubt about its adequacy; for a range between 300 Km/h and 250 Km/h it is advisable, especially
in tracks with a high traffic intensity and degradation of the ballast level expected to be
appreciable. For lower speeds, between 250 Km/h and 200 Km/h, the economic issues are
preponderant.
The following tables (Table 1 to Table 3), on the basis of Lichtberger (2011), CEDEX (2008),
Capacity for Rail (2014), Michas (2012) and Rivas (2011), present a benchmark of the different
topics mentioned above. This quantitative assessment should be weighted according to the
criteria adopted for each project according to the orography, deadlines, vehicle speed, etc.
Mainly, the key parameters that tip the scales are the vehicle speed, the ease of construction,
reduced maintenance and possibility of repair. These ballastless track systems have been
analysed and their adequacy to the established parameters is assessed accordingly: good (***),
normal (**), bad (*). This analysis has followed the comparative matrix of slab track systems
studied in order to select the best option for the Sarriá’s tunnel, within the High Speed Line
between Barcelona and the French border, shown in Cortina and López Pita (2013). The
ballasted track has been taken as a reference. Its adequacy for high speed may not always be
optimal due to ballast pick-up (**); whereas it is cheap from the point of view of its construction
(***); the maintenance expenses are high (*) although the repair operations are easy to execute
(***). Therefore, the proposal to be developed within Deliverable D3.2, will be focused on the
design of a precast ballast less track solution for high speed, where the modularity for simple
construction and replacement processes will be essential.
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Table 1 On site ballastless track systems
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Table 2 Partially prefabricated ballastless track systems
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Table 3 Fully prefabricated(1) ballastless track systems
(1)
Fully prefabricated systems may require some grout or cement-asphalt emulsion (CAE)
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injected between the prefabricated elements and the Hydraulically Bounded Layer (HBL), to
ensure that the element rests correctly.
7.2 Lessons from, and extensions to the work in In2Rail
7.2.1 Relevant research in In2Rail

Track support was mainly investigated in In2Rail deliverables D3.3 and D3.4. This summary
focuses on these Deliverable reports. In addition, some studies on the influence of support
conditions on noise and vibrations where included in D3.3, and support of switches and
crossings was part of the scope in In2Rail Work Package 2.
The In2Rail Deliverables D3.3 and D3.4 relate to the two In2Rail tasks WP3.2 “Optimized ballast
track system” and WP3.4 “Hybrid track systems”. Objectives of these tasks (as indicated in the
In2Rail Description of Work) were:
1. Establish the current technical status of potential track form enhancements
2. Identification of relevant key performance indicators (KPIs) and potential to

influence key KPIs by innovative solutions
3. Evaluation of selected modifications including simulations and physical testing

towards an optimized track system
4. Logistics and production considerations and LCC estimates of short and long-term
benefits
5. Selection of track elements (including transition zones) for further consideration

6. Holistic assessment of enhanced solutions
7. Establishment of evaluation framework and recommendations for

solutions/concepts to be further investigated in Shift2Rail
Here, items 6 and 7 relate to Deliverable D3.4 and the other targets relate mainly to D3.3.
Starting with D3.3, the objective was to investigate how track systems can be optimised. The
report set out with an overview of recent development in track design. Thirteen high-profile
problem areas for railway tracks are then assessed in an overview manner with focus on the
influence of track type / track design. Five areas were then selected for in-depth investigations.
These areas were
• Differential track settlement –in particular track modifications to reduce differential

vertical settlements
• Lateral track stability and lateral track resistance –numerical simulations were carried
out to assess the influence of track characteristics on the risk of track buckling.
• Ballast flight –different solutions were analysed.
• Transition zones –a recent superstructure innovation was investigated.

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• Rail corrugation –numerical simulations were used to investigate the influence of track
design parameters on corrugation growth in a small radius curve.
Investigations included logistics and production considerations. An important part of Deliverable

D3.3 was the identification of key performance indicators (KPIs). For the different areas the
identified KPIs were
• Differential track settlement

(the chapter includes a qualitative assessment of potential modifications towards
these KPIs)
o (Evolution of) measured track geometry quality
§ Variabilities of settlement and stiffness along the track

§ Rail support stiffness and its variability along the track length
o Ease of maintenance by traditional methods

o Adverse implications on other track components
o Sustainability
• Lateral track stability

(the chapter includes a qualitative assessment of potential modifications towards
these KPIs)
o Number of track buckles (normalised per time per track length)
§ Overall lateral track resistance
§ Track irregularities or local reduction in track resistance
§ Difference between actual stress-free temperature (SFT) and

prescribed SFT
§ Quality of maintenance
o Ease of maintenance by traditional methods

o Adverse implications on other track components
o Sustainability
• Ballast flight
o Probability of ballast flight at operating speed and conditions

o Installation time
o Average maintenance time
o Life Cycle Cost/Initial cost per km

o Aggregated LCA indicator
o Aggregated (health and safety) risk assessment
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• Transition zones
o Global track stiffness
o Track stiffness variations
o Track stiffness gradients

o (Evolution of) measured track geometry quality
o Vehicle base response
o Track observations and dynamics response
• Rail corrugation
o Rail roughness
o Wheel/rail friction magnitudes

o (Numerically predicted) magnitude of wear generated around the observed
corrugation wavelength
Some of the main conclusions from D3.3 of In2Rail were:
• Technical, LCC and RAMS characteristics of existing slabtrack systems show the complex
picture in comparing systems.
• Under sleeper pads, modified sleeper shape, fibre reinforced ballast and the re-use of
“life expired” ballast are shown to have some potential benefits in terms of the key
performance indicators related to differential settlements
• A method for using continuous track stiffness measurements to establish root causes
for track geometry degradation was developed.
• A method to use numerical simulations to analyse the influence of various parameters

on the risk of track buckling and quantify this influence by equivalent temperature
increases was developed.
• A first study of ballast flight prevention solutions has been carried out. Further studies
in Shift2Rail are proposed.
• A method for transition zone mitigation was investigated and it was shown that stiffness
gradients were not prevented, but that the loading of sleepers in the transition zone
was low.
• For corrugation in sharp curves, properties of the rail pad, vehicle speed, transverse rail
geometry and friction levels were found to be important.
• Relevant LCC and RAMS parameters have been quantified and a model for estimations
has been performed.
In2Rail Deliverable D3.4 carried out an overall technical ranking of different (slab) track systems.
The overview technical assessment consists of the following steps
• Selection of assessment criteria

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• Assignment of weights to the different decision criteria
• Evaluations of the systems toward the decision criteria

The overall technical ranking is then essentially obtained as a summation of the weighted scores
for the different criteria. This ranking procedure is intended to aid in the selection of suitable
slab track systems. It was noted that the methodology also involves potential pitfalls that need
caution. Some of these are:
• Double counting of features
• Vague criteria
• Non-linear weighting
• Small difference in crucial factors

These issues are further discussed in In2Rail D3.4. In addition, also potential pitfalls for track
system ranking based on in-depth assessments featuring numerical simulations and/or
(laboratory or field) experiments exist. Such potential pitfalls include
• Difficulties to translate assessment results to operational consequences
• Inabilities to perform full system analyses
• Weighting of criteria
These issues are also further discussed in In2Rail D3.4.
7.2.2 Lessons from and extensions to the work in In2Rail

In2Rail has laid a foundation in identifying key areas and carrying out in-depth analyses of five
of these. In particular, the identified KPIs in these areas should be valuable for assessing future
developments.
In2Rail also highlighted the inherent complexity in assessing different track form solutions and
selecting between these. It highlighted the importance of identifying the most important issues
for the current situation and track system and then carrying out analyses related to these issues
while gathering more information to improve both analyses and the demands that should be
put on the track solutions.
In2Rail finished in May 2018. The relevant Deliverables D3.3 and D3.4 were finalised late 2017
and in the spring of 2018. As In2Track was more than half-way at that time, the transfer of
knowledge was not ideal. For example, the identified KPIs have arrived too late to play any role
in a structured assessment in In2Track.
That being said, In2Track has extended the work in In2Rail by making complimentary analyses
to those in In2Rail that are more in-depth and/or focus on other aspects than the In2Rail studies.
Examples in this chapter are sections 7.1 and 7.3. The work has also been extended by making
studies of other topics than those investigated in In2Rail. An example in this chapter is section
7.3. There are also many other examples in other chapters and in Deliverables D3.2 and D3.3.
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7.3 Investigation of USP for optimization of transition zone
7.3.1 Scope
Speed and traffic demand from railway transportation show an increasing trend. In order for
railway operators to meet increasing demands and yet be a competitive railway system they
must be sustainable. One of the important criteria to stay sustainable is to have lower life cycle
(LCC) costs. Several statistics report higher track geometry degradation in transition zones and
maintenance of these zones has a large share of LCC. One of the reasons behind the accelerated
track degradation is wear and breakage of ballast in transition zones due to sudden stiffness
changes and due to ballast vibrations. Furthermore, high rates of ballast wear can affect the
safety of railway operations. Optimized track support solutions can have positive impact on track
degradation in transition zones. Under sleeper pads (USP) as supporting elastic elements are
being used to decrease stress on ballast.
In this study, numerical models with and without USP materials are built for the selected
transition zone. Dynamic load from train passages and impact hammer load are simulated by
numerical models. Thus, USP material effect on vibrational behaviour of track is analysed. For
validation of simulations, several experiments are carried out on the selected transition zone. In
addition to validation experiments, vibration mitigation experiments are done. With the results
of the latter, investigation of the current situation of transition zones is aimed for.
7.3.2 Introduction
Background of study
Track geometry degradation is one of the mostly encountered and costly problems for
infrastructure managers reported by several studies. One of them is presented in the
INNOTRACK project, a study introduces a table (Table 34) which shows the most common
infrastructure problems and their reporting frequency or in other words how often railway
system faces the specific problem for a component (Innotrack D1.4.6 (2009)).
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Table 34 Identification of problems and their reporting frequency (Innotrack D1.4.6

(2009))
Nr. Component Problem Reporting Frequency
1 Track Bad track geometry 75%
2 Rail Cracks and fatigue 75%
3 Switches and Crossings Switch wear 75%
4 Substructure Unstable ground 62,5%
5 Joints Insulating joint failure 50%
6 Rail Corrugations 37,5%
7 Rail Wear 37,5%
8 Structures Major line closures 25%
9 Fasteners Worn/missing pads 25%
10 Sleepers Renewal optimization 25%
In a general perspective, there are several factors have individual parts, one of them is loads of
vehicle on rail to degrade track structure. (Xu et al. (2013)) If the root causes of these factors are
investigated, it can be claimed that understanding of vibration (and radiated noise) caused by
the railway vehicle passages and thus effect of their dynamic loads should be preliminary effort
to avoid adverse impact of them. Illustration of vibration and radiated noise under wheel
passage is given in Figure 65 (Thompson (2009)).
Figure 65 Vibration and noise radiation by wheel passage(Thompson (2009))

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Ballast fouling is one of the most important driver to track deterioration. Acceleration of track
geometry degradation is caused by several reasons. In Figure 66 the relation of vehicle loads
thus train induced vibration and its influence on process of degradation is illustrated by a
flowchart. (Selig & Waters (1994))
Figure 66 Flowchart presenting the consequential relation of track degradation and

vehicle traffic (Selig & Waters (1994))
On the other hand, deterioration occurs in different rates in different sections of the track
because of the structural and material variety. Thus, it should be covered in an individual
manner in terms of location to provide solutions that are more precise.
Transition zones in railway structures are built for compensation of discontinuities in track.
Bridges, tunnels, passages between slab and ballasted tracks and turnouts, cause these
discontinuities. For this reason, some of the track parameters of dynamic behaviour such as
stiffness drastically change in the transition zones. .(Hölscher & Meijers (2007), Kerr & Bathurst
(2001))
It should be mentioned that two main reasons lie behind the accelerated degradation in
transition zones (Paixão, Fortunato, & Calçada (2013)):
1- Track stiffness changes suddenly because of different support structures that has
different properties in mechanical aspect. So that deflections on two sides of zone will be
different and accordingly dynamic loads will differ. This case is illustrated in Figure 67(Federal
Railroad Administration (2008)).
2- Soft side of track settles more than stiff part do. Thus, differential settlement
occurring in stiff part (as it is designed to have less settlement) leads to increase in dynamic
loads over time and in turn serious geometry problems may arise.
Figure 67 Illustration of transition zone and abrupt change in stiffness

(Tzanakakis(2013))
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As in the above-mentioned section, it is an obvious necessity to find optimum track stiffness to

obtain an optimum track performance. Rather low values will cause track settlement with
significant stress increase in rails. On the contrary, exceeding values of stiffness will increase the
dynamic interaction and loads leading the accelerated deterioration of track geometry
(PUZAVAC, POPOVIĆ, & LAZAREVIĆ (2012). On the other hand, EU legislation does not have any
recommendation or dictation that clearly mentions the optimum stiffness and it does not
include uniform stiffness along the track in the process of track certification. However, UIC 719
Code (Union Internationale des Chemins de Fer (2008)) includes some suggestion for
construction works and considers transition zones as to refrain from sudden changes in stiffness.
It is stated in a report (Hunt (2005)) experiences demonstrate that less maintenance efforts are
required for modern lines constructed with the UIC Code 719. This encourages the design of a
smooth transition zone for optimized track structure. Also, these facts provide the motivation
for specific solution development for specific zones since they differ in the sense of their
dynamics behaviour as mentioned.
Under Sleeper Pads (USP) are special materials which are placed between sleeper and ballast,
see Figure 68. USPs, polyurethane based materials, were designed to reduce lateral and vertical
ballast degradation giving rise to geometrical faults on track.
Ballasted track is mostly used railway type in the world. As mentioned, the ballast breakage and
wear leads to track geometry problems. By choosing USP with adequate elastic, elasto-plastic
or plastic properties, the following targets are intended to be reached:
• Increasing the rail bending line of the ballast superstructure

• Mitigation of vibrations in the ballast and to the surroundings
• Lowering the contact pressure on the top ballast layer
Figure 68 Sleeper with USP implementation (Loy & Augustin (2015) )
Literature search
In several papers and studies, USPs have been investigated both experimentally and
numerically. USP installed test in-situ has been carried out at Kiesen in Switzerland Railways
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(Schneider, Bolmsvik, & Nielsen (2011)). Attention was given to the influence of USPs for vertical
track degradation. Dynamic responses of track under the effect of vehicle passages was analysed
and measured and it is concluded that USP has positive impact on track geometry degradation
rate.
Behaviour of transition zone with USPs has been investigated in a research study at Chalmers
University of Technology (Jansson & Nielsen (2012)). USPs are installed in transition zone which
is special slab track to ballasted track area. Study results suggest that USPs improve the
behaviour in stiffness transition zone when load distribution rails (these rails connect sleepers
on ballasted side to slab track for improved load distribution) are removed. However, additional
track geometry measurements are recommended by authors for in-depth analysis of
consequences.
A slab track and a ballasted track test section were separately built in a laboratory environment
in a study done by Croatian Railways (Lakušic, Ahac, & Haladin (2010)). These test tracks were
tested both with and without USPs. Loading procedure in the experiment was dropping a load
over the top of rail to analyse the vibration attenuation effect of USPs in structure. Reduction of
values of vibration velocities (third-octave spectrums) were found between 10.6–17.4 dB in the
range of 1 Hz–1000 Hz and in the range of 5 Hz–250 Hz. It is stated in the conclusion that
vibration levels are decreased by the implementation of USPs.
According to a study (Kaewunruen & Remennikov (2015)) on a heavy haul line in which USP is
installed in Australia. USP has stabilizing effect on track geometry. It has been found that under
the effect of impact loading and mixed traffic, USP has shown a good performance. In another
study (Kaewunruen & Remennikov (2006)) impact hammer test and modal analysis are utilized
to monitor track properties such as rail fastening and broken sleepers. Impact hammer test was
proven to be beneficial for extracting desired track properties in the study.
Two test tracks were constructed for analysing the influence of USPs in the Czech Republic. One
test track was in a curve for investigating rail corrugation development and other in a turnout
to see track geometry degradation. It has been emphasized in the study that long term
monitoring is needed. Also, track sections with USPs have damping effect for ballast layer. The
evidence that sleeper acceleration levels are slightly increased supports the damping effect. One
another cause of the increase is softer supporting structure under sleeper (Hruzíková et al.
(2009)).
Numerical modelling and experimental study of a transition zone is studied in (Alves Ribeiro et
al.(2015)). The finite element model in the study includes vehicle track interaction and
substructure parameters. Validation and calibration of the model is done by field tests. The
study suggests that using soft USP has significant effect on track dynamics. Parametric
investigation yields that USPs lead to reduction in geometry degradation rates.
In another FE model /experimental study (Arlaud, Costa D’Aguiar, & Balmes (2016)) the focus
was to analyse low frequency behaviour of a high speed line. A fast frequency domain FEM
model was established. Model results are compared to impact hammer experiments in
frequency domain.
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Recently in C4Rail Project (Capacity4Rail D 12.1 (2017)) funded by EU under the Seventh
Framework Programme, several field tests and finite element model developments for the study
of railway track dynamics have been carried out. The study in the project seeks mainly to
investigate the impact of very high-speed trains (that is up to 400 km/h). In addition,
identification of areas that need improvement in very high-speed operation is one of the
objectives of the study. Numerical simulations featuring a novel methodology for model
reduction of the model and loading in the form of a single lumped bogie structure are carried
out. Field tests (without USP) are done on high-speed lines and the model is built according to
chosen track section parameters. The track model is adjusted with different combinations of
USPs and rail pads with respect to their stiffness to investigate their effect on track dynamics
performance. Results show that although USPs have a positive effect, selecting USPs must be
done carefully since it introduces a trade-off between ballast accelerations and sleeper-rail
vibrations.
Aim and objectives of the research

To sum up, achieving improved Life Cycle Cost with regard to maintenance activities it is required
and worth to study vibrational behaviour in transition zones. Fulfilment of improved LCC and
enhancement of track performance is also a significant task of this work package. Starting from
this point the general concept of this study is to investigate the vibrational behaviour of
transition zones with and without USP.
In accordance with the project description, as a track support solution USPs will be utilized. How
to select USP for specific track is an encountered problem when it is intended to be used. Among
several issues the track dynamic behaviour is a rather complex phenomena since several
components are included in railway system. In addition, these components have huge
differences concerning their material properties and geometries. Addressing this issue,
modelling and analysing of railway structure by considering physical phenomena related with
railway can provide strong pre-knowledge. In addition to this, experimental field works for
dynamic behaviour of track and in turn analysing effectiveness of implemented solutions can
give robust outputs for the railway industry. Experimental tests will be impact hammer test and
vehicle passage test. Impact test as mentioned in the literature search section, is useful for
dynamics behaviour analyses of railway track. Furthermore, experiments on the track under
vehicle passages gives actual insights for vibrational behaviour.
In this, regard objective of the study;
• Searching and selecting a specific transition zone (concrete bridge) so that it represents
unique behaviour of transition in line as mentioned.
• Build up a transient dynamic track model with damping properties in time domain
representing the chosen zone for vertical dynamics analyses.
• Impact hammer tests will be carried out to analyse behaviour of transition zone. Also
hammer test results will be used to validate numerical model.
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• Perform field experiments to analyse USP installed track under vehicle passages. Also,
results of these tests will be used for validation of model
In the end, the goal is to design a zone with different USP configuration in terms of stiffness for
smooth transition and reduced vibrations in the ballast layer thus lowered track degradation.
7.3.3 The transition zone for optimization

A bridge near Ankara city is thought to be an ideal zone for optimization since it has more
geometric irregularity rates than nominal ranges as seen in Figure 69 In this figure, the area
shown highlighted by a circle shows the vertical deviation of track geometry in the transition
zone. According to maintenance reports from this area, this section features accelerated
geometry degradation after renewal/tamping processes in previous times.
Concrete bridge was originally constructed in late 1800s and has several reconstructions. It has
a half span of 4 m and about 2 meters of supporting concrete in the middle. In total, the bridge
is 10.4 m long, see Figure 72.
Figure 69 Measurement report of track geometry in transition zone
In Table 35 main traffic and geometry parameters of zone with vehicle type information is given.
Rail type is UIC60 E1 see Figure 70 and fastening system is HM SKL 14. The ballast is made of
basalt material.
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Figure 70 UIC 60 rail profile (EN 13674-1(2011))
Sleeper is concrete B70 type, it is pre-stressed reinforced concrete type. Technical drawing B70
sleeper is shown in Figure 71.
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Figure 71 Technical drawing of B70 sleeper (Arıkan et al. (2016))
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Table 35 Parameters of transition zone
Parameter Value
Average speed of commuter train 70 km/h

set
Average Speed of freight train set 65 km/h
Maximum axle load 22,5 kN
Curve radius -
Length of bridge 10.4 m
Track gauge 1435 mm
Cant -
Figure 72 Geometry of the bridge (dimensions in meter)
GEWE is providing material data of USP material for the model as well as vibration
mitigation know-how to the project for the models and optimization of
transition zone. View of chosen transition zone is shown in
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Figure 73.
Figure 73 Different views of the bridge
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Satellite view of the transition zone is shown is shown in Figure 74.
Figure 74 Satellite view of transition zone
7.3.4 Numerical model of the transition zone

The numerical model is a finite element representation of the physical track model. Finite
element method is widely used calculation method for several applications in engineering fields.
Also, FEM is widely utilized in railway static and dynamics analysis in design stages. Apart from
that, FEM can help to identify underlying causes of problems faced in the industry. However, it
should be kept in mind numerical solution by its nature can have wrong outputs and one must
be interrogative when interpreting the results. Developed models must be validated with
field/laboratory experiments when it is possible.
Both time domain and frequency domain solutions in transient analysis of a railway structure
have their advantages and disadvantages. By using frequency domain methods one can analyse
behaviour of linear systems. Receptance tests on the structure give information about dynamic
behaviour of the system. Fast calculation time is possible with this method. On the other hand,
time domain solutions give more detailed information about response of a dynamic system. In
addition, when non-linearities such as variational stiffness or complex geometrical situations is
included. Time domain method is stable depending on time step of solution for explicit method
which requires quite small time steps (Witt (2008)). Implicit time domain method is chosen as
modelling method in this study because the developed models investigate effect of low speed
on track vibrations and higher time steps are used.
MSC software was used for modelling of transition zone. Nastran is solver of MSC software and
a multidisciplinary structural analysis application used by engineers and researchers to perform
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static, dynamic, and thermal analysis across the linear and nonlinear domains. Nastran (version
2017) is based on sophisticated numerical methods, the most prominent being the Finite
Element Method. Several railway track dynamic related analyses has been carried out using
Nastran (Blanco-Lorenzo et al. (2011), Gómez & Vadillo (2003), Kumaran, Menon, & Nair (2003)).
For preprocessing MSC Apex (version Grizzly) and Patran (version 2017) was used. Apex Modeler
is a CAE specific direct modelling and meshing solution that speeds CAD processing,
simplifications and meshing workflow. The solution features and interactive tools allows
practical pre-processing. Patran was used for preparing of model for applying dynamic loads and
contact definitions.
Definition and features of model

Design of a ballasted track on straight sections in Turkish State Railways (TCDD) is done
according to Figure 75(Arıkan et al. (2016)). Therefore, this geometrical structure is used as
reference for three-dimensional modelling of transition zone.
Figure 75 Design of ballasted track on straight sections (Arıkan et al.(2016))
During train passage several interactions occur such as track geometry defects/ irregular wheel
profile or wheel/rail irregularities. However, series of axle passages and sleeper passing effect
are always present within railway traffic. Hence, the aim of numerical models has been
restricted to the investigation of dynamic behaviour under these effects.
FEM models are pre-processed in MSC Apex as half-track section because of symmetry in east
and west side. Loading and contact definitions are carried out in MSC Patran software. Main
features of model features are given in the following;
1- Track is composed of:
• foundation
• concrete bridge
• ballast
• sleeper
• rail pad
• rail
• USPs (in optimized track model)
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2- Model is built for transient vibration analysis in time domain (implicit analysis in MSC
Nastran).
3- Open track - bridge- open track section is modelled.
4- Two models are built with and without USP.
5- These two models are shortened for impact hammer loading
6- Every component is linear material with 3-dimensional mesh properties.
7- Firstly, impact hammer force is applied on top of rail
8- Then, loading procedure is applied as repeated train loads both from commuter trainset
Material parameters of finite element model

Material parameters of the components in the track structure is given in Table 36 . Material
parameters are gathered from related TCDD departments. USP parameters are provided by
GEWE. Damping values used in model are structural damping coefficient which is two times the
critical damping ratio.
Table 36 Material parameters of track model
Material Young’s modulus Poisson’s ratio Density (kg/m] ) Structural damping

(MPa) coefficient
Rail 210x10310] 0.3 7850 0.004
Rail pad 14.9 0.45 1000 0.12
Sleepers 30x10310] 0.2 2530 0.1
USP rigid 3 0.45 1077 0.27
USP soft 1.36 0.35 1077 0.27
Ballast 130 0.2 1500 0.02
Bridge 30x10] 0.2 2530 0.1
Foundation 200 0.3 2000 0.04
Two different type of USPs are used: The softer one is SLB 1510G which is used on bridge (9
sleepers) and rigid one is SLB 3007 G which is used for 20 sleepers. These types and numbers of
USPs are calculated and suggested by GEWE using transition zone features provided by TCDD.
All material models are linear material models. As the train speed are not high that is in between
of 40–70 Km/h so that low to mid frequency interaction is expected between train and track.
Also, in the model no track and wheel geometrical irregularities are included. Thus, relatively
low frequency interaction will be investigated. Excitation created by dynamic loading profile
from axle series is in low frequency range. Also, sleeper passing frequency which is function of
sleeper distance and vehicle speed can be investigated.
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Element and mesh properties

According to literature simplified geometries of rail (Liu (2007)) and sleepers are useful in
studying dynamics behaviour of structure since it positively effects the computation time
although there is trade-off between computation time and accuracy. Therefore, simplification
of geometries is reasonable and useful for computational efficiency.
Apart from that there is no contact analysis and focus of the study is not static analysis. However,
as a result of simulations displacement and velocity data has been obtained and acceleration
data is collected for rail, sleeper and ballast layer in the field experiments for model validation.
There was neither displacement nor strain sensor is used in field experiments. Because of
absence of available experiment data of displacement to compare with simulation results
displacement results of simulations are not included in the report. Three-dimensional meshed
geometries of half-track and shortened half-track in MSC Apex is given in Figure 76.
In Figure 77, meshed geometries of superstructure and USP are given, respectively. In these
figures no boundary condition and loading are shown. These will be explained in next sections.
Simplification of geometries allows use of 8-noded hexahedral elements which are known to
give better accuracy in FEM analyses. Nastran have wide range of elements and in Figure 78
hexahedral element is highlighted. In the half-track model without USP, the number of nodes is
170475 and number of elements is 118264. For half-track model with USP number of nodes is
181513 and number of elements is 122564.
Figure 76 View of three-dimensional model of transition zone (Left: half-track, right:

shortened half-track)
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Figure 77 Meshed geometries of superstructure
Mesh size selection for materials are done with respect to several convergence analyses. For
convergence analysis static load applied on top of rail in the middle of model and maximum
deflections and Von Misses stresses are recorded for models that have different element
number. Above 118264 element number, there were ignorable change in maximum deflections
and stresses. Best combination of element sizes for each component as a result of convergence
study is given in Table 37. These values are used uniform for each component.
Boundary and contact conditions

Only the foundation component is modelled with assumed height of 2 meters and all other
components are modelled with real geometry with some simplifications. This height was chosen
because low frequency interaction is expected due to train speed of 65 Km/h. therefore wave
reflection effect from boundaries was not taken into account in this model.
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Figure 78 Commonly used Nastran elements (From Nastran presentation)
All 6 degree of freedom are constrained at the bottom nodes of the model. Bridge left end have
constraint in x direction for translational motion. For rotational motion y direction is constrained
as this configuration allows better capturing of vertical behaviour. For coordinate system see
Figure 81. Within the scope of this numerical model different continuous media such as rail,
sleeper and ballast materials are modelled and assembled then it leads to a complex structure.
As a modelling approach it is aimed that a linear model is validated through experimental field
tests and it yields realistic and compatible values when compared to measurements. Also the
model should have the shortest simulation time possible. In case of taking contact parameters
between all continuous media in to account for analysis makes the model non-linear and in turn
this increases the simulation time significantly. Apart from that rail-sleeper connection has a
fastener system which creates highly bonded system. Sleeper-ballast contact is more important
at this point. However, determination of contact parameters between sleepers and ballast
needs rather comprehensive study. Variables such as ballast type, stiffness and environmental
effects play role in friction coefficient and other contact parameters between sleepers – ballast
which is taken into account in touch contact method in Nastran. As mentioned, it needs
extensive laboratory/field test studies. For these reasons glue (tied) contact is chosen between
all components for analyses in developed finite element models. In Figure 79 contact matrix
arrangement is shown. The letter G is for glue contact. Components are numbered from 1 to 6.
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Table 37 Mesh size of components in models
Component Mesh size (mm)

Rail 40
Rail pad 20
Sleeper 70
USP 70
Ballast 70
Bridge 250
Foundation 400
Figure 79 Contact matrix in Patran
Figure 80 Boundary conditions and impact load in shortened model
Loading features
Only vertical loads both for impact and train loads are applied. In Figure 80 bottom boundary
and bridge end constraints with impact hammer loads from MSC Patran are shown. Two loading
method are used in the models.
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1- Impact hammer excitation on bridge section of transition zone and on embankment.

2- Triangular pulses simulating loads from train axles.
Application of hammer load is done via tabular input. In case of higher values of time step Patran
does interpolation for data points according to time step of solution. In Figure 82, impact
hammer load is shown. The maximum load is 2146 N and time interval is about 0.003 second
this time interval used also in open track section. This data is taken from the impact hammer
measurement on track. For simulation on open track, the same loading profile with max load of
2067 N is applied. Unit number 1 in Figure 80 is the factor that tabular data is multiplied with.
Loads are applied in four different simulations for models with and without USP;
1- Shortened model without USP – load on bridge
2- Shortened model without USP – load on open track
3- Shortened model with USP – load on bridge
4- Shortened model with USP – load on open track
Triangular pulses of train loads in time domain have been used in several studies in railway track
dynamics to save time without sacrificing computational accuracy (Jiang et al., 2014; Shahraki,
Warnakulasooriya, & Witt (2015)) . By using this procedure no wheelset structural analysis is
necessary. Application of the loading procedure is done according to (Jiang et al. (2014)) the
load profile from commuter train is simulated. For train loading the distance of 5 sleeper span
is chosen. Reason for that almost same vibrational behaviour was captured when more sleeper
included in small trial model also this approach cuts calculation time and duration of pre-
processing. Loads are applied to nodes on top of rail in every 20 cm in z-direction in accordance
with (Jiang et al. (2014)), see Figure 81. Time and load points are derived by using a Matlab code
then they are used as input file in Patran. For a train with 65 Km/h speed the load profile for one
node is shown in Figure 83. Difference in max loads are defined so that load from motor
wheelsets and trailer wheelsets are attained. Details of train configuration is given in field
experiments chapter.
Figure 81 Rail points for train load application and boundary conditions
Time step for impact hammer model is chosen as 0.0005 s this value is sampling rate of the
impact hammer measurement. For train loading the time step is chosen as 0.001 s. These values
stay fixed during the simulation. Nastran uses direct numerical integration method for solving
motion of equations. Central finite difference procedure is used. This method is proven to be
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powerful and accurate enough for most dynamic linear problems. For train passage simulations
are carried out as in following;
1- Model without USP – Commuter passage
2- Model with USP – Commuter passage
Figure 82 Graph of impact hammer load in shortened model from Patran (Loads in N)
Figure 83 Loading profile from train passage on top of rail nodes (Loads in N)
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7.3.5 Field experiments

Two type of tests on the transition zone have been carried out. These are vibration
measurement from impact hammer tests and from train passages. Tests in-situ provide valuable
information on vibrational behaviour of transition zone in current situation and after
reconstruction with USPs and vibrational behaviour of transition zone.
Same Data Acquisition (DAQ) System is used for both impact hammer test and track vibration
test. DAQ system is Berlin- CFRX -2000G with CFRX/UNI4 channels. Data acquisition software is
IMC Berlin Studio. DAQ system with 24-bit resolution (CFRX -2000G) allows logging of any
analog, digital and field bus channels can be managed by a single base unit, with up to 100,000
samples per second per channel. And channels (CFRX/UNI4) are galvanically isolated
measurement of voltage-, current- and thermocouple-mode. Also, channels have high signal
bandwidth of up to 48 kHz. Procedure for execution of tests are done briefly as in the following:
1. Selection of sensor locations is carried out
2. Cleaning of these locations with special materials such as solvent and rust remover
3. Gluing the apparatus of MEMS type sensors to structure with epoxy adhesive then
mounting of MEMS sensors to apparatus
4. Mounting of ICP type sensors directly to structure with cyanoacrylate glue
5. Cable connections between sensors and DAQ system

6. Cable connection between DAQ system and data collection/processing PC.
Field tests for validation of numerical model

Impact hammer tests are utilized for analysing dynamic behavior of a structure/system. As
mentioned several railway related research studies show the effectiveness of impact hammer
test (Arlaud et al., 2016; De Man (2002)). In our study impact hammer and accelerometers are
used for validation of finite element model of transition zone. There are two test cases for
impact hammer test;
1. Load application on the bridge.
2- Load application on open track.
In Figure 84 and Figure 85 photos application example and test setup for impact hammer are
given. Graphical representation of transition zone and sensor locations are shown in Figure 86.
Two ICP accelerometers are mounted on rail web and top of sleeper and MEMS accelerometer
is mounted on ballast layer with adhesive mixture. Features of sensors and impact hammer are
given in Table 38. ICP type sensors are suitable for middle and high frequency range
measurements. MEMS type sensors are better at capturing low frequency data. Type of
accelerometers are chosen for these mentioned reasons.
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Figure 84 Sensors mounted on track components
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Figure 85 Application of impact load on the track on foundation
Figure 86 Graphical representation of transition zone and test setup
All sensors and hammer outputs have been sampled at 2 kHz. This sampling rate is suitable for
these types of impact hammer tests. Apart from that, this conventional line has rather low
speeds so that the sampling rate is high enough. These ICP and MEMS sensors are also used
during commuter train passage in bridge location. Rail data is low pass filtered at 200 Hz, sleeper
data is low pass filtered at 300 Hz and ballast is low pass filtered at 400 Hz. These are due to
investigation in low frequency range. Also these values are applicable in literature for railway
dynamics studies (Capacity4Rail D 12.1 (2017))
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Table 38 Features of sensors and impact hammer
Device Model Frequency range Sensitivity
ICP 50g (z) 7132A-0050-03 1-7000 Hz 109.1 mV/g
ICP 10g (z) 7132A-0010-03 2-6000 Hz 499.1 mV/g
MEMS 5g (z) 4630A-05-800 0-1100 Hz 400.1 mV/g
Impact hammer 086D20 Up to 12 kHz 0.23 mV/N
Vibration measurement under train passage

In order to investigate the effect of implemented USPs in the transition zone vibration
measurement under several train passages are recorded. Measuring vibrations during train
passage to quantify the vibration mitigation before and after the reconstruction of transition
zone can help to analyse effect of USPs on vibrational behaviour. Measurements of vibrations
in the hand-shake areas can help to determine reduced vibration transmission to ballast and
thus it can show the quality increase in track geometry. Test setup is prepared as suggested by
GEWE, the manufacturer USPs. Six accelerometers are used for the measurement. All sensors
are MEMS type sensors. Test setup for the track vibration measurements is shown in Figure 87.
Figure 87 Graphical representation of test setup
Two on the left and right hand-side of the bridge support named base left and right. Two sensors
are placed in the beginning and the end at the bottom of the bridge to measure vibrations and
to measure vibration of the bridge itself, these locations are defined as bridge east and west.
Two sensors on the east side and west side soils to measure vibration in near soil. For
measurement of soil vibrations two iron piles are used to get a good connection between sensor
and soil as in Figure 88 this was the suggestion from GEWE. Photos of MEMS accelerometers are
shown according to their locations in Figure 89 to Figure 92.
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Figure 88 Pile for the sensor on soil
Figure 89 Photo of sensor in soil east and soil west
Figure 90 Sensor mounted on soil west location
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Figure 91 Sensors at the bottom of bridge east and west
Figure 92 Photos of sensors on left and right sides of bridge support
All MEMS sensors are in +/- 2g range and frequency range is 0–800 Hz since in this zone travel
speed is between 40–70 Km/h. Main features of the sensors and where they are mounted are
given in Table 39
Table 39 Features and mounting location of sensors
Location Model No Sensitivity (mV/g)
Soil east C6513 1012
Bridge east C6514 1015
Base right C6515 1011
Base left C6516 1015
Bridge west C6517 1009
Soil west C6518 1011
Two measurements were carried out. On the 8th of September 2018 the first measurement
campaign was carried out. In this campaign, 4 train passage were recorded. During the whole
measurement campaign, the weather was partly cloudy. Type, direction and speeds of trainsets
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with weather and rail temperature information are given in Table 40. Second measurement was
carried out on 27th of September 2018. In this measurement 3 trainset were recorded and
information for this measurement is given in Table 41.
Table 40 Information for first measurement campaign
Trainset type Direction Weather/ Rail temperature °C Speed (Km/h)
Freight- 1 East to west 27/40.5 46
(2 loco+ 10 wagon )
Freight – 2 East to west 26/39 54
(2 loco+ 18 wagon)
Commuter – 1 East to west 24/36 66
(3 wagon)
Commuter – 2 West to east 23/34.5 50

(3 wagon)
Table 41 Information for second measurement campaign
Trainset type Direction Weather/ Rail temperature °C Speed (Km/h)
Freight- 1 East to west 23/34,5 38

(1 loco+ 10 wagon)
Freight – 2 East to west 23/34,5 43

(1 loco+ 37)
Commuter East to west 19/28,5 65
(3 wagon)
Commuter trainset is an EMU type and has 3 wagons. End wagons have motor bogies and middle
wagon has trailer bogies. All the wagons are 22.74 m long and axle distances are 2.4 m and
distances between bogie centres are 15.2 m. Motor wagons are 42.8 ton (empty) and trailer
wagons 41.34 ton (empty). This trainset is shown in Figure 93.
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Figure 93 Graphical presentation of commuter trainset
7.3.6 Results of simulations and experiments

Results of simulations and validation experiments
In this section, comparison of results of measurements and simulations will be provided. Impact
hammer simulation and test data are shown for rail, sleeper and ballast components are shown
first and then train passage simulation/experiment results are shown. Results of simulations are
chosen from nodes. Location of nodes are selected according to locations in experiment.
Figure 94 Applied impact force on rail on bridge in experiment
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Figure 95 Rail acceleration on bridge for simulation and measurement
Figure 96 Sleeper acceleration on bridge for simulation and measurement
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Figure 97 Ballast acceleration on bridge for simulation and measurement
Applied force in experiment top of rail on bridge section is shown in Figure 94. The force profile
in the model is already shown in the section of numerical model which is the same as in
experiment. Resulting accelerations of rail, sleeper and ballast locations in simulations and
experiments are shown respectively in Figure 95, Figure 96 and Figure 97. Amplitudes of
accelerations are very close for rail and sleepers but there is time shift which is sign of difference
in frequency content. Ballast layer has some pattern resemblance and peak amplitudes are close
and simulation results shows that ballast has higher frequency range which can be explained by
stiffness increase through glue contacts. Ballast layer shows undamped behaviour among others
although applied force is in low range.
In the following, impact hammer load on experiment and results of model/experiments for open
track section of the transition zone are given, see Figure 98 to Figure 101. Applied force on track
is just above 2000 N as the applied load on bridge. Simulation and experiment results are close
for peak amplitudes but in model system has continuing oscillations after about 80 ms which
shows that model damping character is different than in experiments. Also ballast shows again
different undamped behaviour as in bridge section.
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Figure 98 Applied impact force on rail on open track in experiment
Figure 99 Rail acceleration on open track for simulation and measurement
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Figure 100 Sleeper acceleration on open track for simulation and measurement
Figure 101 Ballast acceleration on open track for simulation and measurement
Results of passage of commuter trainset on bridge are shown in following figures, see Figure 102
to Figure 104 . Again, comparison graphs are given for simulation and measurement results.
Accelerations levels for rail and sleeper on bridge are close and there is peak amplitude some
resemblance. However, there is again significant time-shift difference between simulation and
measurements, which shows that model has higher frequency behaviour and this may be caused
by higher stiffness , see Figure 102 and Figure 103. About third second of measurement wheel
flat contact on rail occurs so that peak on that time interval was result of high dynamic load due
to wheel flat this wheel flat load has not been applied in the model.
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Figure 102 Rail accelerations under passage of commuter trainset
On the other hand, ballast accelerations have difference in pattern, but peak amplitudes are
close, see Figure 104. Clearly simulation results have higher amplitudes than in measurements
but variations are slight for peak amplitudes. After wheel flat contact occurs sleeper and ballast
have oscillations with increasing amplitudes until train leaves. Higher amplitudes are also
caused by preload of trainset which has higher effect after 2 second of measurement. This effect
is more visible in ballast accelerations.
Figure 103 Sleeper accelerations under passage of commuter trainset
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Figure 104 Ballast accelerations on bridge under passage of commuter trainset (left:
simulation, right: measurement)
Models without USP and with USP material are compared through simulations in the following.
Firstly, results of impact hammer load models are shown, see Figure 105, Figure 106 and Figure
107 for rail, sleeper and ballast vibrations on bridge under impact hammer load. Load profile is
applied as in Figure 104. Rail accelerations are increased in the model with USP due to softer
track support structure. This increase is expected. However peak amplitudes are quite close due
to sudden loading. Resulting response to high frequency loading is controlled by mass of
structure and this may be the reason of same peak amplitude since mass of structure has a
negligible change with implementation of USP. Sleeper accelerations are also increased slightly
with USPs. Ballast accelerations are reduced because of USP damping effect and some amount
of vibration energy is absorbed by sleeper accelerations.
Figure 105 Rail on bridge acceleration with and without USP under impact load
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Figure 106 Sleeper on bridge acceleration with and without USP under impact load
Figure 107 Ballast on bridge acceleration with and without USP under impact load
Afterwards, again the same procedure is done for impact hammer model on open track section
of transition zone for simulation, see Figure 108, Figure 109 and Figure 110. On open track which
is softer than bridge section, rail and sleeper accelerations are also increased with USP. Ballast
has slightly decreased acceleration levels with USP. Open track section is softer than bridge so
that it could be the reason why open track has less reduction in vibration levels.
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Figure 108 Rail on open track acceleration with and without USP under impact load
Figure 109 Sleeper on open track acceleration with and without USP under impact load
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Figure 110 Ballast on open track acceleration with and without USP under impact load
Following figures are results derived from numerical models with and without USP under train
passage on the bridge section of the transition zone, see Figure 111, Figure 112 and Figure 113.
Sleeper accelerations are shown separately for different models because the difference is more
visible that way. Rail vibration levels change a little with USP implementation. Sleeper vibrations
are significantly increased. Ballast vibrations decrease with USP implementation.
Figure 111 Rail accelerations on bridge under train passage in models with and without
USP
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Figure 112 Sleeper accelerations on bridge under train passage models with and without
USP
Figure 113 Ballast accelerations on bridge under train passage models with and without
USP
Following figures contain results from numerical simulations with and without USP under train
passage on open section of transition zone, see Figure 114, Figure 115 and Figure 116. Sleeper
results are shown separately for visibility reason. Same behaviour for rail, sleeper and ballast is
seen in open track. Rail and sleeper vibrations are increased while ballast vibrations are
decreased slightly. One other deduction can be made about vibration level differences in open
track and in bridge section. On open track when the wheel load is directly on rail nodes peak
amplitudes are higher than on the bridge section due to softer supporting structure of
foundation.
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Figure 114 Rail accelerations on open track under train passage in models with and
without USP
Figure 115 Sleeper accelerations on open track under train passage in models with and
without USP
Figure 116 Ballast accelerations on open track under train passage in models with and
without USP
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Results of track vibration measurements

Measurements are carried out by TCDD-DATEM and data processing is carried out by GEWE. The
following is done for processing of MEMS acceleration data;
1.) Subtraction of the mean value of the signal to get rid of gravity and other offsets.
2.) Integration to obtain velocity from acceleration
3.) Floating effective value of the velocity signal. (This basically helps to see the typical
shape of the train, axles)
Results are time-velocity signals of MEMS accelerometers. 1M is for first measurement

campaign and 2M is for second measurement campaign.
Figure 117 Track vibration velocities for commuter train passages
Figure 118 Soil east and west vibrations in 1M under commuter train passage
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Figure 119 Bridge east and west vibrations in 1M under commuter train passage
Figure 120 Base east and west vibrations in 1M under commuter train passage
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Figure 121 Track vibration velocities for freight train passages
Figure 122 Soil east and west vibrations in 2M under freight train passage
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Figure 123 Bridge east and west vibrations in 2M under freight train passage
Figure 124 Base east and west vibrations in 2M under freight train passage
7.3.7 Conclusions
This study is carried out as part of in work package 3 of IN2TRACK project. In this work package
the aim is to enhance capacity and performance of track, i.e., decreasing the LCC and enhance
the RAMS characteristics of railway infrastructure. Innovative track supporting
materials/structures as mentioned can offer benefits for optimizing track in terms of different
phenomena. In this study, linear track dynamic model is developed taking low speeds of traffic
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into account. Track dynamics model is developed for a transition zone with accelerated track
geometry degradation as reported by TCDD.
Developed numerical models are designed as half-track model with and without USP and
shortened half-track models with and without USP for impact hammer application. In the first
stage, impact hammer model of existing track is simulated. This approach allowed more
controlled process than train passage tests. In the second stage, a train passage model is
created. Then the existing track models are upgraded with USPs. Configuration of USP
implementation is calculated by GEWE and also parameters of USP materials are provided by
GEWE.
Comparisons of impact hammer simulations and field studies showed good agreement for peak
amplitudes for rail, sleeper and ballast components. Then after validating the results of
shortened half-track model with experiments, half-track model is created. Although, simulations
for rail has yielded good results under train passage but for sleeper and ballast there seems to
be some differences in vibration levels. Also, effect of stiffness difference between bridge and
open track sections are visible in impact experiments and models which is an expected
behaviour. Another important point is that in model high frequency behaviour is seen due to
stiffness increase which may come from glue contact implementation for all bodies.
Afterwards, shortened track and half-track numerical models with USPs are built and other
material parameters remained constant. Comparisons made between models with and without
USP. Results showed that rail and sleeper supported by USPs have increased vibration levels
both in bridge and in open track section. Ballast layer has lower peak amplitudes and vibration
levels when compared with existing track models without USP. One other deduction is that
raised levels of vibrations for rail and sleeper are higher in bridge section when compared with
open track section. This is high likely due to softer USP implementation in bridge section. Also,
high frequency response might be the result in bridge section
In order to mitigate vibrations of track GEWE and TCDD has carried out additional experiments
on selected transition zone of TCDD. Main aim in these experiments are to compare existing
transition zones and USP upgraded transition zone in terms of track vibrations. These tests are
carried out by TCDD staff and equipment and vibration mitigation know-how of GEWE. Some
results of tests are provided in results section. Velocity levels are good signature of track
vibration levels and also useful for comparisons with upgraded track. USP mounting on
transition zone is in the realization phase. Several experiments with same procedures will be
carried out after USP implementation on track.
Some recommendations can be made in accordance with the results and discussions above;
1- Impact hammer models show good agreement for peak amplitudes with experiments
as the impact force is rather low and these excitations are in linear range.
2- Differences in train passage model and measurement may be due to track

inhomogeneous structure and other high frequency interaction that may have occurred
in experiments.
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3- For the modelling side rail pad, USP and ballast can be modelled with non-linear material
characteristics. Material parameters must be determined by laboratory tests. Also touch
contact with determined contact parameters rather than glue (tied) contact can be
chosen between sleeper and ballast and between sleeper and USP.
4- Same experimental procedures for model validation and for vibration mitigation should
be carried out after USP mounting.
5- Effect of wave reflection phenomena from boundaries of models needs to be taken into
account so that better compatible results between simulation and measurement can be
obtained.
7.4 Bituminous sub-ballast layers for less maintenance needs

This is a summary. The main text can be found in Annex 15.
Sub-ballast layers are crucial for the mechanical behaviour of ballasted tracks. Bituminous sub-
ballast layers have been acknowledged as an innovative alternative to conventional sub-ballast
layers made only with unbound granular materials (UGM). Several studies and field experiences
have identified the advantages of bituminous sub-ballasts. In France, the design of bituminous
sub-ballast layers is based on the road industry experience and the mixture is similar to those
used for highway pavements. However, highways and railways loading conditions are very
different from each other in many aspects, including:
• Constant compression effort due to the superstructure weight (rails, sleepers, ballast)
• Dynamic phenomena due to high-speed operations of trains
• Specified load trajectories (trains are a guided transport system)
• Exposure of base course mixtures to the environment, specially to water, since no

wearing course is needed for railway tracks
These expected tough working conditions raise the question of whether a specific bituminous
mixture for railway applications is needed or not. The present report aims at answering this
question, with respect to the SNCF standard, mainly by an experimental approach both
considering in-situ and laboratory tests.
The results from this study show that the loading amplitude levels at the bituminous sub-ballast
layer are very small compared to typical road pavement values. Taking into account these low
load levels, the results also show that available common road base-course mixtures present
adequate thermomechanical properties for them to be used as sub-ballast materials, even after
moisture conditioning. Therefore, the use of common bituminous mixtures appears suitable for
railway applications. This allows an important optimization since no sophisticated mixture
design procedures or over-engineered components are needed. Good quality components
(aggregates, bitumen) and proper construction methods, especially compaction, are however
required, as is the case for any other infrastructure project.
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7.5 Innovative materials in track design
7.5.1 Background
As the cost of maintaining railways and the demands being placed on them continue to increase,
we must seek ways to innovate the way in which we construct, maintain and operate track
systems. One such innovation is the inclusion of a bituminous asphalt slab within the track
system. Many countries over the years have to some degree experimented with asphalt;
however, it has yet to become a standard track construction practise. More recently the interest
in asphalt track systems has increased due to the potential performance benefits that can be
gained for a relatively low increase in cost, especially when compared to more typical concrete
slab track systems.
Asphalt as a material is versatile material and has a range of applications such as:
• Earthwork remediation.
• Track construction roads.
• Construction surfaces for concrete slab track.
• Transition zones.
• Trackbed lowering.
• Increased whole life cost of the track system.

Whilst the application and design of asphalt is well understood in the highway environment, its
limitations within the railway environment are still to be fully explored and defined.
7.5.2 Introduction
Network Rail in conjunction with Heriot Watt University undertook a series of tests to better
understand the benefits of including an asphalt layer within a typical ballast track construction
with a focus on the asphalt’s performance near softer subgrade and transitions. Whilst asphalt
as a material is well understood, its performance in areas of variable stiffness is less so. As
asphalt remains flexible, it’s important that we can confidently predict and model how it will
perform in a simulated track environment with relevant geotechnical and loading scenarios.
7.5.3 Test Methodology

GRAFTII test rig
All testing was performed using the GRAFTII (Geo-pavement and Railways Accelerated Fatigue
Testing facility) at Heriot Watt University, Figure 125. GRAFTII was designed to test and
characterise the long-term performance (i.e. settlement) of railway track components and
infrastructure.
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GRAFTII operates using 6 independent hydraulic actuators, across 3 sleepers to simulate the
passage of a moving train. The use of multiple actuators means that the principal stresses within
the track-subgrade can be rotated i.e. the track experiences changes between horizontal and
vertical (principal) stresses depending on the wheel positions. Therefore, GRAFTII is capable of
accurately simulating the loading conditions encountered within railway tracks during train
passage.
The GRAFTII rig was used to test two types of track construction
1. A ballast-asphalt track system and,

2. A ballast track system.
Figure 125 GRAFTII Test Rig
Test setup
The asphalt track test sample, Figure 126, consisted of 3 (half) sleepers at 600mm spacing,
floating at a depth of 200mm above the subgrade layer within a 400mm deep ballast layer. The
sleepers were constructed from metal and had an equivalent size and weight to that of a typical
concrete sleeper used on UK rail networks. The ballast was supported by a 200mm asphalt layer
laid on a 100mm layer of compacted type 1 granular sub base material. The lower subgrade
layer was divided into three distinct zones, with a lower stiffness zone being at the centre of the
box.
The ballast track test sample was identical to the asphalt track sample with the exception of the
asphalt slab.
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Figure 126 Test sample cross sections.
Instrumentation
The following instrumentation was used to monitor the track systems behaviour.
Displacement transducers: Linear variable displacement transducers (LVDT’s) supplied by RDP
to record vertical displacements during testing. Four short LVDT’s (Model DCTH400AG) were
used to record asphalt surface displacements and three long LVDT’s (model ACT6000C) were
used to record sleeper displacements.
Figure 127 Long LVDT (left) and short LVDT (right).
Pressure plates: Three load pressure cells (Geokon, type 3510) were used to record vertical
pressure at the ballast-asphalt interface. The pressure cells were placed directly below each of
the test sleepers.
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Figure 128 Geokon pressure plate.
Asphalt strain gauges: Five asphalt strain gauges (CTL, ASG 152), type was placed in the test
box, 3 directly under the sleepers and one at each end and away from the softer subgrade and
transition zone to record strain on the underside of the asphalt slab during testing.
Figure 129 CTL Asphalt strain gauge
Temperature gauge: A temperature gauge (Geokon, type 3800HT) was embedded in the asphalt
layer and used to monitor the cooling after laying and the temperature during testing. A second
Track sample construction

Two test samples were constructed. The first comprised of asphalt, ballast, rubber mats and
type 1 granular fill material (specified in the UK Highway Agency's Specification for Highway
Works, Clause 803), with the second test sample comprising of ballast, rubber mats and type 1
fill material. To reduce construction time, the subgrade layer once the asphalt slab had been
removed was reused for the second set of tests.
Construction of the subgrade:
Rubber mats were placed in the centre of the test box to a depth of 300mm and the outer areas
filled using type 1 granular fill material to the same height. The type 1 material was compacted
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using a vibrating plate and the stiffness of the compacted layer and rubber mats recorded using
a Light Weight Deflectometer (LWD).
A further 100mm of type 1 fill material was then placed in the box and compacted. Stiffness
measurements were again recorded using dynamic plate load tests.
Figure 130 Subgrade stiffness being measured, showing stiff and soft materials in test
box.
Construction of the asphalt slab:
Five asphalt strain gauges were placed on the type 1 surface at 600mm intervals. To protect the
cables from high asphalt temperatures during pouring, steel pipe was used as shielding.
Prior to the large-scale pouring, asphalt was hand packed around the strain gauges to ensure
the sensors were adequately packed in and that movement was minimised.
The asphalt was poured to a depth of 100mm and compacted, a third set of dynamic plate load
tests were undertaken, and the thermometer set in place.
Finally, a second 100mm layer of asphalt was laid and compacted. Dynamic plate load tests were
carried out whilst the asphalt was hot and when it had cooled for 24 hours.
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Figure 131 Placement of strain gauges in test box prior to asphalt pouring.
Figure 132 Final asphalt layer.
Construction of the upper ballast layer:
When the test box had been craned into the GRAFTII rig the pressure cells were laid on the
surface of the asphalt, directly under where the sleepers were to be located. The cables were
protected from the overlying ballast by lengths of metal tubing. The ballast was initially hand
packed around the pressure cells before being poured to a depth of 200mm. At the same time,
wooden poles protected by plastic piping were set on the ballast surface to measure deflection
of the upper surface of the asphalt track.
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Figure 133 Placement of pressure plates on asphalt upper surface.
The sleepers were set in place and the ballast level increased by a further 200mm. The sleepers
were half width as only half of a track section was modelled, due to symmetry and size
constraints.
Figure 134 Ballast and sleeper placement.
After the sleepers were in position, three hydraulic actuators (with built in LVDT’s) were
connected to the sleepers using metal pins. Then, LVDTS were attached and connected to the
wooden poles.
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Figure 135 Installation of LVDT's and connection of actuators.
7.5.4 Cyclic compression testing of ballast-asphalt track and ballast track

The three hydraulic rams excited the three single, half width sleepers, mimicking a series of
different axle loads moving at 125mph. To simulate a moving wheel load, each sleeper was
loaded in a phased manner. Further a 0.5/0.5/0.5 split of forces was assumed across the sleepers
to account for the load spreading effect of the rail. The loading increments for the compression
tests are shown in Figure 42.
Table 42 Loading plan
Stage Min Force Max Force Cyclic Cycles Cumulative

(kN) (kN) Frequency Cycles
(Hz)
Bedding 1 1.5 0.2 10 10
Bedding 1 2.0 7 40 50
Initial run 1 4.0 6 10000 10050
Initial run 1 6.0 6 10000 20050
Initial run 1 10.0 6 10000 30050
Initial run 1 14.0 6 10000 40050
Initial run 1 20.0 6 288000 328050
Initial run 1 25.0 6 288000 616050
Gradual 1 30.0 6 576000 1192050
ramp
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Gradual 1 40.0 6 576000 1768050

ramp
Gradual 1 14 6 576000 2344050
ramp
Full loading 1 61.3 6 12715450 15059500
Results
Due to the large displacement reached by the actuator, the test of the ballasted track sample
was terminated after gradual ramp stage 2, at a maximum force of 40kN (16.3 tonne axle load).
By taking the overall mean values of the sleeper, ballast and subgrade settlement at transition
entry, centre and exit, the overall settlement comparison between the two samples is shown in
Table 43 and Figure 136.
Table 43 Settlement
Ballast Track (mm) Ballast-Asphalt track Ballast track

(MM) compared with
Ballast –Asphalt track
Sleeper settlement 60.16 8.04 624%
Ballast settlement 47.88 6.12 734%
Subgrade settlement 12.28 (1) 1.92 (2) 377%
(1) This subgrade settlement is measured on the subgrade surface on ballasted track, including
settlements of sub ballast and rubber mats.
(2) This subgrade settlement is measured on the asphalt surface in ballast –asphalt track,
including settlement of asphalt, sub ballast and rubber mats.
Comparisons of the results coming from the two sample tests are shown in Figure 136, Figure
137 and Figure 138.
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Figure 136 Sleeper displacement comparison between cyclic compression test in ballast-
asphalt track and ballasted track.
Figure 137 Subgrade surface displacement comparisons between cyclic compression test
in ballast-asphalt track and ballast track*.
*Subgrade settlement in ballast-asphalt track sample includes settlements of asphalt, sub

ballast and rubber mats, whist the ballasted track sample included settlements of sub ballast
and rubber mats.
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Figure 138 Subgrade/asphalt surface pressure comparison between the cyclic

compression test in ballast-asphalt track and ballasted track.
The following conclusion can be drawn from the comparison data.
1. Overall track settlements in the sleeper, ballast and subgrade layers were 60.16mm,
47.88mm and 12.28mm respectively, 624%, 734% and 377% larger in the ballasted
track, compared to that in the ballast-asphalt track (Table 43).
2. The subgrade surface pressure in ballasted track (mean value of all three locations with
a value of 42.55kPa,) is almost four times more than that with asphalt layer (mean value
of 10.83kPa) (Figure 138). This confirmed that the load distribution effect of asphalt
layer allowed the track materials (i.e. ballast) to spread the load over a larger surface
area, thus resulting in an overall lower pressure being recorded compared to the
conventional ballasted track.
3. Before sensors reached their limitation (over the last 2MGT test period), the following
observations were conducted from comparison figures:
a. Considering Figure 136 and Figure 137, on the soft subgrade, the sleeper and
subgrade settlement gradient line in ballasted track was positive while that is
almost zero in ballast-asphalt track. This indicates that ballasted track sample
settlements were still increasing in the ballast layer while ballast-asphalt track
sample had already consolidated. On the stiff subgrade, sleeper and subgrade
settlement gradient line in both track samples is almost zero, indicating the
subgrade settlements had consolidated.
b. Considering Figure 138, after loading, there was an initial pressure increasing
followed by a decreasing at transition entry and exit while pressure kept
increasing at transition centre. This was because on stiff subgrade, the reaction
of loading is much more quickly than that on soft subgrade. Then, due to the
rearrangement of ballast particles, the pressure on stiff subgrade decreased
with an increasing pressure on soft subgrade.
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4. After testing of the ballast-track, the surface of the asphalt slab did not display any signs
of degradation due to ballast penetration
7.5.5 Static compression testing

Static testing on ballast surface
Static testing of the ballast surface was performed 24 hours after the completion of cyclic
testing. First, loading was gradually increased at the rate of 30kN/min from 0 to 61.3kN (25
tonne). Next, increments of 2.4kN per 10 minutes were applied until 73.6kN was reached, (20%
greater than the previous cyclic test maximum). Again, to account for the spreading effect of the
rail, the max static force was 73.6kN on the middle sleeper and 36.8kN on the two adjacent
sleepers.
Analysing the results at 61.3kN (25 tonne axle load), the following conclusions were drawn:
1. The pressure on the asphalt surface over the soft subgrade was lower (14.30kPa) in
comparison to the stiff subgrade (mean 33.6kPa).
2. The sleepers settled 1.97mm and 1.48 (mean) mm over the soft subgrade and stiff
subgrade respectively, while the asphalt surface settled 1.05mm and 0.39mm over the
soft and the stiff subgrade respectively. Alternatively, the ballast layer settled 0.93mm
and 0.76mm (mean) over the soft and stiff subgrade respectively. These results indicate
that the stiffness of subgrade effected settlement, with the stiff subgrade causing
reduced settlement in all track layers.
Figure 139 Settlement comparison during static test at 61.3 kN loading on ballast (Circle
points = raw data; solid = interpolated curve).
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Static testing on asphalt surface

The ballast layer (over the asphalt layer) was removed and then a static test performed by
placing the sleepers directly on the asphalt layer and applying force (Figure 140). Loading was
gradually increased from 0 to 61.3kN at the rate of 6kN/min (note that this rate differed from
the direct ballast test). Then, in a similar manner to the previous static tests, increments of 2.4kN
were applied and held for 10 minutes until 73.6kN was achieved (20% greater than cyclic test
maximum). Finally, the load was increased to 110kN in order to better understand the
relationship between force and displacement. Pressure was not recorded (the previous pressure
plates were designed solely for ballast), however a dial gauge was attached to the middle sleeper
to measure the penetration of the sleeper into the asphalt surface.
Figure 140 Static test on asphalt surface.
From the results at 61.3kN (25 tonne axle load), the following conclusions can be drawn:
1. The sleeper settled 8.41mm and 3.66mm on the soft subgrade and stiff subgrade
respectively, while asphalt surface settled 5.60mm and 0.5mm (mean) on the soft and
stiff subgrade respectively.
2. Comparing asphalt surface settlement from the previous static test (with ballast layer),
settlement over the soft subgrade was 5.80mm (mean), approximately 456% greater.
Therefore, a force spreading effect due to ballast was evident.
3. Determination of sleeper penetration was challenging because of potential inherent

errors within the dial gauge. Therefore, a second calculation method was also used, by
comparing sleeper and asphalt displacement. The gauge gave a reading of 3.057mm and
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the alternative calculation method gave a value of 2.61mm. Therefore, the mean value
was 2.834mm. Dial gauges were not used to measure side displacement penetration,
however from visual results, reduced penetration was noticed. It should be noted that
for ballastless tracks, a certain amount of sleeper penetration is desirable as it increases
lateral stability.
Figure 141 Settlement comparison during static test at 61.3 kN loading on asphalt (Circle
points = raw data; solid = interpolated curve). Note that the uplift in asphalt
behaviour is purely due to the spline used between raw data points.
7.5.6 Conclusions and recommendations

The use of asphalt within railway track structures is becoming of increased interest due to its
potential to improve track performance and lifecycle costs. To assess the performance of asphalt
railway tracks, large scale laboratory tests of a railway subgrade transition zone were performed
at Heriot Watt University. A 9.40MGT cyclic compression test of a conventional ballast track with
and without asphalt layer was undertaken.
To benchmark the railway track performance in comparison with a conventional ballasted track
without asphalt layer, the following conclusions were drawn regarding asphalt track behaviour
at a transition under cyclic compression loading (track loading via ballast embedded sleepers):
a. By taking the overall mean values of the sleeper, ballast and subgrade settlement at
transition entry, centre and exit, the overall settlements were 624%, 734% and 377%
larger in the ballasted track than that in the ballast-asphalt track
b. The subgrade overall mean surface pressure in ballasted track is almost four times more
than that in ballast-asphalt track
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c. The 1200mm long soft subgrade replicates a typical small wet bed. This project shows
one of the potential benefits of the asphalt layer is to be able to bridge over and
minimise deflection at the rail head.
d. Since the soft subgrade in this test is an extreme example of stiffness, it would be
expected that this ballast-asphalt track system performs better in a real work
environment.
e. After testing the hybrid track the asphalt surface did not shown signs of degradation
due to ballast penetration
Comparison against Section 7.4 “Bituminous sub-ballast layers for less maintenance
needs”.
Research undertaken by SNCF and Network Rail both independently indicate that the inclusion
of a bituminous asphalt sub ballast layer within the track system benefits overall performance.
Instrumented testing undertaken by both parties has demonstrated that the asphalt layer
stiffens the track structure so that loads transmitted by the passage of trains are better
distributed across the formation layer, leading to a reduction in the rate at which track quality
degrades (track quality being a KPI used in the planning plan maintenance).
SNCF found that the need for sophisticated specific asphalt mixtures is not necessarily required,
allowing for the use of common standardized bituminous asphalt mixtures, keeping the
manufacturing process simple and construction costs down.
Network Rail found that the use of a Bituminous asphalt sub ballast layer not only provides for
a more resilient track substructure but that it also has the potential to be used as an alternative
remediation technique in areas of poor formation stiffness, where expensive and time-
consuming methods would typically be used.
What is clearly evident is that asphalt is a versatile material that can be used to tackle a range
of different issues. However, the benefits will only be realised if the design adequality factors in
the physical and operational environment into which the material is to be included.
Moving forward, the development of simulation models that can incorporate field data will
allow for the rapid development and implementation of optimised asphalt track designs.
7.5.7 Further reading

[1] D. Li, J. G. Rose, and J. LoPresti, “Test of hot-mix asphalt trackbed over soft subgrade under
heavy axle loads,” Technol. Dig. Assoc. Am. Railr. April, no. April, pp. 1–4, 2001.
[2] J. G. Rose, D. Li, and L. Walker, “Test measurements and performance evaluations of in-
Service railway asphalt trackbeds,” Proc. AREMA 2002 Annu. Conf., p. 30, 2002.
[3] J. Rose and H. Lees, “Long-term assessment of asphalt trackbed component materials’
properties and performance,” Proc. AREMA 2008 Annu. Conf., no. September, p. 28, 2008.
[4] J. Rose and L. Bryson, “Hot mix asphalt railway trackbeds: trackbed materials, performance
evaluations, and significant implications,” Proc. Int. Conf. Perpetual Pavements, 2009.
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[5] J. G. Rose, P. F. Teixeira, and N. E. Ridgway, “Utilization of Asphalt/Bituminous Layers and

Coatings in Railway Trackbeds – A Compendium of International Applications,” in Proceedings
of the 2010 Joint Rail Conference, 2010, pp. 1–17.
[6] J. G. Rose, P. F. Teixeira, and P. Veit, “International design practices, applications, amd
performances pf asphalt/bituminous railway trackbeds,” Railw. Geotech. Eng. Int. Symp.
(GeoRail 2011), pp. 1–23, 2011.
[7] D. Timm, A. Priest, and T. McEwen, Design and instrumentation of the structural pavement
experiment at the NCAT test track. 2004.
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8 Optimized mounting, connection and repairing

techniques – improving welds by shot peening
The limited scope and budget of In2Track calls for a focus of the scope in this field. Here shot-
peening of rail welds is selected. This is a topic that deals with means to improve the
characteristics of weak points in the track system by (for the rail sector) innovative means. Note
that this chapter relates strongly to D3.3 which focuses on operations, maintenance and repair.
That report will contain more studies on optimized mounting, connection and repairing
techniques.
8.1 Scope
The aim of IN2TRACK WP3 is to establish innovative and efficient approaches for better service
performance of track structures. As part of this objective, the improvements in maintenance
activities to decrease repair time is a key approach. Accordingly, from metallurgical viewpoint,
increasing material resistance against deterioration and cyclic loading by implementation of
surface modification is beneficial to increase maintenance intervals and decrease track
disturbances for maintenance activities. In this sense, the current study focuses on surface and
subsurface residual stress states in addition to structural condition of the rail welds. Flash butt
welding of rails is analyzed regarding its high number of applications in railways both for repair
and construction purposes. In addition, flash butt welding failures are observed with different
mechanisms mostly related to material related conditions after welding process. Flash butt rail
weld zones, as the weak points of the track infrastructure, are mechanically treated to increase
their strength against initiation of fatigue cracks. For this purpose, a shot peening mechanical
treatment process is chosen and applied to flash butt welded rail with parametric variations.
The analysis is carried out with respect to shot impact effect on the surface and subsurface. The
potential of treatment on improving the fatigue life and service performance of the rail weld
zone is investigated.
8.2 Introduction and literature review

One of the main root causes of the failure in the weldments in railway infrastructure is due to
high tensile residual stresses with inhomogeneous distribution around the weld zone. Residual
stress (RS) state of the weld zone, which varies in terms of direction and magnitude and is
dissimilar to as-rolled rail, has significant importance on preventing/retarding fatigue failure and
extending the service life of the joint. Tensile residual stresses particularly within and adjacent
to the weldment are significantly important as they impose stress corrosion cracking, high/low
cycle fatigue failure and decreases the strength of the weld. On the other hand, compressive
residual stresses are beneficial and some mechanical treatment methods (shot peening etc.) are
applied to introduce these stresses externally within the component (Park et al. (2001), Witters
et al. (2001), Witters et al. (2005)).
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Despite high reliability of flash-butt (FB) welding method, failure of the FB welded joints occurs
due to varying loads, forces and internal stresses of the weld zone. The main reasons for FB weld
failure particularly as Horizontal Split Web (HSW) fracture mechanism to occur are fatigue and
overload conditions. Cracks in this type of failures may initiate at existing defects within the rail
or the weld zone defects that were created during the welding application. These pre-existing
defects are sources for fatigue failure when high magnitude tensile residual stresses in the web
are combined with the high axle cyclic torsional loading of the rail web. Therefore, this results
in high susceptibility of rail web weld zone as HSW fracture. As can be seen from Figure 142 a),
very high tensile RS accumulates at the center of FB weld zone along the web of rail (Farhangi
(2007), Yan (2011), Jilabi (2015)). Following the FB welding process for the rail steels, head and
foot region of the rail weld are under longitudinal compressive residual stresses. On the other
hand, the web rail weld region suffers highly tensile residual stresses near the fusion line and
weld collar. While highest compressive residual stresses are observed in the weld foot region,
maximum tensile stresses occur in the web region (Yan (2011)).
a) b)
Figure 142 a) The longitudinal residual stress distribution of the FB weld web surface
(Yasn(2011)) b) Crack propagation in HSW fracture (Farhangi (2007))
Moreover, Skyttebol et al (2005) showed by numerical analysis that the lower part of the rail
head after FB welding (the web-foot and web-head transition) suffer large stresses due to global
bending of the rail caused by high axle loads. These regions reveal higher tensile RS
accumulation than head, foot and web centerline of the rail after FB welding (Figure 143 a)).
Their criticality increases under service with high magnitude axle loadings as can be seen from
Figure 143-(b,c,d) (Skyttebol(2005)). These results show that the rail web and its transition zones
towards head and foot with high magnitude tensile RS distribution are critical for the welded
rail reliability and sustainability.
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Figure 143 Longitudinal residual stress contour plots of rails (a) flash-butt post-weld
measurement (b) 30 metric tons axle load (8 wheels passages) (c) 35 metric
tons axle load (8 wheels passages) and (d) 40 metric tons axle load (8 wheels
passages) (Skyttebol (2005))
In the sense of increasing fatigue life of a component, novel mechanical treatments for this
purpose such as shot peening (SP) process are used in different industries for a better
distribution of the surface/subsurface RS state by introducing plastically deformed layer at the
surface. Under service, resistance against fatigue crack initiation and propagation can be
provided by surface compression residual stresses to decrease the effect of tensile bending force
coming from the wheel on the rail. Another contribution of shot peening is the globally smooth
surface without reduced irregularities and notches, which is provided by plastic deformation
created by shot impact with specified velocity and mass. As shown in Figure 144, each parameter
of the shot peening application is linked to variable stress profiles such as depth of compressive
RS layer and the magnitude of the max compressive RS (Huttmann, Wang (1998)). The significant
point of shot peening is that the application does not introduce any thermal effect on the
sample. Therefore, microstructural phase change does not occur which eliminates the side
effects of the application.
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a) b)
Figure 144 a) Residual stress distribution vs distance from the surface after shot peening
(Kirk (1999)
b) The effective shot peening parameters (HVw: workpiece hardness, HVs:
shot hardness, v: shot velocity, d: shot diameter, p: shot pressure, t: process
time) (Schulze (2004))
Shot peening parameters have significant importance on the desired RS profile where there exist
different hardness distribution, variable microstructure and dislocation density along the weld
zone (heat affected zone + parent rail). Therefore, selected process parameters have a beneficial
influence on fatigue life enhancement for the weld zone and correspondingly lower
maintenance actions for the track. Shot diameter, shot hardness, shot impact velocity and angle
of impact, which describe the intensity factor of SP process, are few parameters to consider.
8.3 Objective
The study focuses on strengthening the continuously welded rail (CWR) sections of the railway
track to provide sustainability and less disruption caused by maintenance for the railway
services. The aim of the study is in line with the objective of Task 3.1 in WP3. The task focuses
on operations and maintenance to minimize disruptions and traffic disturbances through
optimized maintenance actions targeting significant factors. One of the most important issues
on CWR are the weld breaks, their repair and inspection which are costly maintenance activities
for railway operations. Through the enhanced design and using novel material science
approaches, track disturbance for maintenance can be reduced. In addition, enhancing and
optimizing track systems to ensure the optimal line usage and capacity is the main target. The
current study aims at material optimization that decreases deterioration and reduces needs for
inspections, maintenance and replacements and is parallel with the objectives of WP3.
Another point that WP3/Task 3.3 focuses on is the identification of optimal maintenance actions
in key areas based on deterioration on material level. Determining welding issues and
attempting on providing a potential solution is the purpose of this study and corresponds with
the mentioned point of interest of WP3. Moreover, the IN2TRACK project focuses on methods
aiming at rail surface treatment from a material level point of view. Shot peening treatment of
welds is in parallel with this aim of the project, too.
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The fatigue life improvement in this study is based on:
• Compressive residual stress evaluation by shot peening mechanical treatment of rail

flash butt welding zone without creating thermal effects and phase changes. This
uniform compressive residual stress zone resists the fatigue crack formation within the
component surface under service. Whole weld zone is treated involving foot base and
head in addition to web which suffers highest internal tensile residual stresses. The
creation of compressive RS decreases the criticality of bending loading of the rail raised
from wheel passage and retard crack initiation and fatigue failure eventually.
• Plastic deformation of the surface by shot impact reduces surface irregularities and a
smoother surface is provided with less deterioration raised by welding procedure. Any
defect, which behaves as crack initiation source, is removed or smoothed to prevent its
notch effect.
In order to reach the objective of this study, following applications and analysis are carried out
respectively;
- Flash butt welded samples preparation
- Shot peening application with parameter variations
- Residual stress state analysis to reveal shot impact on the residual stress distribution by
hole drilling (HD) method
- Fatigue life analysis applied by 4-point bending fatigue test
The prepared samples by stationary flash butt welding machine are visually inspected according
to EN 14587-2. As mentioned in the sections above, the rail web is the most critical fatigue
failure zone due to wide range of magnitudes of tensile residual stress distribution that is
increasing towards the head and foot transition regions. A compressive residual stress layer at
subsurface is beneficial to retard fatigue crack initiation and propagation under service.
Therefore, in terms of residual stress state and its evaluation, web region stress evaluation,
which is the most critical part of rail weld zone, with the shot peening treatment is analyzed.
8.4 Experimental design
8.4.1 Material
The samples are pearlitic rail steels with R260 – UIC 60E1 profile. The composition is given in
Table 44. The flash butt welded 60E1 rail samples are prepared by a stationary flash butt welding
machine. The machine following the end of the process does scraping automatically.
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Table 44 Rail sample chemical composition
UIC 60E1 Rail C Si Mn P S Cr Al V N

Steel (%) 0.6/0.8 0.13/0.6 0.65/1.25 0.030 0.008/0.03 0.15 0.004 0.03 0.01
8.4.2 Shot peening application

Shot peening process parameters and desired RS state for the FB weld zone are related to each
other. Homogenous shot peening application along the rail profile provides a good balance
between tensile and compressive stresses in the weld zone. Through choices of shot type and
size, Almen intensity and magnitude of peening coverage allow controlled optimization (Schulze
(2006)). Different intensities and shot diameters provide variations in compressive RS maximum
value and its depth/distribution in the subsurface of the treated component (see Figure 144).
Figure 145 is a schematic representation of the application environment and the sections of the
machine.
Figure 145 Shot peening application
Table 45 shows the shot peening parameters used for the rail samples. Four samples in total are
peened with different intensity and shot diameters. Two types of shot diameter are used for
each group of samples as can be seen in Table 45.
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Table 45 Shot peening parameter sets
S 330 (Steel Shot) S 230 (Steel Shot)
Sample No Intensity Sample No Intensity
#1 12A #4 12A
#2 15A - -
#3 18A - -
The samples are peened with 100% coverage to prevent excess plastic deformation and provide
even distribution of subsurface compressive residual stress layer. Coverage is the measure of
the impacted area of the surface in a specific time and expressed as percentage.
Shot size is effective on subsurface compressive residual stress layer depth and the maximum
compressive residual stress value within the subsurface compressive residual stress layer. While
deciding on the right shot size for the application, there are two approaches considering the
dimension and geometry conformity between shot size and the component to be treated. The
first approach is that the shot size should be adequately small to influence the hard to access
areas on component surface. The second approach is that thin specimens should keep their
dimensions and shape after treatment without permanent impact effects (Schulze (2006)). The
chosen shot types in this study have slightly higher hardness than the workpiece (parent rail and
weld zone) to have necessary plastic deformation along the surface and adequate diameter to
meet the requirement of increasing the accessibility on the impacted area. In terms of used shot
diameters, S230 cast steel shot has 0.6 mm average diameter while it is 0.8 mm for S330 type.
Both shot types have similar hardness values (377HV ~ 509HV).
The peening intensity is a function of the mass of the shot, shot hardness, impact velocity and
impact angle corresponding to the peened surface and is determined by measuring the arc
height of Almen strip that is treated to reach the saturation. Almen intensity is selected related
to the mechanical properties of the peened component. While choosing the right intensity
value, over-peening should be neglected to prevent surface damage. While keeping the intensity
low, under-peening effect should be considered for introducing adequate compressive residual
stress layer on the component surface (Vielma et al. (2014)). Three levels of intensities, which
are 12A-15A-18A, are chosen with moderate values as in applications for low alloy steels to avoid
excess plastic deformation along the weld zone and inadequate peening of the surface.
The application parameters to arrange the intensity values for different shot size are listed in
Table 46 below. The main parameter to reach different intensities for the same shot size is the
distance of the gun to the workpiece with constant angle and pressure. As can be seen from
Table 46 below, shot peening with S330 shot type with higher shot diameter than S230 type
requires higher pressure and higher distance to workpiece for reaching at 12A intensity.
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Table 46 Shot peening application parameters
Gun Distance to
Pressure (bar) Angle (°)
workpiece (cm)
S230, 12A 13-15 4.7-5.2 80°-85°
S230, 15A 12-14 4.7-5.2 80°-85°
S230, 18A 10-12 4.7-5.2 80°-85°
S330, 12A 18-20 5.6-7 80°-85°
Peening of the sample is done along the whole surface of the rail sample. Therefore, masking
and other requirements for regional peening application are eliminated.
Figure 146 Rail weld zone before and after shot peening process
As can be seen in Figure 146, one of the main effects of shot peening on rail weld samples is the
clean surface and more visible details of the weld zone. The weld collar transitions seem
smoother. This is significant as the notch effect of any initial defects coming from manufacturing
or welding can be eliminated from the surface. Therefore, the effect of shot peening on fatigue
life of the component under cyclic loading is enhanced.
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Figure 147 Surface roughness after peening with S330 (Left) and S230 (Right) steel shots
Shot impact creates a surface texture by plastic deformation that appears as superposition of
indentations. In addition, the texture created by shot peening is different and smoother other
than machining applications. The smoothness is provided by plastic flow of the surface with
indents created by multiple shots. With respect to different shot diameters, the surface
roughness of the samples vary as can be seen in Figure 147. Higher roughness is gained with
high diameter S330 shot application due to higher plastic deformation effect of the shots.
8.5 Residual stress measurement

In order to control and optimize the shot peening treatment, measuring the subsurface residual
stress state after shot peening reveals reliable results (Prevey (1990)). The purpose of the
residual stress measurement is to reveal in-depth RS properties of the shot peened surface of
web weld center.
There are destructive and non-destructive techniques used for this purpose. XRD, neutron
diffraction and some magnetic methods are used as non-destructive techniques; while hole
drilling, sectioning etc. are considered as destructive methods. XRD technique is convenient for
surface and in-depth (by electro polishing) residual stress analysis particularly to analyze the
surface treatment effects. Yet, challenging profile of the rail with its foot and head curves makes
it inconvenient to analyze rail web. Due to the hindering effect of head and foot curves, it is not
possible to absorb back the reflected X-ray waves from the rail web through goniometer.
Neutron and synchrotron diffraction measurements are very specialized methods and only few
laboratories exist for these techniques. Ultrasonic and magnetic methods are also popular non-
destructive methods. Yet, they are very sensitive to microstructural and metallurgical changes
of the measured component. Among destructive techniques, hole drilling method provides
more reliable results in a short time period and the level of destruction is localized. Another
advantage of HD method is that it can give in-depth RS profile within subsurface and has easily
applicable experimental procedure (Kudryavtsev(2008), Schajer (2013)). Hole drilling method is
principally removing of stressed material which provides surrounding material to adjust itself
again for stress balancing at the equilibrium state. Principally, following the drilling of a small
hole, relaxation of the surface strains is measured for back calculation of the state of residual
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stresses that are initially present at the hole location. The measurement is done by purpose-
specific rosette type strain gauges (Serra et al. (2014)).
HD measurement method is chosen for RS measurement for this study to reveal a reliable close-
to-surface RS state of the weld center of the rail web before and after SP application. HD
measurement is a strain-gauge based method. A special three element rosette type strain gauge
is located and installed on the point where residual stresses are to be investigated. The strain
gauges are connected to data acquisition system by wiring. The milling guide is used to center
the drilling tip and zero balancing the gage circuits on the drilling target on of the rosette. Then,
a shallow hole is drilled ate the drilling target. The strain relaxation data is measured and read
corresponding to initial residual stresses. The measured strain state is used for principal residual
stresses and their orientation (Vishaypg.com). HD technique basically measures the relieved
strains which depend on the RS state that existed in the material originally within the hole. In
general, a linear elastic response is observed when a piece of stressed material is removed.
Therefore, measured deformations during this removal correlate with the residual stresses that
originally present in the removed material. In addition, HD technique does not directly give the
surface residual stresses as the incremental progress of the drilling allows only up to 21
micrometers close to the measurement surface.
Hole drilling stress analysis on the weld center with one-point measurement is done considering
the criticality of this region with the presence of highest tensile RS values (see Figure 142). The
measurements are carried out according to ASTM E1561-93 (2014) and ASTME837-13a (2013).
Sample #2 and Sample #3 (see Table 45) are investigated. Web weld center measurement before
and after shot peening application compares the state of RS change in this region. As can be
seen from Figure 147, the measurement point needs no additional mechanical preparation. This
is advantageous to keep the original state of the surface after peening treatment.
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Sample #2 Sample #3
Figure 148 Hole drilling RS measurement setup for two rail samples before (up) and
after (down) shot peening application
Rosette Type A strain gauge is chosen for this application. Process parameters and the gauge
structure can be seen in Figure 149.
Strain Gauge Type Rosette A
Drilling radius 1,6 mm
Nominal hole radius 1,8 mm
Drilling speed 0,5 mm/min
Turning speed 400000 cycle/min
Hole depth 2 mm
Drilling step 50 µm
Figure 149 Rosette type A strain gauge and process parameters

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The measurement is applied on the same sample for peened and un-peened states on different
sides of the web region (A1-A2/B1-B2). This is necessary for the comparison of peened and un-
peened state of the same sample.
The measurements are revealed in the graphs up to 1 mm depth. This is mainly because the
contribution of internal stresses gets gradually less far from the measured surface. So, near
surface stresses are significant. When the distance is more than one-hole radius, the internal
stress contribution becomes unbeneficial for identifying residual stresses from strain
measurements. This is a limiting physical effect for hole drilling method in terms of stress
measurement depth (Schajer (2017)). Strain relaxation states of peened and un-peened samples
can be seen in Figure 150(a-b).
HD measurement strain gauge

layout and measured terms: σmax
(MPa), σmin (MPa), β (°), Ɛ1-2-3
(µm/m)
ɛ3(X)
ɛ2
ɛ1 (Y)
a) Sample #2 for unpeened (left) and peened (right) states (15A, S330)
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b) Sample #3 for un-peened (left) and peened (right) states (18A, S330)
Figure 150 Strain relaxation state of peened and unpeened surfaces
(ɛ1: Strain gauge 1, ɛ2: Strain gauge 2, ɛ3: Strain gauge 3)
Both in Figure 150a and b, negative strain relaxation implies tensile residual stress while positive
strain relaxation means compressive residual stress. Before shot peening negative relaxation is
dominant which turns directly into positive value for the peened state. Wide variations of stress
values can be seen in three directions for the unpeened state while peening the surface reveals
almost equibiaxial strain relaxations with smoother evaluation. As can be seen in the un-peened
state, strain relaxation graphs, negative strain relaxation tends to increase which proves
presence of high tensile residual stresses in deeper regions from the surface. On the other hand,
positive relaxation after shot peening increases up to a certain depth, which is around 0.8 mm
for Sample #1 and 0,9–1 mm for Sample #2, after which the strain relaxation tends to stabilize
with fewer fluctuations.
In-depth subsurface residual stress distribution can be seen below in Figure 151. For the state
of intermediate intensity of 15A shown in Figure 151a, the compressive stress reaches to a
maximum at around 0,225 mm and the maximum compressive residual stress (Smin after
peening) drops slightly from –746 MPa to about –582 MPa within the depth of 0.52 mm. It then
rapidly decreases to approach zero at about 0.75 mm below the shot peened surface.
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650
600
550
500
450
400
350
300
250
200
Principal Stress (MPa)
150
100
50
0
-50
-100 0 0,1 0,2 0,3 0,4 0,5 0,6 0,7 0,8 0,9 1
-150
-200
-250
-300
-350
-400
-450
-500
-550
-600
-650
-700
-750 0,225 mm
-800 -746,821 MPa
-850
Depth (mm)
Smin Smax Smin-Shot Smax-Shot
a) RS distribution before and after peening – Sample #2
750
700
650
600
550
500
450
400
350
300
250
200
150
Principal Stress (MPa)
100
50
0
-50
-100 0 0,1 0,2 0,3 0,4 0,5 0,6 0,7 0,8 0,9 1
-150
-200
-250
-300
-350
-400
-450
-500
-550
-600
-650
-700
-750
-800
-850
-900
-950
-1000 0,475 mm
-1050
-1100 -1 021,413 MPa
-1150
Depth (mm)
Smin Smax Smin-Shot Smax-Shot
b) RS distribution before and after peening – Sample #3
Figure 151 RS distribution of sample #2 (15A, S330) and sample #3 (18A, S330) before
and after shot peening application
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For the high intensity of 18A shown in Figure 60b, maximum compressive residual stress (Smin
after peening) of –1021,413 MPa occurs at around 0.475 mm that is much deeper than the low
intensity state. Then, the compressive stress layer goes to zero at a depth of more than 1 mm.
Figure 151a and b reveal that tensile to compressive RS transformation as a result of peening
treatment is obvious in a significant surface layer in both samples. Hence, with respect to shot
peening intensity values this depth differs accordingly. Sample #3 peened with 18A intensity
shows more compressive RS penetration depth than Sample #2 peened with 15A intensity.
Comparing the maximum compressive stress value, high intensity peening introduces higher
maximum compressive residual stress value than the low intensity peening state. Another
significant point is that high intensity peening introduces maximum compressive RS at a higher
depth to the peened surface than the low intensity state. With the same shot size, increasing
intensity means a thicker compressive stress layer with a maximum value at a deeper location
to the surface. Intensity effect can also be considered for surface compressive residual stress
value after peening. In terms of hole drilling technique, first increment is at 0.025 mm which at
immediate subsurface. As can be seen from the graphs, higher intensity introduces lower
compressive RS at the surface (consider the first increment location at 0,025 mm from the
surface) which is possibly a result of relaxation in the surface produced by impact force with
multiple shots.
8.5.1 Fatigue life analysis

Ensuring the fatigue life improvement by shot peening is directly in relation with the value of
maximum compressive residual stress and its depth from the surface in addition to the utmost
compressive residual stress layer. This layer represents the plastically deformed depth of the
component surface by multiple shots. Therefore, subsurface compressive residual stress
magnitude and depth have critical importance for fatigue life of the component considering the
fatigue crack initiation and propagation mechanisms.
Figure 152 Fatigue test scheme for the flash butt welded rails and fatigue test setup (EN
14587)
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Following the shot peening application and residual stress analysis to show the mechanical
treatment effect, the fatigue life of the 60E1 (R260) flash butt welded rails under peened and
un-peened conditions is revealed by four-point bending fatigue test according to EN 14587-2
standard for flash butt welded rails. As in the schematic view of sample condition in Figure 152,
the outer span is 1180 mm (L) and the inner span (W) is 154 mm. Four-point bending fatigue
test setup with 500 kN loading capacity actuator and 10 Hz frequency is used. With applying
past-the-post method as recommended by EN standard, fatigue test loading is done with 290
MPa upper load and 29 MPa lower load (10% of maximum applied stress). The maximum loading
according to the standard is used for increasing the tonnage applied on the sample. To
determine the desired stress values for the application on the sample, strain gauge mounted at
the bottom of the rail at the weld center is used to measure the bending strains. Therefore, the
sample is loaded with 47 ton to reach the maximum applied stress, which is the maximum level
that could be reached that is just below the testing equipment capacity. According to EN
standard, it is required that the samples need to complete 5 million cycles without any failure
for a successful completion of the test. So, 5 million cycles limitation is considered for the
duration of the tests.
Figure 153 Cyclic loading with a sinusoidal wave shape
Under optimized test parameters in parallel with EN14587-2 standard, R260 rail joint samples
with and without shot peening are tested. Table 47 below reveals the test summary.
Table 47 Fatigue test results
Test Sample Fatigue Cycle to Fracture Condition

Sample #0 2.370.594 Without shot peening
Sample #1 5.000.000 With shot peening (S330, 12A)
Sample #4 5.000.000 With shot peening (S230, 12A)
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350
2.3E6
300 5.0E6 5.0E6
Stress Range (MPa)

250 Sample #0 Sample #1
Peened - 12A -
200 S330
Sample #4
150 Peened - 12A
S230
100
50
0
0 1000000 2000000 3000000 4000000 5000000 6000000
Life (cycle)
Figure 154 Fatigue life of peened and un-peened samples
The resulting fracture surface of non-treated sample can be seen in Figure 155. Due to highest
bending stresses occurring in the rail foot with high axle loadings, the fracture takes place in the
foot region at the weld zone and propagates vertically towards the rail head. As a result of
presence of a surface defect, fatigue crack initiation is observed under applied stress in relation
with the defect size. As can be seen in Figure 155, the fracture surface consists of semi-elliptical
and semi-circular crack surfaces at the edge of weld collar. The chevron patterns at the web and
radial marks at the head of the rail are clearly observed at the fracture surface. The fracture is
observed at around 2.37 million cycles for the non-peened sample and within the heat affected
zone adjacent to weld collar. The number of cycles until failure for the un-peened sample is
under 5 million performance cycle. The crack initiation zone is in the region close to foot-web
transition which approves the criticality of high tensile residual stresses after welding process in
this region (see Figure 143). Considering the crack initiation location and the type of fracture
with the fracture surface condition of the un-peened rail weld sample in this study corresponds
with Ozakgul et al (2015) in which the 60E1 flash butt welded rail samples are loaded with
190MPa and 4Hz, and until 5 million cycles. The loading conditions are less than the present
study, but the failure type is similar in terms of fracture surface and crack initiation zone. This
shows the typical failure mechanism of such welding types of rail steel.
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Radial
Marks
Chevnon
Patterns
Crack Initiation
Semi-circular
propagation
Figure 155 Fracture surface of un-peened sample after fatigue loading
The peened samples are also tested under same loading values as for the reference sample.
Sample #1 which is peened with 12A intensity by using S330 type shot completes 5 million cycle
fatigue life. Sample #4 that is peened with again 12A intensity and S230 shot type differently
from Sample #1 also shows run-out with completion of 5 million cycle fatigue life condition. As
can be seen in Figure 154, both samples show better fatigue life cycle magnitudes than the un-
peened reference sample. The results of higher cycle values can be attributed to shot peening
effect on the weld zone surface and subsurface residual stress state. Beneficial compressive
residual stress layer with an efficient width and maximum value depth provides high resistance
against crack initiation along the surface. The resulting progress on fatigue life with shot peening
samples can also be associated with almost defect-free surface with higher smoothness than
the as-welded condition. This is one of the advantages of peening treatment which removes
potential surface defects/cracks coming from welding and stripping of the joint.
8.6 Discussion
Shot peening as a cold working treatment basically introduces plastically deformed zone on a
very thin surface layer of the treated component, which creates compressive residual stress
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dominated zone with a maximum value and depth. Ratti et al (2009) and Nikitin et al (2004)
indicate that the fatigue life improvement provided by cold working of the surface with shot
impact is also related to work-hardening behavior of the surface and surface modification by
each shot impact. Therefore, the depth of this layer determines the level of resistance of the
component against crack initiation and propagation under fatigue cyclic loading. The results of
the experiments in this study show that the relation of shot peening intensity and shot type with
residual stress profile coincides with early studies. As also proved by Ratti et al (2009), higher
Almen intensity creates higher depth compressive residual stress layer on the surface with the
width of almost two times for 18A intensity peening condition compared to 15A intensity one.
The advantage of this condition is the ability of compressive residual stress layer to lock the
crack tip within the compressive stress environment up to an effective distance from the
surface. Another aspect of having compressive residual stress layer is that the initiation point of
crack is pushed beneath the surface which increases the fatigue lifetime.
In contrast to Vielma et al (2014), higher intensity peening of the surface introduces higher
maximum value with –1021 MPa which is a significant value for the weld zone of the rail.
Increase in the depth and magnitude of maximum compressive stress with higher intensity value
application is in parallel with Torres et al (2002). Farrahi et al (1995) also demonstrates parallel
results in terms of residual stress evaluation with intensity increase on the spring steel samples.
The difference between the results regarding RS evaluation in these studies are potentially
related to different workpiece properties used for treatment.
Torres et al (2002) claims that finding the best shot peening condition for fatigue lifetime
improvement is a complex process due to many variables effecting the intensity factor of the
treatment. These variables are listed as follows; surface properties, relaxation of compressive
residual stresses after peening the surface under cyclic loading and the potential of compressive
stress layer to push the crack initiation into subsurface. Moreover, the extent of the fatigue life
improvement through surface residual stress modification with shot peening should be
correlated with the hardness, microstructure and surface finish type structural changes as well,
according to Withers (2007). These kind of side effects make it difficult to describe the influence
of only residual stress evaluation. On the other hand, the combination of these improvements
on the material surface proves the efficiency of shot peening treatment.
Ozakgul et al (2015) states that the fatigue testing carried out under a constant stress range and
with inadequate fatigue test results are not convenient to recommend a fatigue category and
to define the behavior of the joint under different conditions of cyclic loadings according to S-N
diagrams by EN standards. This is also observable for this study. The maximum loading of the
samples with the present conditions stays in the elastic range. Peened and un-peened condition
comparison needs more results on real dimension or specifically prepared samples and under
varying stress amplitudes. This is possible with a higher capacity equipment to shorten the
testing duration which can allow more samples to be tested under modified loadings. In
addition, it is generally accepted that each of the welding joint has its own characteristic
behavior under the same service and test conditions. So that, every aspect of effective
conditions needs to be considered and measured accurately.
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8.7 Conclusion
Considering the surface finish condition and residual stress state evaluation after shot peening
treatment experiments in this study, the results are convincing for a better service performance
of the flash butt welded rail.
In terms of S330 shot type application, increasing the intensity from 12A to 15A increases the
value for maximum compressive residual stress from –746,8 MPa to –1021,4 MPa. The
maximum compressive stress location is also changed and transferred further within the
component with 475 µm depth from the surface. The distance for 12A intensity application is
225 µm which is half of the one for higher intensity application. The extent and maximum
compressive RS values of high intensity peening process as a result makes it more prone to
increasing the strength and resistance of the rail weld against fatigue crack nucleation and
propagation under wheel-rail contact conditions.
The higher diameter of S330 shots introduces higher roughness to the surface than S230 type.
This is because higher diameter leaves bigger indentations on the surface with every impact of
the shot. Considering multiple indentations, the roughness increases correspondingly. In
addition, S330 shot application is carried out with higher pressure that introduces higher plastic
deformation. Considering the surface/subsurface plastically deformed layer properties in terms
of compressive RS zone, the higher roughness caused by S330 type can be tolerable. Since,
excessive plastic deformation with high shot size is not observed. As both type of shots creates
good surface conditions, the weld zone with less welding errors can provide higher resistance
against surface fatigue crack initiation and propagation conditions.
The extent of the shot peening parameter effect on the fatigue life of the component needs
more research with additional fatigue tests under modified stress ranges. Better fatigue life
cycle of the peened samples in this study still reveals the influence of surface condition of the
weld zone after shot peening, but not accurately. Nevertheless, high maximum compressive
stress value which is around –1021 MPa at subsurface and very good depth of the compressive
stress layer with around 475 µm that are reached by 18A intensity and S330 shot size treatment
has potential to increase the service performance. Also, the compressive RS distribution of
subsurface layer after shot peening with these parameters shows smooth fluctuation after the
maximum value, which is beneficial for creating continuous compressive stress environment to
prevent the crack propagation. Considering the depth, the value and distribution of
compressive residual stresses, UIC 60E1 rail steel weld zone reveals significant response to shot
peening treatment.
The results of this study give a general idea about the benefits of shot peening application on
improving the weld points of rail track which are considered as weak points. To increase the
accuracy of understanding on weld reliability and strength improvement by SP, application of
additional parameters of shot peening is needed. Coverage, wider variation in intensity values
and other types of shots can give broader information on the benefits of SP. In addition, fatigue
testing can be repeated on several more samples with a wider variation in application
parameters. This can allow healthier comparison of the impact of SP on weld strength as a result
of RS optimization of the weld surface. In addition, the restriction on maximum fatigue loading
GA H2020 730841 D3.1 Page 198 of 268
in this study is due to the capacity of the equipment. This condition can be overcome by a higher
capacity fatigue testing machine usage. Higher fatigue loading can decrease the testing period
and allow more tests. Moreover, if the opportunity exists, additional RS measurement
techniques can give a chance of understanding the RS state of the weld zone for the whole
profile in detail.
The results of this study give a general idea about the benefits of shot peening application on
improving the weld points of rail track which are considered as weak points. To increase the
accuracy of understanding on weld reliability and strength improvement by SP, application of
additional parameters of shot peening is needed. Coverage, wider variation in intensity values
and other types of shots can give broader information on the benefits of SP. In addition, fatigue
testing can be repeated on several more samples with a wider variation in application
parameters. This can allow healthier comparison of the impact of SP on weld strength as a result
of RS optimization of the weld surface. In addition, the restriction on maximum fatigue loading
in this study is due to the capacity of the equipment. This condition can be overcome by a higher
capacity fatigue testing machine usage. Higher fatigue loading can decrease the testing period
and allow more tests. Moreover, if the opportunity exists, additional RS measurement
techniques can give a chance of understanding the RS state of the weld zone for the whole
profile in detail.
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9 Key areas for inspection and monitoring

The chapter discusses selected key areas for inspection and monitoring. Section 9.1 provides an
in-depth investigation on means to detect rail cracks and subsequent rail breaks, whereas
section 9.2 focuses on monitoring/inspection of track geometry.
9.1 Enhanced rail breakage and rail condition monitoring and

inspection systems
9.1.1 Scope
Increased demand of low emission transportation transforms and diversifies the vehicles. In a
similar fashion to the beginning of the industrial revolution, the importance of the railway
vehicles is reintroduced to respond to such demands. Besides, generous budgets are spared by
several organizations, such as railway operators, European Union etc., for Research &
Development activities to regain the popularity of railway over other modes of transportation.
Therefore, recently the railway networks and frequency of traffic are in upward trends all
around the globe. Increase usage of railway has already revealed serious problems for railway
operators, such as rail defects, rail break etc. Since the breakage could end in derailment of the
vehicle, it brings huge economic burden to the operator. Therefore, rail breakage and related
derailment are one of the most important problem and detection methods are currently among
the trend topics in R&D projects.
The so-called “knowledge-based rail inspection strategies” could be well established in
consideration of the root causes identification and this may help to address the most efficient
monitoring process for each type of defect. Since effective rail flaw detection covers a primary
place within the smart maintenance and replacement programs, the root causes of the
breakages are briefly explained. Within the second chapter, the reactive broken rail detection
systems are reintroduced. Here, reactive means that the method is capable of detecting the
broken rail after it has occurred. Several technologies have been introduced to detect broken
rails. However, track circuit-based signalling system has been used for both the railway traffic
regulation and broken rail detection for decades. Although this system has represented
efficiency in traffic control, it has many disadvantages by detection of breakages and new traffic
regulation systems have emerged as an alternative to the current system. Therefore, new
researches and developments have been announced for the detection of rail breaks.
Traditional track circuit-based traffic regulation system has started to be replaced by the new
ones, such as Communication Based Train Control (CBTC). The compatibility of these reactive
detection systems with CBTC is briefly discussed in scope of this review (Thurston (2014), Wirtu
et al. (2011)). Brief definition of a CBTC system is provided in IEEE Standard 1474.1. According
to this definition, characteristics of a CBTC system include the following:
• High resolution train location determination independent from the track circuits
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• Continuous, high capacity, bi-directional train to wayside data communication
• Train-Bourne and wayside processors performing vital functions
Communication based train control has been used by some operators for about decade, for
example in the United States in terms of the Rail Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (RSIA). This
system may prevent undesired accidents, such as train-to-train collision, derailment caused by
excessive train speed etc., by stopping the train before the accident. High degree of capability
of CBTC system reflects the proper operation of various equipment on both wayside and train-
borne. This regulation system cannot detect broken rails. On the other hand, an integrated rail
flaw detection method could be beneficiary within the traffic regulation system. Therefore, by
developing new technics to detect breakages, not only the efficiency in detecting has to be
considered, but also the compatibility of such technics with the new traffic regulation system
should be discussed (Sykes et al. (2018)).
Figure 156 Track Circuit System (http://www.railsystem.net/track-circuit/) and CBTC

(https://www.cisco.com/c/dam/en/us/solutions/collateral/industry-
solutions/positive-train-so.pdf)
In the last chapter the proactive methods are represented. These methods can find the rail
defects, which may result in breakage. Under this topic, many non-destructive methods are
briefly explained and currently made developments are gathered together and reintroduced.
Consequently, a survey about broken rail detection systems used by railway operators is given
to gain a perspective about the use of these techniques.
9.1.2 Objective
In scope of Work Package 3, the research activities carried out aim to gather knowledge for
further usage in improving the performance of the track structure. Our goal is to investigate the
current inspection and monitoring technologies to detect broken rails. According to David F.
Thurston, detection methods could be classified as proactive and reactive (Thurston (2014)).
Detected cracks may result in breakage unless they are treated during the maintenance action.
Therefore, crack inspection methods are classified as proactive broken rail detection systems.
Current technics of both proactive and reactive methods are summarized in a detailed manner.
GA H2020 730841 D3.1 Page 201 of 268
As an introduction, the main rail break mechanisms could be reviewed in Chapter 5.

Understanding the contribution of the mechanisms to the breakage may help to gain
perspective about the detection methods. The deficiencies and selective properties of currently
used technics are discussed within this section.
9.1.3 Reactive broken rail detection technologies

Within this subsection, the reactive broken rail detection systems are investigated. As
determined above reactive technologies are capable of detecting the broken rail after it has
occurred. Several technologies have been introduced to detect broken rails.
DC Coded Track Circuit Based Broken Rail Detection Systems

By track circuit-based signalling system, track is divided into the blocks and each block is
separated from the adjacent ones via insulated joints. Each block has its own electrical circuit to
identify the location of the railway vehicle. At the end of these blocks, the power supply and
relay locate and these are connected with cables. If the circuit is complete, the relay is energized
and this shows the signal as clear. Otherwise, the relay is de-energized and the signal becomes
occupied. Railway operators have taken advantage of this system as long as the track is
electrified. However, there are always blind spots in terms of the electrification and around such
regions track circuit system may be unavailable. Addition to the traffic regulation, detection of
the rail breaks may not be provided (Wirtu et al.(2011)).
As explained earlier, basic track circuit system consists of a transmitter, receiver and insulated
joints. At each block transmitter sends electrical pulses to the receiver. These pulses are coded
individually for each block with different pulse rate. This helps to distinguish the status of each
block. Change in the received electrical pulses signalizes to the transmitter that a discontinuity,
which completes the electrical circuit in the block, has occurred, such as rail breakage.
Represented break in the block behaves like a grounded potential. Therefore, within this block,
the receiver may not be able to sense the electrical pulses and the system detects this condition
as loss of signal. One of the early developments was introduced Richard E. Risely on behalf of
the Marquardt Industrial Products Co. in 1970 (1972__R__US3696243.pdf.).
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Figure 157 Template drawing of the track circuit based broken rail detection system
(1972__R__US3696243.pdf.)
Since then many improvements were made. For instance, in 1977 a new design for dual gauge
track section were developed. The necessity of this improvement based on the differences on
rail gauge across the countries. Within this system, two sensor coils are placed between the
narrow- and wide-gauge rails. Similar to the basic track circuit system, if break occurs on each
rail, the coil, which is attached to the broken rail, shows lower or zero output signal. The
comparator detects this unusual condition and the relay is de-energized. At the end, system
indicates the broken rail. This patent was taken by Bruno Guillaumin, A. Ehrlic and Donald Stark
on behalf of the Westinghouse Air Brake Co (1977__R__US4022408.pdf.).
Klaus Freilingshaus made another improvement on behalf of the General Signal Co. in 1988. This
improvement aims the breakage detection in dark territory, in which the signalling system does
not exist. Especially between the siding ends, there may be dark territory and within this section
occurred rail breaks should also be taken into account. The used systems in the dark territory
for signalling and rail breaks, such as Radio Based Railway Signalling and Traffic Control System
and dispatcher based check in and check out system are not efficient in terms of the energy
usage and detection capability. The patented technique uses power for a short time in an
efficient manner. The system for broken rail detection activates just before the train is about to
enter the section of track between sidings and / or just after the left of the train the same
section. Such short usage of the power requires only fewer energy, which may be sufficiently
provided by the solar panels, and does not require commercial power
(1988__R__US4886226.pdf.).
General limitations of this type of track circuit system by detecting the breaks on rail, relies
generally on the deficiency of ability to detect any type of breaks and connection of the fractured
parts due to the thermal expansion and contraction. Thus, recomplete of the closed loop is a
challenge of matter for this system. In addition, earthing and bonding may be an alternate path
for the current flow and disable the detection system. Excessive usage of insulated rail joints
and other infrastructure equipment may be the important restriction in terms of the investment
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and maintenance cost. Besides the new traffic regulator system, such limitations may result in
new researches for further techniques.
Microlok II interlocking system broken rail detection in sleep mode compatible with
electronic train management system (ETMS) of BNSF
According to (Switch (2000)); ‘The Microlok II interlocking control system is a multi-purpose
monitoring and control system for railroad and rail mass transit wayside interlocking
equipment’. Some basic applications of this system are briefly listed below:
• Direct control of wayside signals
• Switch machine control and switch point position
• Switch lock position monitoring
• Monitoring of mainline track circuits for track occupancy indications and track circuit
problems such as faulty insulated joint or broken rail etc.
Microlok II consists of these hardware and software elements: System Cardfile is responsible
fundamentally for system monitoring, control and diagnostics and data recording. Vital Cut-Off
Relay provides CPU controlled switching of battery power to vital output circuits. Commercial
Power Monitoring unit is a power-off relay, which provides a non-vital indication of commercial
power failure to the Microlok II system. Coded Track Circuit and Cab Signal Interfaces unit has
own panels for coded track circuit signal reception and output of track codes to rails. Brief
explanation of coded track circuits may be necessary for further understanding of the system.
There are different examples of coded track circuits, such as Electro Code or Microtrax, which
provide long distances, however, like DC track circuits, the lead type, length, ballast resistance
and specific type of circuit are important parameters for reliable operation. One of the most
important advantage of coded track circuits is they can be setup in a bidirectional fashion. This
may provide the same information for the circuit to be transmitted from either end (Switch
(2000)).
Working principle is based on the fixed block fundamentals; it may function as long as there are
signals present. According to the field tests and usage, this system can be integrated with
Centralised Traffic Control and Automatic Train Protection systems. Additionally, it may be very
useful for the broken rail detection in dark territory. Microlok II detects the broken rail with the
track circuit based signalling system and detection procedure is explained in according to
research of CRC Australia ‘High Speed Detection Of Broken Rails, Cracks And Surface Faults’
(Wirtu et al. (2011), Switch (2000)).
• It uses very low speed transmission rate for the coded track circuit that enables long
track sections (up to 9 km ) thereby minimizing trackside equipment and frequency of
insulated joints.
• It employs a continuous in-cab signal system that is transmitted from ahead of the train
and received on the locomotive allowing immediate detection of broken rails.
• Higher detection rates are reported.
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Electronic train management system is a part of communication-based train control unit of

BNSF. This broken rail detection system works in dark territory, in which no signalling presents.
The Microlok II and microtrax circuits connect to the electronic train management system with
data radio and this provides a proper communication between the components to switch
between sleep and active mode. Sleep mode means that the system activates only when the
track status is required by the data radio. Such transition between the activation and sleep
mode, results in reduced power consumption. Therefore, a solar panel may be sufficient to
power this unit (Wirtu et al. (2011), Bowden (2014)).
Principally, as the locomotive approaches the circuit, circuit status information is sent to ETMS
equipped locomotives. These statuses are treated as a hazard detector in the on-board system.
If the circuit is down, the on-board computer enforced restricted speed over the circuit. The
system can operate through the long track distances, such as 6 to 8 km, and does not interfere
with crossing warning devices, reports broken rail detection status. One of the most important
features is being applicable to communication-based train control. This will take the researches
about this development one step further; on the other hand the reliability of this system is not
completely proved yet (Wirtu et al. (2011), Bowden (2014)).
Figure 158 Schematic view of Microlok II sleep mode system operation (Bowden (2014))
Current sensing track circuit based broken rail detection systems

In scope of the following patented techniques, voltage is applied at the two ends of each block
and apart from the fundamental system, the current flow is sensed. In 2000, Ernest Peek and
Wayne Basta published their patent and according to their contribution to basic system, the
breakage may be detected continuously within a block, even with a train present (Peak and
Basta (2000)). The only restriction of this technique is that only one train can be present in the
block at a time. According to this work, current source may be DC or low frequency AC, or coded
pulse sequence.
Further developments were made in 2007. Both of them are capable of sensing the current in a
long block rail section. Voltage source and control unit together with the resistor sensors are the
main components to provide information about the current sensing. Control unit makes a
decision whether there is a breakage within the block by comparing the signals, taken from
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voltage source and shunt current sensor. The block length is about 16 km. and comparing to the
conventional systems, which can cover only up to 4 km, it can be concluded that a remarkable
enhancement was made about the coverage length. This system can also detect long block multi
zone rail break by applying voltage from the plurality voltage source to the block, which has
plurality zone (USA Patent No. US7226021B1 (2007)). In (USA Patent No. US7823841B2 (2007))
broken rail is distinguished using time division multiplexed access form.
Jointless track circuit based broken rail detection system

Jointless track circuits are used for both traffic regulation and broken rail detection. They can be
voltage or current operated type and perform the action generally in audio frequency range
(20Hz–20kHz). Within this system, oscillator and amplifier are placed at the end of the block.
Characteristic difference lies in frequency signal filtering and amplifying at the receiver unit for
track relay operation. Therefore, each track circuit block has individual tuned link in accordance
with the different signal processing operation. This helps to distinguish track circuit block. Similar
to the basic system, broken rail acts as an anomaly on the track and results in signal deviation.
A group of researchers patented their new improvement for jointless track in 2011 on behalf of
General Electric. In scope of this system, passive signaling devices are used. These optimize the
amplitude, modulation, coding and frequency of waveforms that are applied to track by
signaling points (Bängtsson(1999), Kindt et al. (2018)).
Locomotive based hybrid broken rail detection system

Kenneth Karg made further development on basic track circuit system to overcome fundamental
deficiency of the system and patented his works on behalf of the Bombardier Transport GmbH.
in 2006. This system consists of a locomotive and monitoring entity. Both components have the
same functionalities as in the basic system. Any change in the characteristic of the track, such as
breakage, can be detected and transmitted by the wireless transmitter over a communication
link. On vehicle transmitter and the complete of the closed-circuit flow loop by the locomotive
just in front of the breakage, transforms the fundamental system from the wayside to on board
detection (Wirtu et al. (2011), USA Patent No. WO2006065730 A2 (2006)).
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Figure 159 Schematic view of the broken rail detection system (USA Patent No.
WO2006065730 A2 (2006))
The model of Kenneth Karg has its own deficiencies. For example, track conditions may greatly
influence the signal characteristics. For example, the attenuation level is highly influenced by
the track geometry. This method alone may not be able to detect the exact location of the
breakage, therefore additional technique may be compulsory, i.e. visual or NDT technique to
determine the location. Through the relative lower busy lines track circuit system should be
enabled to detect the rail breakage. This may bring extra economic burden for the operators
(Wirtu et al. (2011)).
Active broken rail detection system and method

D. Davenport and T. Hoctor from General Electric patented this technique in 2004. According to
the description in patent, the system consists of a mechanical signal source and a transducer.
Signal sources include piezoelectric slack transducers and electro-mechanical hammers,
whereas the mechanical signal transducers include piezoelectric slack transducers and
accelerometers. Signal sources are located on the track and provide continuously mechanical
pulses to the track and transducer correlates these signals to determine whether the track is
intact. If there exists breakage on the track, mechanical excitation may not be able to travel
through the transducer and system may result in warning situation for rail breaks. The frequency
range of pulses may vary in 10 kHz to 50 kHz and the duration of the signal is 10 milliseconds.
Pulse transmission interval may be up to 25 milliseconds.
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Figure 160 Schematic view of active broken rail detection system (Yavuz et al. (2014)
Since this development performs the detection of the rail breaks independent from the track
circuit based signalling system, it may be useful and provide the track security for dark
territories. For continuous rail integrity monitoring requires a well-designed trackside
infrastructure to detect broken rail in an efficient manner; in this case the efficiency should be
considered the length of the track section, in which the system is capable of detecting the
discontinuity. Depending on the track conditions, this capability may be limited. For example,
through the poor track section, detection length may be shorter. In scope of the compatibility
with CBTC or track circuit based signalling, active broken rail detection system may complement
the track circuit signalling by O (Wirtu et al. (2011), Yavuz et al. (2014)).
Broken rail detector for communication-based train control

Victor F. Grappone developed and patented this method in 2003, based upon the experience of
the track circuit-based breakage detection. Although detection mechanism has many similarities
fundamentally, it was evolved to become suitable with the CBTC. According to this method
broken rail detection is performed in an unoccupied section of the track and the track is
subdivided into sections with current loops rather than the insulated joints. Commercial AC
power is applied near the physical centre of the track section, while causing approximately equal
currents to flow in each resulting half of the track section under the condition of the rails being
intact. Electrically insulated coils, which are mounted on the rails, sense the current and any
abnormal decrease of the current with respect to reference value, means the change in the
characteristic of the track section, which can be a rail-break.
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This development represents also some limitations in usage. For example, the railway track
section should be unoccupied; therefore, train detection is not possible. Additionally, new
trackside infrastructure investment for the equipment is a prerequisite. Compatibility with the
traffic control unit is another important issue. The working unit is highly influenced by the track
parameters and environmental factors. For example, varying ballast impedance, presence of
foreign metallic objects and source voltage fluctuation affect negatively the working
mechanism. This invention is classified as a passive detector and incompatible with high speed
broken rail detection (Wirtu et al. (2011), Examiner (2003)).
Figure 161 Schematic drawing of the invention of F. Grappone. [1] : Rails, [8]: Shunts,
[9]: Current Loop, [10]: Closure rails, [11]: Loop terminations (Examiner
(2003))
Next generation track circuit of federal railroad administration

Federal Railroad Administration has carried out investigations for possible improvements for the
adaption of the traditional track circuit system to the CBTC. The results showed that both the
current and voltage could be used to distinguish the abnormal conditions. Rail is sensing medium
as usual. If the current loop is zero, then there is a rail breakage on the track, otherwise the track
is clear. Current sensing allows detecting the breakage even with the presence of a shunt axle
within the block. However, it does not provide any information about the occupancy of the
block, unless additional information is available. Relevant information about the broken rail is
provided for the train to the end of the block, the train is approaching. Besides the current,
voltage monitoring gives also information about both the track occupancy and rail breakage.
Below in the Table 48 various combinations of the monitored current and voltage situations are
listed (Kindt et al. (2018)):
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Table 48 Possible combinations of voltage and current for ends A and B of the block
|ITx|(A) |VRx|(A) |ITx|(B) |VRx|(B) Indication

>0 >0 >0 >0 Clear
Broken Rail – No Occupancy
Or
Occupied – Broken Rail Between A and
0 0 0 0 Occupancy; Broken Rail Between B and
Occupancy
Note : The ambiguity is resolved when the
onboard knows it is occupying the block.
>0 0 >0 0 Occupied – No Broken Rail
0 0 >0 0 Occupied
Occupied – Broken Rail Between B and
>0 0 0 0
Occupancy
Figure 162 Next generation track circuit with transmitting current from both ends of a
block (Kindt et al. (2018).
By traditional track circuit-based systems, minimum length of the signal block is driven by the
safe train separation, whilst the maximum block length is determined by the cost of the system
and line capacity. Similar to the traditional system, the block length relates to the safe braking
distance of the train and warning distance:
• If the total length of braking and warning distance is less than the detection block length,
train separation is determined by the detection blocks.
• Otherwise, train separation is determined by the moving block train control system.
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The development of an acoustic broken rail detection

Research has been carried out about acoustics in many applications of railway sector and broken
rail detection is one of the major promising area for effective usage of this technique. The system
is made up of wayside equipment, which include piezoelectric transducers and a power supply.
Each of the transducer’s role is being transmitter and receiver, respectively. Ultrasonic acoustic
guided waves are sent and received through the continuously welded rail. The transmitters
periodically launch sequences of bursts, which are detected at the neighbouring receivers if the
rail is intact. The most remarkable feature is taking advantage of the longitudinal guided waves,
which have less attenuation in rail and travel at higher speeds than transverse waves.
Additionally, such waves might be less affected from the environmental factors. During the
transmission and receive of the such guided waves, tracking the optimal frequency is an
important part of the system (Wirtu et al. (2011), Schwartz (2004)).
Figure 163 Diagram of the proposed acoustic broken rail detection system (Schwartz
(2004)).
This development was tested in scope of Schwartz (2004). Each node consists of a controller
with a transducer, which are mounted on each rail. According to the test report, brief summary
of the working principle tells that binary data packets are sent from node to node acoustically
using a simple protocol in a bucket brigade fashion. The inability to send data on any given link
is interpreted as a broken rail. The feedback information of the broken rail is sent back to train
control centre acoustically via the unbroken rail. When a break presents on the track, a burst
type signal is sent and by the measuring time between the transmission and return of the burst,
the range of the break can be computed. This may be a timesaving activate for manual control
and maintenance by the field staff. When control room receives a signal of no integrity along
the track, the train control system slows trains and suspends automatic control near the break
(Wirtu et al. (2011), Schwartz (2004)).
According to the test report of the IDEA project, the following issues are considered to be
developed further:
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• Transducer and mounting systems that can efficiently generate longitudinal waves in
rail.
• Determination of the cause and solution of the increase in attenuation due to wet rail
conditions.
• Cost effective techniques for transmitting through or around bolted rail joints, insulated
rail joints, turnouts and other special track work.
• Fast efficient algorithms for discriminating between acoustic reflections caused by rail
breaks and those caused by normal discontinuities such as rail joints and switches.
MTA New York City Transit demonstrated acoustic rail break detection on a mainline. According
to the published final report, no rail breaks occurred during the demo and the reliability of the
system could not be accurately verified. Many factors may contribute to this situation, such as:
• Frequency ranges that were not optimized for the rail section,
• Higher than anticipated quantity of thermite welds within the test section,
• Doubling of the transmitter/receiver pairs on a single rail,
• Physical conditions of the receiver in the control.
Another restriction of this development is polling time adjustment for every type of track
section. Mechanical rail joints play an obstructer role for emitting the acoustic signals through
the track. Therefore, new type of sensors should be developed, which make possible to detect
broken rail along the mechanical jointed tracks, not just through the continuous welded track
(Transit (2006)).
Figure 164 Schematic of the acoustic based broken rail detection concept (Transit
(2006))
Broken rail detection using guided wave

Since the former broken rail detection systems are inefficient, operators were in search of the
new techniques during the late 90s and beginning of the millennium. At that time, guided wave
was introduced as a promising technology, taking advantage of structure borne signals and
independent from the track circuit and the other environmental factors. Sound propagation
through a solid medium was already known phenomena. Ultrasonic waves are confined within
the boundaries of a bar or tubular medium and the boundary produces repeated reflections on
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the ultrasonic waves, thus forming ultrasonic guided waves (UGW), which consist of a
longitudinal wave, a surface wave, a lamb wave, as well as other basic ultrasonic types in various
ways.
Joseph L. Rose is one of the pioneer researchers using guided wave to detect broken rail.
Propagation of such waves are based on either the impact or the energy propagation in wheel–
rail contact. Starting from this point of view, he attributed his methodology on the identification
of the broken rail using pulse echo reflection method. Sonic or ultrasonic sensors are mounted
on the rail to capture the elastic wave energy, which comes from the approaching train. If a
breakage occurs between the sensors, the sensor on the near side of the approaching vehicle,
increases in magnitude in accordance with the magnified activity of elastic wave and reflects
elastic wave energy from the broken rail, whereas the further sensor represents just the noise
pattern (Rose et al. (2002)).
Figure 165 Projected sensor time history of elastic wave energy as train approaches
sections of instrumented rail with no break and instrumented rail with a
break (Rose et al. (2002)).
Rail break detection using ultrasonic guided waves from Railsonic

Modern Ultrasonic Broken Rail Detection (UBRD) system consists of ultrasonic transducers with
cables, transmitter and receiver modules, cabinet with power supply and communication
equipment, rail clamp and alarm terminal. Attached transducer to the rail track behaves as a
transmitter, which emits ultrasound to the receiver. Both receiver and transmitter transducers
are solar powered and operate autonomously. Principally, the receiver receives emitted signals
from the transducers, which locate on the both side of the rail and according to the Burst
Repetition Interval (BRI) receiver makes decision about the acoustic energy direction. BRIs are
adjusted specifically for each transmitter. Thus, the signal characteristic on each direction could
be well distinguished. Receivers distinguish the signals using the following criteria (Wirtu et al.
(2011), Burger (2012)):
• Signal frequency
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• Burst length
• Burst Repetition Interval (BRI)
• Burst train continuity
This system was first developed by the cooperation of the Institute for Maritime Technology,
which is known as the South African Navy’s scientific and technology support service, and
Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR). Philip W. Loveday has started his
contributions to the development of a physically robust transducer in 2000 in cooperation with
CSIR. Physically robustness, at the beginning, covered the corrosion resistance, being able to
work under high level of shock, vibration and within the high range of temperature. During the
first attempt for development, the behaviour of the transducer under different physical
conditions was investigated with numerical methods and such mathematical models were
validated with the laboratory experiments. In addition to transducer development, proper
clamping technique on the rail and the signal processing technique was required for reliable
receiving and processing the data. According to the work of Franc A. Burger the following issues
make practical implementation and reliable operation (absence of false alarms) problematic
(Burger (2012), Loveday et al. (2000)):
• Big variance in signal propagation loss
• Large changes in received signal amplitude due to temperature effects
• Logic to prevent false alarms during periods of train movement induced noise
• Signal cross talk between rails
• Lay out design to ensure that equipment failures will not cause false alarms
• Hardening of electronics for very hostile EMI environment, both traction and lighting
induced surges
• Presence of Insulated/Bolted joints and turn-outs.
Continuous noise at the receiver would be obstructive for valid signal detection, regardless of
the efficiency of the system. An approaching train, for example, manipulates a typical noise
circumstance, under which the receiver indicates that train is in section. In accordance with this
circumstance, receiver ceases receiving signals and remains in silent mode until the noise
becomes impotent. After that, the system activates and resumes normal functioning (Burger
(2012)).
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Figure 166 Solar panel for electrification, sensor placement, schematic view of the
system and BRI between the transmitter and receiver (Burger (2012),
Loveday)
Due to the achievements, this system is currently functioning on the ORELINE, which is the iron
ore export line in South Africa and operated by the Transnet Freight Rail. This 861 km long single
line is continuously welded and does not use track circuits for signalling. The installation of the
system was completed on 841 km of the ORELINE in 2014 and for this project totally 931
transmit and receive stations were installed. The inspection of the broken rail is carried out in
every 15 minutes and the distance between the transducers is approximately 1 km. The distance
can be shorter and longer, depending on the track section. Since the installation in 2014, there
has been 12 rail breaks detected (Loveday et al. (2018)).
In terms of the feasibility, further development has to be conducted to reduce the cost of the
system. Therefore, aiming to bring proactivity to be able to detect the rail anomalies, such as
cracks in rails at long distances that can become an actual broken rail in the future. On the other
hand, improved transducer along with the new digital signal processing techniques may provide
longer distance between the stations and in accordance with that, the cost of installation may
be reduced.
RailSonic was planted by the Institute for Maritime Technology to produce complete system.
For the first purchase for the ORELINE 2000 transducer were manufactured and then
implemented. Company declared following benefits for the end users:
• Continuous monitoring for broken rails without human intervention.
• Increased operational efficiency of the railway line.
• Client will know where the break occurs.
Taking into account the deficiencies of the system, which are clarified above, the company,
declares that this system should not be used on its own to manage the risks associated with
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broken rail detection. However, it can be used as a part of an overall broken rail detection
strategy on the railway.
Real time ultrasonic guided wave detection system for broken rail
Basically, the Chinese system of broken rail detection system using guided waves consist of same
elements, which are used also in the system of RailSonic. As shown in Figure 167 the following
components are used within the system:
• Transmitting module
• Receiver module
• Communication equipment
• Power supply
• Ultrasonic transducers
• Remote server and client terminals
Figure 167 Sensor placement, solar panel for electrification, schematic view of the
system, sensor testing on the rail and the core processing circuit board of the
transmitter (Wei et al. (2017))
Working principle is completely similar and in China the transmitting and receiving of the signal
is entitled as pitch–catch process. Fundamentally, the system works according transmit-receive
confirmation process. Modules are installed in 1000 m interval and the transducer mounted in
the rail (transmitter) generates ultrasonic signal. This signal propagates along the rail in both
direction and is received by the receiver transducer. As long as the received signal characteristic
(detection interval – same as the BRI) remains unchanged, track is intact and alarm status is not
activated. Otherwise, alarm message is delivered wireless together with the location of the
broken, which is determined by the GPRS.
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This system was installed in K12+638 to K13+650 sections located in Baoji city in January 2014.
Since then, according to the (Wei et al. (2017), system has been operating reliably under harsh
environmental conditions. Additionally, fault safety and real-time detection expectations are
met during this time. On the other hand, detection is limited in length of 1000 m. For detecting
longer lines, it would be required excessive usage of transducers and this may be costly in terms
of maintenance and investment. System characteristics are the followings (Wei et al. (2017)):
• Real-time on-line detecting and coverage up to 1000 meters,
• Power supply can flexibly choose, either Solar power or AC 220V,
• Remote parameters modification and data exchange by wireless mode,
• Low electric quantity alarm function,
• Setting parameters of transmitters and receivers are not lost when the system is power
fail,
• Server visualization interface,
• The system is equipped with lightning protection with all-weather operation,
• The system is easy to install and maintain.
Rail acoustic broken rail sensing system from Enekom

This system was developed by Enekom and working principle is based on transmitting and
receiving the acoustic signals through the rail. The acoustic signals are generated by resonance
within a specific frequency range. Here, the receiver and transmitter unit are placed as pair
within a 1-meter distance whilst the distance between every pair is about 2 km. In accordance
with the machine learning algorithm, the vibration signal level difference between two points is
quantified as an anomaly, such as breakage or any type of physical damage on the rail. The
system consists of these components: RAG-100, RAR-100, IP based fibre optic communication
system and MKY-100. RAG-100 is the transmitter unit and RAR-100 is the receiver unit. All units
are connected with IP based fibre optic infrastructure in the command centre. Main software
running program is called MKY-100.
Since the system works independently from the electrification, it can be used on any type of
railway track, such as on a AC, DC or un-electrified track. Another significant property of the
system is ease of mounting without causing damage on the rail. Together with the physical
robustness, these basic abilities make RailAcoustic compatible with the Communication Based
Train Control. Depending on the maintenance operator and the traffic frequency, the duration
of the consecutive inspection interval can be adjusted. For high speed railway applications, 10
to 60 minutes duration is sufficient for a reliable inspection. The required time interval could be
disadvantageous for busy lines (Broken Rail Sensing System (2018)).
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Figure 168 Schematic view of the whole system and sensor placements (Broken Rail
Sensing System (2018)).
9.1.4 Proactive technologies for broken rail detection

Within this subsection, the proactive technologies for broken rail detection are investigated. As
determined above proactive methods can find the rail defects, which may result in breakage.
Ultrasonic testing for rail inspection

There were several researches about ultrasonic transmission during the WW2 and ultrasonic
reflectoscopy was first introduced by Erwin in 1945. This technology was highly demanded by
aircraft and railway sector and used as Sperry UR since 1950s. Currently, ultrasonic inspection is
one of the most widely used technique for rail flaw detection (Bray (2000)).
Conventionally, ultrasonic testing method is implemented on the rolling surface of the rail head
in a pulse-echo configuration. Essential part is the transmission of the ultrasonic waves by a
beam into the rail and detection by the collective transducers. According to the interpretation
of the detected analogue signals, valuable information about the rail structure could be
extracted. Such system consists of a transducer, which is located inside a water-filled wheel
(Roller Search Unit – RSU) and in accordance with the orientation of the failure in the rail, the
position angle of the transducer on the rail varies. Generally, 0° orientation angle from the
surface increases the probability of detection of the horizontal cracks, whereas 70° is for
detecting the transverse cracks. In addition to these angles, 37° and 45° are also widely
performed. The transducers could be positioned to detect longitudinal defects such as vertical
split heads and shear defects (Wigh, Innotrack D 4.4.1 (2008))
Practical usage of this technique differs in railway operators. Generally, system is mounted on
the test trains, portable sticks or on high-rail vehicles. Besides the advantages, ultrasonic
method represents some problems by detecting rail faults. According to the literature, such
problems are listed below:
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• Any contaminant on the rail such as ice, leaf or lubricant could intervene the rail and
transducer interface and this may result in inaccurate detection.
• Horizontal surface damage such as shelling and head checks may prevent the ultrasonic
beams from reaching the internal defects and resulting in false readings.
• Cracks running close and almost parallel to the running surface may block wave path.
• In case of alumina thermic welds, the large material grain size of welds strongly scatters
ultrasonic and rises the attenuation and reflected signals that are difficult to interpret.
• Coupling of the transducer on the rail is the most critical factor and any situation that
annihilates the coupling, causes the false inspection. Therefore, during the inspection
human verify limits the operation speed down to the 10 to 15 km/h, although top speed
is in general 45 km/h.
Figure 169 Refraction of ultrasound through head and Portable ultrasonic rail inspection
unit (Sperry Stick) (Wigh, Innotrack D 4.4.1(2008))
To overcome these problems non-contact-ultrasound technique was developed by the John

Hopkins University Center for Non-Destructive Evaluation (CNDE) (Innotrack D 4.4.1 (2008)).
Using non-contact techniques provides generation and detection of acoustic waves with less
modification of the detected waveform or frequency spectrum. This method is physically robust
and allow the end user to reach locations, that are geometrically difficult to scan. Theoretically,
this system may provide inspection at higher speeds, but researches are still funded to develop
reliable transducers. For example, a group of researchers from University of California
developed a transducer and algorithm for reliable rail structure inspection (Mariani et al.
(2016)). This air coupled non-contacting ultrasonic technique can provide reliable inspection up
to 8 km/h and much poorer performance at higher speeds during the test, such as at 16 or 24
km/h. The reason for unpromising result at higher speeds may be vibrational and acoustic noise
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at the wheel rail interface. On the other hand, the inspection covers only the running surface
and gauge side of the rail head. This obstacle can be eliminated by redesign the transducer
(Mariani et al. (2016).
Figure 170 Air coupled UT rail testing prototype, TTC field test 2015 and Prototype on
the FRA’s hy-railer (Mariani et al. (2016)
Laser ultrasonic inspection

This technique was first introduced in 1963 and since then it is continuously improved.
Generation and detection of ultrasonic waves are performed by a laser source. Generation step
involves exposing a small spot on the surface to a short and focused laser pulse. Ultrasonic waves
are generated by ablation or thermoelastic expansion. Type of the generation depends on the
power density of laser and determines the propagation direction and energy of the (Thurston)
ultrasonic waves. Since the ultrasonic waves are emitted from the material, propagation
direction does not depend on the incident angle of the laser beam (Innotrack D 4.4.1 (2008),
Gangopadhyay (2017))
Laser based ultrasonic is a remote implementation of conventional ultrasonic inspection. Several
advantages over some other non-destructive inspection methods are well presented by Sudipta
G. from Syamsundar College India and according to the literature these are the following
(Gangopadhyay (2017)):
• Since the method allows non-contact usage, inspection speed is relative higher.
• The method can also be classified as a non-destructive inspection since lower optical
power does not destruct the material.
• The method may be available for in situ measurements in an industrial setting.
• Because of the couplant independency, absolute measurement of ultrasonic wave is

possible.
• The method can be performed on curved, complex shaped surfaces.
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• Broadband inspection capability provides inspection of macrostructures to the very thin

films.
Transportation Technology Center Inc. and Tecnogamma SPA (A Mermec Group Company )
developed a rail inspection system, using laser ultrasonics. According to the publication of
research results from both companies, the system is capable of inspection head transverse
defects, horizontal split head, vertical split head shelling, horizontal split web, piped web, base
transverse defect. Currently, the prototype can operate up to 32 km/h. (Innotrack D 4.4.1(2008),
Cerniglia et al. (2006)).
Figure 171 Schematic view of prototype (Cerniglia et al.(2006))
Long range ultrasonic inspection (guided wave)

Long range ultrasonic is based on transmitting and receiving ultrasound as volumetric waves,
which can be different kind of wave modes, such as Lamb, Plate or Rayleigh, into the rail.
Therefore, transmitter and receiver transducers are placed on the structure in a definite
distance and the system works in pulse-echo mode, which means that returning echoes
indicates the presence of structural defects (Innotrack D 4.4.1 (2008), Cawley (2003)).
This technique is ideal for monitoring applications, which have large inspection areas and are
sensitive to small flaws. Since these waves propagate along the rail rather than across, this
technique can be successfully implemented to detect critical transverse defects. The sensitivity
against the surface shelling, that is usual by conventional ultrasonic method, is not encountered
by guided waves because such waves can penetrate below this kind of discontinuities. The
penetration depth depends on the frequency range that varies with the change of ultrasonic
source type. Typical frequency range is 20–300 kHz. Further advantage is, at such frequency
range, lower signal attenuation level due to the grain boundary scattering and hence
aluminothermic weld can be detected. Loveday et. Al. (2018) from CSIR Materials Science And
Manufacturing and Institute for Maritime Technology South Africa, established a numerical
model and tried to validate in the field. According to the numerical model thermic weld could
be detected at a range of 790 m from the transducer array in a new rail, whereas certain cracks
could be detected at a range of over 500 m. and that 1 km. of rail could be monitored from a
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single location. Experimental results showed that aluminothermic welds can detected at a range
exceeding 1 km. in rail in relatively good condition. Ultrasonic guided wave technology is already
used in some countries, such as USA and South Africa, as a broken rail detection technique. This
group of researchers from South Africa aims to improve the technology for evolving to broken
rail prevention system by detecting critical cracks which results in transverse breakage on the
track (Cawley (2003), Rose et al. (2004)).
Figure 172 Schematic view of the inspection angles and latest inspection prototype
(Rose et al. (2004))
Ultrasonic phased array inspection

Phased array consists of multiple piezoelectric transducers and small wave fronts from those
transducers can be dynamically time-delayed and synchronized to steer and focus on an
ultrasonic beam. The transducers can be arranged linearly or two dimensionally instead of a
single probe and conventional ultrasonic beam is activated separately. Phased array probes have
distinct properties from conventional ultrasonic, such as scanning range, focusing range of
ultrasonic wave beams. Performance of these features depend on the number and size of the
piezoelectric elements. The defects that lie in head, web and foot of the rail can be detected by
using these distinct properties. However, inspection speed is still limited and open for further
research (Innotrack D 4.4.1 (2008), Namboodiri (2011)).
Steering becomes more of an issue when the optimization of beam angle is necessary. Steering
allows arranging the beams perpendicular to the predicted defects, such as porosity, shrinkage
etc. in aluminothermic welds. The ultrasonic phased array probes move electronically and
moving depends on the probe geometry. This remarkable feature is for localizing and identifying
the diffracted waves from the defect by sweeping a focused beam all along the flaw (Innotrack
D 4.4.1 (2008), Namboodiri (2011), Lao (2013)).
A group of researchers from Politechnico di Milano published an article about reliability study
of phased array inspection of aluminothermic welds in rails (Carboni (2017)). The aim of this
work was to determine the capability of the inspection method to extract a complete damage
tolerance approach. A piece of welded rail was taken from service and for inspection two
artificially defects – semi-elliptical notches, which were varied in depth – were introduced. One
of them locates at the symmetrical axis of the section and the other one at the foot lateral tip.
Such points are thought to have maximum stress concentration. Phased array unit scanned from
the rolling surface to inspect these notches and linear probe was arranged in different angles,
such as 40°, 60°, 50° and 70°. As conclusion, it was challenged whether the conventional
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ultrasonic inspection could be replaced or not. Results were encouraging. However, for damage
tolerance approach further researches have to be carried out (Carboni (2017)).
Figure 173 Scanning of the welded rails (Carboni (2017)
Electromagnetic acoustic transducer (EMAT)

Fundamentally, formation of ultrasonic waves is provided using electromagnetic induction that
occurs in case of interaction two magnetic fields. One of them a relatively high frequency field,
generated by electrical coils, interacts with a low frequency or static field, generated by magnets
to form a Lorentz force in a manner similar to an electric motor. This results in elastic wave
within the lattice structure. The interaction of elastic waves in the presence of a magnetic field
induces currents in the receiving EMAT coil circuit. Magnetostriction produces additional
stresses within a ferromagnetic conductor that can increase the signal strength. Some
properties, such as the orientation of the magnetic field, geometry of the coil and physical and
electrical properties, affect the formation of ultrasound and another important topic field for
further researches. Since the ultrasound is generated by electromagnetic field, the non-contact
inspection is possible and hence the influence of temperature becomes negligible (Innotrack D
4.4.1 (2008), Overview of Electro Magnetic Acoustic Transducers (EMAT) (2018)).
Some advantages of the method are extracted from the literature and briefly explained below:
• Suitable for application at higher temperatures. Since the transducer provides induction
of the field, the transducer has to work close to the surface. The strength of magnetic
field decreases with increasing distance between the transducer and the surface.
• There can be a protective layer on the inspection surface.
• Since steering the beam at various angle is possible, focusing of the beam may have
contribute to several advantages.
• Horizontally polarized shear wave energy can be generated. In case of examination of

the austenitic welds and other materials with dendritic grain structure, such property is
advantageous.
There have been disadvantages introduced in the literature and there are the followings:
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• Lower efficiency in comparison with the piezoelectric transducer.
• Relatively large transducer size.
• Conductivity of inspected surface is the vital matter. Generation of the ultrasonic wave
on an insulated surface is possible with a conductive layer on it.
Aiming the taking advantage of non-contact and relatively higher inspection speed of EMAT,
European Union funded a project, which is called RIFLEX (Rail Inspection by Flexible
Electromagnetic Acoustic Transducer). In scope of the project, using bottom up approach, a unit
was developed. This unit consists of active positioning system and an electronic control system.
This hardware works together with a high-speed processing chain and together with the FPGA
processor and micro controller unit, the received signals are interpreted and the defects are
detected. Basically, there exists transmitter and receiver transducers which consist of flexible,
active and noncontact EMAT devices. During the inspection of entire rail head, any flaw in the
surface and subsurface induces changes in signal characteristics. An optical focusing system
ensures that a minimum gap between the rail and transducer is maintained and hence, the
transducer remains coupled to the rail head (Summary et al. (2017), Petcher et al. (2014)).
The prototype system was demonstrated at Quinton Rail Technology Center in United Kingdom.
The trial was carried out indoor facility and outdoor on an open track. The abilities of the RIFLEX
System are the followings:
• Inspection speed over 110 km/h.
• Increase coverage over 50 % of inspection area on the rail.
• Automatic warning system after a detected fault.
• Be deployed on a cart-based system for manual or locomotive operation.
On the other hand, the RIFLEX system provides following advantages:
• Reduced possession and personnel exposure time leads to improved operational safety.
• Annihilated repeated inspection to verify results increases the efficiency.
• Increased detection capability by enhancing the inspection coverage area.
• Increase the efficiency in maintenance activities by optimizing the scheduling.
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Figure 174 Side view of the EMAT design together with the configuration arrangement
and IMOSS RIFLEX Trolley (Summary et al. (2017))(Reconfigurable Processing
Platforms For Real Time Noncontact Rail Inspection Using EMATS)
Magnetic flux leakage inspection

Magnetic flux leakage is a widely used non-destructive inspection method for continuum
ferromagnetic structures, such as rails, steel cables, pipes etc. Here is the test object magnetized
with a static magnetic field source, which provides the detection of flaws inside the object due
to the field distortions around it. The source can be permanent magnets or DC electromagnets.
The magnetic flux lines are coupled into the specimen using metal brushes or air coupling.
Defects within the structure result in magnetic flux leakage outside of the inspected specimen,
and hence the sensors detect the leakage. Due to the signal characteristics, the type of defect
can be interpreted (Innotrack D 4.4.1 (2008), Kim et al., Chen et al. (2011)).
Such inspection systems are generally installed on a test vehicle going along the rails. However,
magnetic flux leakage is integrated in a whole approach track inspection system and works with
another type of non-destructive methods, such as eddy current, ultrasonic etc. In accordance
with the type of defect, magnetic flux leakage differs in array. For example, circumferential
magnetic flux leakage detects and sizes the longitudinal defects, whereas the axial one detects
volumetric or metal loss defects with a significant circumferential extent or width. Inspection
speed is still a challenge and the limitation of the speed is based on the generation of eddy
currents, which arise from the conducting medium due to the dynamic change of magnetic field
level. Vast areas of eddy currents appear near the magnetic poles preventing the magnetic field
from penetrating inside the rail and reducing the detection efficiency of deep subsurface
defects. Increasing the exposure duration of the inspected rail area to magnetic field annihilates
the negative effect of the eddy currents. This can be achieved by enhancing the pole distance.
Current systems can provide pole distance up to 3 meters. On the other hand, eddy current has
also negative influence on the magnetic field distribution. At inspection, higher speeds the
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signals near the rail surface are distorted. Laboratory tests claimed that surface defects can be
detected at 200 km/h inspection speed (Innotrack D 4.4.1 (2008), Kim et al., Chen et al. (2011)).
In (Antipov and Markov (2018)) the high-speed rail inspection with magnetic flux leakage
method numerically and experimentally was discussed. In scope of the research three-
dimensional mathematical model was established and field tests were carried out to show the
flux leakage dependence on the speed. According to the conclusion the signals arising from the
inner defects are getting weaker at higher speeds due to insufficient magnetization. To
overcome this problem, the leakage recording sensors should be installed closer to the rear pole
of the magnetizing system. The magnetic induction distribution in the transverse section of the
rail near the rear pole is more homogeneous in comparison with the distribution near the front
one. At higher speed, inspection of the inner defects can be achieved by enhancing the inter-
pole distance (Antipov and Markov (2018)).
Figure 175 Magnetizing system on wheelsets used for experiment. 1- Electromagnet

coils 2- Magnetic sensor (Antipov and Markov (2018))
Pulsed eddy current inspection

This method is also called pulsed eddy current thermography or induction thermography and
generation of heat around a defect using pulsed eddy current provides infrared imaging.
Fundamentally, exposing the inspected material to a short burst of electromagnetic excitation
results in flow of eddy currents in the rail. When such eddy currents encounter a discontinuity
within the rail, they are forced to divert their normal path. This leads to the change of eddy
current density. Increased eddy current density results in increasing of emitting heat energy and
with the aid of infrared image sequence the defect can be identified (Yang et al. (2015), Kostson
et al. (2011)).
Yang et. al. (2015) introduced their publication, in which the detection and characterization of
the rolling contact fatigue with pulsed eddy current technique was discussed. Two different
angled RCF defect on a rail were studied numerically and experimentally using uniform magnetic
field excited by Helmholtz coils. As a result of this work, it was shown that the uniform magnetic
field excitation covers larger area and provides more stable temperature distribution. Therefore,
it can be concluded that uniform magnetic field is more efficient and robust to detect angled
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defects compared to the non-uniform magnetic field excitation. Another research was carried
out in England to unveil the influences of the current strength and crack orientation on both
ferromagnetic and non-ferromagnetic metals. Results show that crack detection is more
sensitive to crack orientation in non-ferromagnetic metals than in ferromagnetic metals
(Kostson et al. (2011), Ghoni et al. (2014)).
Another research has taken into consideration the efficiency of the used sensors. Essentially,
used sensors are reflection-type probes. One of these is so called pancake exciting coil, which is
used for generation of the magnetic field, and the other is pick up coil or a solid-state magnetic
field sensor, used for detection the perturbed magnetic field due to the presence of a
discontinuity in the rail. Signal processing of the collected data includes a difference process,
which consists of subtraction of the reference signal from the testing transient signal, and this
helps to increase the sensitivity of the method. In scope of this work, a self-differential
transducer was developed to eliminate such time-consuming algorithm and difficulty in
extracting the defect signal in accordance with the negative effect of the magnetic field on the
eddy current. Developed new probes had better performance about the quantification of the
defect length and depth (Yang et al. (2011)).
The result of rolling contact fatigue is generally a rail tread oblique crack. It is difficult to detect
cracks parallel to the inductive coil and natural oblique cracks with conventional eddy current
field distribution. A group of researchers from China, doing numerical and experimental
investigation, introduced remarkable potential of temperature gradient in the direction of
lateral heat conduction (Yang et al. (2011)). Hence, the spatial derivative and gradient were
proposed to improve the ability of defect thermograms detection. Further research will be
based on the quantification of the detected defects using the same method.
Figure 176 The diagram for angled defect detection by ECPT together with working
principle (Yang et al. (2011))
Alternating current field measurement inspection

Using alternating magnetic field to induce a current on the surface of the rail is the fundamental
of this technique. In case of a discontinuity, such as cracks, in the path of this current, the flow
of current is disturbed and forced to flow either around the ends or beneath of the defect. Such
changes in direction result in the modification of the magnetic field at the surface. Modifications
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are detected and interpreted by small sensor coils, which are placed a few millimetres apart
from the surface. Notable advantages of this method over other methods are ability to make
detection through coatings, high lift-off tolerance and no requirement of mechanical or
electrical contact. Additionally, quantification of cracks does not depend on the operator
calibration.
Portable inspection device has been tested for the evaluation of the RCF defects in the United
Kingdom and Portugal. Walking sticks consist of an array of probes, whose shape conforms the
shape of railhead. This device can detect and quantify gauge corner cracks and head checks
smaller than 2 millimetre in depth at inspection speed 2 to 3 km/h. Aiming the increase of the
efficiency and speed of the ACFM method during the inspection of the railway track, a European
Union Project, which is called INTERAIL, was started in 2009. Goals of the project were classified
under three different topics:
Electronics: Current instrument is cannot carry out detection fast enough. Therefore, redesign
of the instrument and the hardware must be taken into account. To make such improvement on
electronics analogue circuits were replaced by a digital signal processing chip, which makes
exactly the same work with the circuits. This will enhance the speed, flexibility and the ability to
be modified by software.
Rail interface: Sensor placement depends on the deployment system, which consists of active
and passive suspension. On the other hand, enough protection should be provided for the
sensors. Inspection is divided into two adjacent regions and on each region there represents
separate probes. This will prevent complex shaped probe design and provide conformity on any
type of rail. The number of probes can be increased to enhance the inspection area. Deployment
mechanism must hold the probes in the correct position, in six degrees of freedom. On the other
hand, they must be kept parallel and include suspension to provide damping in case of impact
on the surface. In approximately 20 to 30 millimetres diameter range, there must be
represented non-metallic region around the probes to prevent interference of the
electromagnetic field.
Probe design: It must be redesigned for optimum performance in terms of the inspection speed,
sensitivity, coverage, robustness and lift-off characteristics. Probe design was achieved with the
so-called COMSOL software program.
Prototype was manufactured and tested up to 30 km/h. Initial laboratory tests showed that, the
system inspection speed can be increased up to 80 km/h. In 2013 the whole system
demonstration was successfully carried out in Portugal (Burge et al., Papaelias et al. (2008),
Rowshandel et al. (2011)).
In another scientific publication the characterization of clustered cracks using ACFM technique
was discussed. Distinct from the isolated single individual cracks, the detection of the multiple
clustered cracks in the rail is a challenging matter. In scope of this work, multilayer perception
artificial neural network – consists of one input layer, two hidden layers, one input layer –
approach was introduced to accompany the ACFM technique. Since this approach requires
smaller database, it is more practical than multi-dimensional lookup table and can be modified
to detect cracks in other applications apart from the railway track inspection. Case study
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involves the generation of the effect of multiple cracks parameters interaction, which is based
on the dataset of signal response covering the usual RCF cracks in railway track, arises from the
simulation. Multiple crack parameters are the followings: Surface lengths, number of cracks,
inter crack spacing and surface length uniformity. Network approach was trained with these
simulation data. Validation of these simulation data and network approach was performed with
an experiment. According to the results, both simulation and experiments showed that the
ACFM technique could quantify accurately the crack size via the neural network approach.
Although the first results were promising, further researches should be carried out to extract
information about all relevant multiple crack parameters from the inspection (Rowshandel,
(2018)).
Figure 177 ACFM theory together with the designated probes within the INTERAIL
project (Papaelias et al. (2008)
Multiple frequency eddy current inspection

Phase angles between impedance planes reacts rapidly against any change on the frequency.
There have been introduced many factors, such as electrical conductivity, magnetic
permeability, dimension variations, cracks, metallurgical defects, inclusions etc., which influence
the impedance of an eddy current probe. Fundamentally, multiple frequency eddy current
technique provides extraction of information about failure by comparing the data, which are
generated at different frequencies. Lower frequency ranges have ability to detect deeper
defects, whereas higher frequencies have shallower inspection depth. According to the early
stage researches, this method promises to detect and quantify sub-surface defects at higher
speeds (Innotrack D 4.4.1 (2008), nde.org (2016)).
Magnetic anisotropy and permeability systems (MAPS)

Magnetic properties of a ferromagnetic material are strongly influenced by stress and
microstructure of the material. This makes possible to extract information non-destructively
about in plane stresses and their orientations. Inspection depth can vary between 0.1 and 10
millimetres. Generally, a portable system, including MAPS sensors, is manipulated over the
inspected sample. Stress distribution through the rail profile plays a vital role for the generation
of further RCF cracks. On a straightened rail, tensile stress emerges in the crown and foot whilst
the compressive stress appears in the web of rail. Under traffic, the stress distribution on an
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unhardened rail, 5 to 10 millimetres below the running surface turns to compressive stress.
Below this layer, tensile stress is introduced, which balances the compressive stress above. An
example measurement, which was performed on cut sections of rail in depth of 0.5 millimetres
at a single frequency of 252 Hz, was demonstrated below (Innotrack D4.4.1 (2008), Buttle et al.
(2006)).
Figure 178 Biaxial stress levels measured over the cut face of worn steel rails showing a
10 mm deep compressive layer introduced by traffic (Buttle et al. (2006)).
Visual inspection of rail

Trained personal have inspected rail visually for decades. However, this method is relatively
slower, inefficient and subjective compared to the newly developed inspection techniques, such
as non-destructive methods. Development in information technology leads to high-resolution
image generation and processing. Besides the other structural monitoring devices, on vehicle
installed high speed digital camera is an effective method to detect surface defects on the rail.
In comparison to other methods, lower initial investment cost and higher accuracy rate put this
method forward, especially for surface inspection of the rail, whilst internal defects cannot be
detected.
Image processing works together with a machine-learning algorithm that helps to quantify the
defects. When higher accuracy rate comes into question, several factors need to be adjusted
properly, such as in case of higher resolution images computational time and inspection speed
should be arranged for higher quantification rates. Depending on the frame size of the images,
high-resolution cameras can inspect the rail at higher speeds. However, contaminants, such as
dust and/or oil on the surface, effect negatively the image processing. On the other hand, there
has been introduced discrete surface defects, such as squats, and unlike the corrugation, these
kinds of defects are non-periodic and have no characteristics. This reduces the accuracy of
pattern recognition but using local grey level in the background can help increasing quantifying
rate of patterns. Other influencing factors are the vehicle vibration and reflection fluctuation
across the rail surface. Using 3D-laser cameras could annihilate some problems that are briefly
explained above. Laboratory experiments showed promising results about high accuracy at
higher inspection speeds (Innotrack D4.4.1 (2008), Santur et al. (2017), Li (2012)).
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Figure 179 Sketch of rail image formation mechanism (Santur et al. (2017))
Acoustic emission inspection of rail

The Acoustic Emission (AE) testing method is a passive non-destructive evaluation technique
since the sensors used do not generate an interrogating signal but only detect signals emitted
from active sources (e.g., defects). Structure-bourne signals provide direct information about
the presence of defects.
The AE method is based on the detection of propagating elastic waves caused by sudden stress-
strain field in structures. The AE signal depends on source type, propagating medium and sensor
characteristics (especially for the resonant type AE sensors). The AE source is controlled by
materials, loading types, loading rates, and the previous load history of the material. Once the
AE signals are detected, different pattern recognition algorithms are applied to identify the
related AE source. Another strength of the AE method is the ability to pinpoint the spatial
position of AE source. The spatial coordinates can be determined in 1D, 2D or 3D using minimum
2 sensors, 3 sensors or 4 sensors, respectively.
The investigation on the usage of acoustic emission for rail flaw inspection emerged first in the
beginning of 2000s. In Bruzelius (2004), an experimental test rig was manufactured and during
the test, the acoustic emission activity due to the friction between wheel and rail was measured.
The tests were carried out under 50, 100, 200 rpm wheel speed and 0, 300, 900, 1800 N. load.
According to the results, increased burst activity was attributed to the increased wear. Xu et. Al
(2013) aimed to uncover the ability of acoustic emission monitoring of switch rail. In scope of
this research, the acoustic emission signal characteristics of damaged turnout switch rails,
consisting fractured rails and rails with detached pieces on the foot and head, were extracted
by doing laboratory and field tests. The normal distribution of the signal around 90 kHz helped
to distinguish the emitted acoustic emission signals from the noise and provided denoised signal
for further treatment. Together with the Wigner-Ville four-order spectrum, the pre-treated
signal was quantified for big data mining and cluster analysis. Consequently, promising results
were produced about fractured switch rail and switch rail with spalling railhead and rail base (Xu
et al. (2013)). However, environment noise is the challenging problem in acoustic sensing
systems. This makes acoustic emission technique disadvantageous over other methods.
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Figure 180 AE Signal source in case of damage to the material (Xu et al)
9.1.5 Treatment of rail defects

In UIC Leaflet 725, the treatment of detected rail defects is represented in detailed manner. In
previous chapters, the main defects together with their formation mechanisms are discussed. It
is already pointed that these defects are well sorted in UIC Leaflet 712. UIC Leaflet 725
categorizes the treatment levels depending on defect sizes. These levels are the followings:
• Category 0 recommends that the traffic must be prohibited and the damaged rail
section must be immediately removed. This case is generally for broken rails.
• Category I recommends the immediate removal of the rail. This kind of defects could
end in breakage. The deadline of the removal can be extended up to six weeks.
• Category II recommends the removal of the damaged rail section. Further usage of the
rail under normal service condition could result in hazardous damage on the track.
Therefore, this Category II rails should be removed within twelve months. In case of
treating the damaged rail with a fishplate, the rail may remain not removed until the
increased severity of defects.
• Category III recommends that this kind of defect may remain unrepaired. However, the
defect should be kept under inspection.
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Table 49 Category of measures depending on defect size. L: Defect length H: Defect

height D: Defect depth (Nordco and Mermec (2015))
Defect Types Category I Category II Category III Picture
Transversal
10 mm < H ≤
crack in rail H > 25 mm H ≤ 10 mm
25 mm
head
Longitudinal
50 mm < L ≤
horizontal L > 200 mm L ≤ 50 mm
200 mm
crack
Longitudinal L > 50 mm
Visible L ≤ 50 mm
vertical crack not visible
Rail head
center H > 5 Rail head Rail head
Headchecking mm or Rail side 5 mm < side H ≤ 5
head side H ≤ 20 mm mm
H > 20 mm
10 mm < D <
D > 25 mm
25 mm or 50 D < 10 mm
Squat or L > 200
mm < L ≤ or L ≤ 50 mm
mm
200 mm
40 mm < L ≤
Bolthole cracks L > 100 mm L ≤ 40 mm
100 mm
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The efficiencies of the inspection methods are graded into four different levels.
• Level A means that with an appropriate method most of the rail defects in the UIC
Leaflet 712
• Level B indicates that the detection of the defects is possible with an appropriate
method.
• Level C indicates that the defects are detected rarely.
• Level D indicates that the used method is not proper to detect inspected defect type.
9.1.6 Used systems at Turkish state railways for rail flaw detection
At TCDD there are several methods to detect rail flaw. Traditionally, visual inspection and track
circuit system are mostly used to detect broken rails. Since these methods are inefficient and
unreliable, TCDD has invested in rail flaw inspection vehicles. These are Piri Reis, Roger-400 and
Roger-800.
In Roger-400 installed Nordco on board ultrasonic system has 28 channel digital signal
processing unit. The inspection is made by four rolling search units (RSU) and each of them has
seven transducers. The rolling search unit can provide up to 90% coverage rate of the rail head,
the entire web and the portion of the base directly under the web. In accordance with the
technical data sheet the properties are the followings:
• Examination frequency range varies between 2.25 and 5 MHz.
• Voltage of pulser lies between 200 and 500 volts.
• Working principles of the system are pulse echo and full wave rectification.
• Working angles are 0, 45 and 70 degree array. Side Lookers Transducers shall be used
at their rated frequency. By using multiple transducers and performing inspection at
different angles, detection of surface breaking and near surface defects become
possible.
• Couplant can be anti-feeze liquid in cold climate conditions instead of water.
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Figure 181 Scanning positions with seven transducers in probe (Nordco and Mermec
(2015))
After the inspection of Roger-400, the detected defects can be verified with manual ultrasonic
inspection. The evaluation of rail defects is made according to the information represented in
the Table 50 below:
Table 50 UT Defect classes and their critical condition
UT Defect Classes Small Defects Large defects Critical Defects
D: Rail defect depth

D ≤ 10 10 < D ≤ 20 20 < D
(mm)
Horizontal or vertical
longitudinal defects D ≤ 10 10 < D ≤ 20 20 < L
length (mm)
Situation of limit
AL – warning level IL – maintenance level IAL – safety level
values
Speed limitations until V(engine)= 25 km/h

the elimination of or closing the road
defects - V(engine)= 160 km/h according to the
situation of the
defect
• AL is the warning limit. When the values above this limit are detected, the defect
parameters are analysed and maintenance work shall be planned.
• IL is the maintenance limit. If the values lie within this range, the corrective maintenance
should be performed before they reach the emergency treatment limit.
• IAL is the emergency limit. The values around this limit indicates that urgent repair must
be performed. Additionally, the vehicle speed is limited on the track.
GA H2020 730841 D3.1 Page 235 of 268
Figure 182 Joining of defected sections and camera box.
Installed track head inspection system is for taking image of rail surface to detect head checking
under every light condition. The inspection is based on obtaining a matrix of pixels to describe
the rail with digital cameras and illuminating uniformly the gauge corner and rail top with a laser
light system. Although the system is physically robust, there is a specific working temperature,
which lies between 45 °C and -8 °C. The maximum inspection speed is 80 km/h whereas the
minimum curve radius for inspection is limited to 140 m. In the following table (Table 51 ) the
system capabilities are listed:
Table 51 Defect Features
Feature Value
Minimum Single Crack length 4.00 mm
Minimum Single Crack thickness 0.15 mm
Maximum Single Crack Thickness 0.48 mm
Minimum Crack Density 5 cracks in 250 mm (length of rail)
Minimum Defect Extension 0.50 mm
Maximum Defect Extension 1000 m
Piri Reis is a high-speed train and it is used for inspections on the high-speed railway track. This
measurement vehicle can carry out measurement up to 275 km/h (Nordco and Mermec (2015)).
Transversal linear scanning inspection system on the train is used to detect the surface faults on
the rail. According to the training materials of MERMEC there are four different defect classes.
These classes are the followings:
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Table 52 Defect classes
Possible Effect & Maintenance

CLASS Classification Description
Approach
Defect that pose This type of defect requires
either an immediate immediate maintenance
1 Critical Defects or near-term hazard intervention and traffic
to safe and efficient restrictions.
operation.
Defects that cause A relevant defect has to be
sub-optimal track detected to plan maintenance
structure conditions intervention as soon as possible
2 Relevant Defects but do not present an and prevent more serious
immediate hazard to problems.
train operations.
Symptomatic defects Defects that could indicate

not necessarily possible hidden issues in rail
representing infrastructure. These symptomatic
Symptomatic deficiencies in defects could be correlated
3
Defects themselves; but they between them to allow predictive
may be indicators of a maintenance.
possible problem.
Detected object Reference for localization.

4 Information
The two dimensional and linear faults on the rail surface could be detected with the aid of visual
cameras. Wheel burn, shelling and fingerprint of gravel on the surface appear between the two-
dimensional defects, whilst linear faults are generally cracks on the surface. Inspection area
varies from 100 to 4000 mm2. Maximum inspection speed is 275 km/h and minimum curvature,
in which the system is capable of detecting the faults, is 190 meters. Working temperature lies
between -10 °C and 45 °C (Nordco and Mermec (2015).
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Figure 183 Track measurement system of Piri Reis (Nordco and Mermec (2015)
9.1.7 Conclusion
Table 53 Technology survey for reactive broken rail system
´Technology Type Examples

DC coded track circuits Alstom ElectroCode products
Ansaldo STS MicroTrax
Jointless or RF track circuits Alstom AFTC 5
Ansaldo STS AF-902/AF-904
Bombardier TI-21, EBI Track 200/300/400
Current sensing – Ijs on one of the rails U.S. 6,102,340
Current sensing – long blocks with sensors U.S. 7,226,021
between IJs
Current sensing – with programmable shunts U.S. 7,954,770
U.S. 2016-0107664
Ultrasonic broken rail detection High Speed Rail IDEA Project 42
ENEKOM
Ultrasonic Guided Wave RailSonic
The improvements of the reactive broken rail detection systems could be discussed in terms of
the efficiency, reliability and the compatibility with the modern CBTC. The last enhancement,
which is reported by the Federal Railroad Administration, takes advantage of sensing both
current and voltage fluctuation and major deficiencies are annihilated. The modern system
provides safer time interval for warning and braking distance. On the other hand, such systems
could be affected from the external factors and this may reduce the reliability. Therefore, still
GA H2020 730841 D3.1 Page 238 of 268
various techniques are investigated for detecting rail breakage. UGW and Ultrasonic technique
from ENEKOM are reliable but inefficient when it is used in a long track section. Since the sensor
capabilities are limited in about 1 km and 2 km respectively, excessive numbers of sensors need
to be placed on the track and this increases the cost of the system. Therefore, the sensor
capability should be enhanced. Additionally, the system of ENEKOM can only perform detection
in an unoccupied track.
Proactive methods are discussed in terms of their reliability and detection speed. Prominent
methods are ultrasonic method, visual camera and ACFM. These are all mounted on a test
vehicle and each method can detect different kinds of rail defects. That is, all the proactive
systems have their own pros and cons. For this reason some methods/systems are used together
to detect different kinds of rail defects. Using proactive methods could prevent the rail breakage
and related broken rail derailment. Additionally, efficient maintenance actions can prolong the
track life and reduce the life cycle cost.
9.2 Key areas for monitoring and inspection of track geometry

This section identifies key areas for track inspection and monitoring and pertinent potential
benefits, using Network Rail’s current practises as an example. Benefits of enhanced monitoring
and inspection are seen to be high; one such example is detailed knowledge of railhead
conditions. In this section, the focus is aligned to track geometry and its significance.
9.2.1 Background and current tools

Current methods of track inspection involve the use of manual Basic Visual Inspection (BVI),
although there is a move towards more automated train-borne systems. Some examples of the
technology development can be found in Deliverable 3.3, section 5.4 (using PLPR in rail head
management).
Track is measured and recorded at frequencies set out by standards according with European
regulations, either through train-borne digital systems, BVIs or detailed inspections. In the
example of NR, their current aim is aligned to enhancing the frequency of inspection and
improved ways to easily collate coverage of monitoring and assurance exercises. This is to
determine the condition of the assets and aid in:
• Assuring the track is safe for the passage of trains
• Rectify faults, particularly service affecting failures (SAFs)
• Checking the asset is not failing/ deteriorating faster than its predicted life
• Assist decision support on refurbishment potentials required
• Optimising maintenance operations with risk based and deterioration led interventions
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The rationale behind those areas being monitored

Following NR’s case, the track system is inspected and measured at intervals based upon the
type of track construction, the line speed and tonnage of traffic. Within NR’s standard
NR/L2/TRK/001 issue 12, the mandatory requirements for inspection and measurement
frequencies, minimum and maximum limits, minimum actions and maximum timescales can be
found.
Figure 184 Hierarchy for track inspection from NR/L2/TRK/001 issue 12
As demonstrated in Figure 184, the hierarchy for track inspection is in place to ensure the safety
of the line first, then for asset management purposes. Within TRK/001/mod 2 (track inspection)
the frequency and compliance parameters are set. NR is now developing train-borne recording
and tools that will lower the requirement for manual visual inspection, providing greater safety
for staff and reducing track access requirements.
9.2.2 Monitoring frequency (visual and detailed)

In Figure 185 – Figure 187, the frequency of visual and detailed (measured) inspections can be
seen. The significance of these intervals has been set by NR based empirical practices. An
inspection diagram is normally produced, detailing the scope of the inspection / monitoring
regime (updated when the layout changes) to demonstrate that all the asset is being monitored,
either through visual and detailed inspections, or through train-borne inspection. For the
introduction of new train-borne recording, the areas on the inspection diagram to be covered
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by the new method are identified and, if the train (for whatever reason) cannot record some of
the track, details of alternative inspection (visual or detailed) would be in place. Any new train-
borne recording is required to meet, or improve the frequency and quality of inspections (see
D3.3, section 5.4 “Using PLPR in rail head management”).
Figure 185 Track category matrix, sourced from NR/L2/TRK/001/Mod02
Figure 186 Minimum Frequency for Basic Visual Inspections (BVIs), sourced from
NR/L2/TRK/001/Mod02
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Figure 186 shows the minimum requirement for BVIs, while Figure 187 shows the minimum
frequency of manual supervisory and engineer inspections. This identifies the need for a “new
pair of eyes” or alternative opinions to review the same section of track (normally main line).
Although the line may generally be blocked during the inspections, this is timely and costly if the
inspection had to be re-prioritised for more major works.
Figure 187 Minimum frequency of Section Manager and Track Maintenance Engineer
Inspections, sourced from NR/L2/TRK/001/Mod02
If the track inspection highlights a risk for the safe passage of traffic, either intervention works
are planned, a speed restriction applied, or the line is blocked. Any speed restriction or line
blockage remains in place until necessary repairs have been completed. Usually these would be
applied when there is a derailment risk:
Figure 188 Derailment risks, sourced from NR/L2/TRK/001

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The output of track geometry measurement is reviewed following each train-borne recording,
using the “trace” data. Any faults are identified and remedial actions planned. The effectiveness
of previous remedial work is also analysed, with particular attention to any repeat faults, to
determine the next course of action.
9.2.3 Examples of current monitoring and inspection methods

Currently NR uses tools that show the development and quality improvement of reporting from
train-borne recording. These tools help to be a decision support tool to assess requirements for
remedial works, needed to improve the condition of the asset. Such examples will be listed and
explained below, but there are also some other methods used, related to the previous example
of “trace reviews”. This is a manual process, which requires a fair amount of time to carry out
and then manually update databases and records, to show that a plan of action has been made.
Historical data can be viewed digitally via a tool called LADS.
LADS
LADS is the Linear Asset Decision Support tool developed for NR. This tool provides an output of
the recorded data from uploaded and train-borne systems. It can also be used for analysis prior
to onsite investigation. LADS provide the following data output:
• Drainage
• Tight clearances
• Line speed
• Rail (i.e. grade and type, year installed)
• Sleeper
• Ballast
• Track Type (Plain Line or S&C)
• Track owner
• Track Category (NR specific)
• ACTRAFF – this is the tonnage per year for the selected line
• Jointed/Welded
• Substructure data (e.g. Earthworks, Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) data, etc.)
• Rail defect information (Defects, Suspects, RCF and Broken Rails)
• Work bank
• Twist faults over 3m, derailment risk
• Cyclic top (split in Top right and Top Left recordings), derailment risk
• Dip angles
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• Worst top and Alignment (over 35 and 70 metres)
• Mean top
• Gauge, derailment risk
• Crosslevel
• Curvature
• Cant Deficiency
With these data outputs, an engineer is able to make informed decisions from behind the
computer. Using another tool called Route View can give a visual reference also. These
outputs have fault parameters set, and exceedance limits to help identify issues to the
engineer reviewing the track in question. These parameters, and the data recorded can
produce an overall “Track Quality” index of the track geometry over an eighth of a mile, as
demonstrated in
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Figure 189. This supports informative decisions before requesting a site visit to verify the
findings, or a renewal plan to be created.
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Figure 189 Screenshot of LADS
Figure 190 shows a presentation slide that was used in the “Sperry Rail – Surface Crack
Inspection system, slide 16”, which shows how LADS was used to demonstrate a visual
representation of the Eddy current recordings.
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Figure 190 "Eddy current Data - visualisation". Sourced from a NR/Sperry owened
presentation and presented at VTSIC in December 2017, byt Brian Whitney.
The data can also be downloaded to an Excel format, for more complicated analysis to be carried
out. Currently, there is a time lag to update and display the most recent information, so manual
trace reviews continue to be necessary.
GEO-RINM Viewer
Similar to LADS, GEO-RINM Viewer is a tool which allows the track layout to be viewed with
more details and layers possible to identify key components, including maps (sub-structure,
profile, boreholes) for the UK.
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Figure 191 Screenshot of GEO-RINM Viewer user interface, displaying the surface model of
the photo layer in
Figure 192.
GA H2020 730841 D3.1 Page 247 of 268

Figure 192 Screenshot of Geo-RINM viewer with Aerial Survey as base layer.
Because an aerial survey was carried out, the vertical profile (figure 9) can also be displayed as
a cross section. At request, data for a section can be downloaded in various formats to be used
in planning or analysis tools. Because the survey was done using a helicopter, it is possible to
see snapshots of the track as photos at certain intervals. The benefit to these photo-views is that
it shows the condition of the track at the time the photo was taken. These photos can be seen
in a tool called Route View.
Route View (within Geo-RINM Viewer)

Aerial surveys are costly, and infrequent. Therefore, it is not a reliable and accurate source for
visual identification of problems. However, if a re-occurring failure is present, this still could be
valid for identifying the mileage on LADS, to match up the traces with the location of the track,
for example at the transition to, or from a bridge, where stiffness drastically changes, sometimes
showing up as a top fault or dip angle fault. A frequency has not yet been set up for aerial
surveys, due to it being costly to have for example a periodic update similar to track geometry
recording. Also, this is very weather dependent.
9.2.4 Importance of monitoring to improve asset life

A balance needs to be struck between cost, performance and risk. Risk is a measure of the
likelihood of the infrastructure failing combined with the severity of the impaired or lost service.
There is a cost associated with the service being impaired or lost; this is the risk cost. “Risk cost”
can be calculated by measuring the cost of the things that impact service: safety, train
performance, environment and impact on neighbours.
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Figure 193 Graph demonstrating the relationship of cost to replacement interval, NR

owned presentation made by Brian Whitney
When deciding on when to invest, this “risk cost” must be included with the cost to renew or
maintain to give a complete picture of whole life cost or LCC. Figure 193 shows the optimum
balance, representing the minimum whole life cost. Figure 194 chart shows the interaction
between deterioration and maintenance interventions throughout the life of a section of track.
The significance of increasing the frequency of track recording would be beneficial for
identification of the effectiveness of remedial or maintenance intervention. An example of this
can be seen in Figure 194, where the tamping intervention has become less effective (1. Figure
194), due to crushing and reducing the angularity of the ballast with successive tamping
operations throughout the life of the ballast. Stone blowing is a maintenance activity which
allows the use of chippings to maintain the line and level more robustly, so that the ballast’s
reduced angularity is compensated by the smaller stone. However, this in turn will reduce the
effectiveness of free drainage that normal ballast gives, as the permeability of the underlying
stone is reduced.
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Constants
Allowable Over 1.1
Track Quality - Cat 1 With Stoneblowing
Threshold Tamp Period 0.400
Min Tamp Period 0.350
4.5
Min Stoneblow Period 1.0
Max Stoneblows 2.0
Tamp Geom Reset 0.660
4.0 2. Stoneblowing introduced. 4. Renewal this time, Stoneblow Geom Reset 0.400
1. As before, until More rapid response than because only 2 stoneblows Stoneblow Void Reset 0.800
tamping cannot keep renewal (in this example), so allowed in this example
track Satisfactory Track Constants
3.5 track does not become Poor Line Speed 90
Available void 37
non-tamp fines/year 0.548
fines/tamp 0.582
Short Wave Vertical SD (mm)
3.0 Renewal Reset 1.4
Quality Targets
Good 2.2
2.5 Satisfactory 3.2
Poor 4.0
Very Poor 5.3
Renew TQ tamping Poor
2.0 Renew TQ stoneblow Poor
Tamp to stoneblow TQ Poor
3. Second stoneblow lasts Initial Condition

1.5 longer than the first, because a 0.747
the ballast condition has not b 0.190
deteriorated to the previous 5. Back to tamping k 1.0
1.0 Current SD 2.1
level before the geometry regime to keep the
Void fill 0.552
reaches the Satisfactory limit track Good 1.0
LTSF
BCF 1.3
0.5
0.0
2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 2020 2022 2024 2026
Poor/Very Poor Satisfactory/Poor Good/Satisfactory Track Quality
Figure 194 Graph representing the vertical Standard Deviation (SD), NR owned
presentation made by Brian Whitney
It is important to note that this is not always the solution. By having multiple parameters
recorded and intelligent analyses, data can help identify the optimum solution to rectify, or
temporarily improve the condition until a full or partial renewal is possible.
9.2.5 Development for a more efficient railway

In summary, for track monitoring and inspection, there are tools that gather data, models that
perform analysis and manual interpretation of that data. A central database, with enhanced
frequency of recordings can potentially provide better information about the asset’s degrading
condition, which can be used to ultimately allow for more pro-active intervention. Potentially,
earlier intervention before the asset deteriorates to a fault condition can lead to extended LCC
and life of the asset, alongside understanding when to transfer from tamping operations to
stone blowing operations as the effectiveness of tamping is identified as sub optimal. NR is
aiming to bring all the data into one intelligent interface and develop full WLC models for 30
assets (VTISM Dec 2017).
Some key requirements to bring the rail industry forward relate to:
• Improving the quality and frequency of inspections (data), this includes improving the
+/- 10 yards (specific to UK) accuracy in recording data.
• Having a robust database of the recorded information that is frequently updated
• Ensuring the database covers Plain Line and S&C track
GA H2020 730841 D3.1 Page 250 of 268

• Informing staff on available tools that can aid “decision support”, building confidence in
their own capabilities
Streamlining the process with effective technology and sensors, to provide more frequent data,
a true asset condition can be determined to enhance the possibility of extending the asset life
cycle. An example of this is currently in development in the UK and Germany, using in-service
trains that have on-board unattended geometry measurement systems. Such systems are being
developed in order to provide enhanced frequency of geometry measurement daily, instead of
monthly to six-monthly, as at present. This enables degradation to be mapped, as well as
providing validation of effectiveness of maintenance carried out.
GA H2020 730841 D3.1 Page 251 of 268

10 Conclusions and input to demonstrators

Several studies within the project have investigated the formation and growth of squats and
squat type defects as discussed in section 5.1. Squats can be characterized using different
destructive and non-destructive methods in order to gain an understanding of the processes for
crack initiation experiments. Fatigue experiments evaluated the influence of initial thermal
damage and crack face friction on crack initiation and crack growth. Although the effect of these,
and more, conditions require further investigation, the results from these studies are expected
to provide suitable data for crack initiation and crack face friction in upcoming experimental and
numerical studies of RCF crack propagation by the authors.
Section 5.1 further describes the derivation and identification of appropriate quantities for
measuring the Rolling Contact Fatigue (RCF) crack loading for elastoplasticity. Elastic-plastic
simulations on cracked tubular specimens were performed under various combinations of cyclic
(and static) axial and torsional loading. The evolution of the ranges of Crack-Tip Displacements
(CTDs) over the load cycles was compared to trends in crack growth curves from fatigue
experiments from the literature featuring similar loading. It was concluded that it is possible to
identify the most detrimental load cases in terms of crack growth rates via the ranges of CTDs.
The examined loading conditions are typically present under rolling/sliding contact. Thus we
may use CTDs for identification of worst case scenarios in RCF crack growth. Computation of the
energy release rate due to crack advance was also performed including size effects pertinent to
plastic deformations. The proposed method resulted in an energy release rate that does not
depend on the way the computation is performed. Thereby, this quantity may also be used for
quantification of the RCF crack loading in elastic—plastic simulations.
Further in section 5, a predeformation technique was developed and described. This technique
can be used to evaluate the ability of various rail steels to sustain large deformations under field
like loading conditions. Further investigations of the deformed state can lead to an improved
understanding of the material behaviour in the highly deformed state.
In section 5.2 the excellent resistance to head checking of non-heat-treated carbide free upper
bainite bainitic rails was observed for a few curves in plain track. These grades don’t need any
preventive grinding to eliminate incipient RCF defects. The tracks observations also showed that
welding conditions must be optimised. Potential demonstrators (curves in plain tracks) in
In2Track2-3 with bainitic rails with an optimised chemical composition and optimised welding
conditions could confirm the advantages of these grades in medium radius curves compared
with the standard or hard pearlitic grades which are now used in these curves. It will then be
possible to introduce these grades in future versions of guidelines on the use of different rail
grades.
In section 5.3 it was established that, regarding failure catalogues, the failure catalogues from
UIC (2002) and from Capacity4Rail (2014) shall be used for further application within In2Track.
Better use of premium steel and optimising rail grinding would tackle the issues with rail defects
forming as discussed in section 5.4. Having that programme aligned with tonnage and curvature
would promote efficiencies and assure a safer track overall (specific with local areas and regimes
GA H2020 730841 D3.1 Page 252 of 268

available). Sperry Rail currently have a portal, where the severity of cracks can be displayed
showing a “rail health” almost. Having a user interface that could encompass track geometry,
traffic, EC, UT, and ground penetrating radar displaying intelligent analysis of rail health would
be beneficial for the rail industry. This is considered in later Shift2Rail projects.
Based on previous works from UIC, a general proposal for a new generation of databases
oriented to analytics maintenance is proposed in section 6.1. The main goal is to ease and speed
up the process of calculation for the optimization and cost-analysis of maintenance tasks. This
structure represents a step forward in the development of an international standard which
should be completely finished by the cooperation of UIC, the main railway infrastructure
managers among others.
Starting from In2Track deliverables, VAS will extend the work in section 6.2 on optimization of
the combination of the rail steel with profile development. Special care will be taken on the
Squat defect because they are a result of many factors, particularly the rail head profile shape
The work in section 6.3, building upon section 5.2 shows that deep grinding marks and large
grinding facets can initiate “flaking” RCF defects on high rails in curves. Hard rails are more prone
to these defects. “Rough” grinding conditions with high energy input and deep grinding marks
can initiate squat defects in curves, through the formation of a martensitic layer on the rail
surface; hard rails are also more prone to these defects. Non-conformal grinding profiles can
also facilitate the initiation of these defects. The recommendations to mitigate these defects are
to grind the rails with a conformal profile, narrow grinding facets, shallow grinding marks and a
low energy input. No limit values can be given at this stage and the definition of these limits
should be the objective for further researches. These results should be introduced in future
versions of guidelines on the use of different rail grades.
Section 6.4 demonstrates how cost data attributed to different asset failure types can be
aggregated at a suitable level to provide a meaningful indication of the likely cost of different
failures. This data should be further classified to account for the “criticality” of the track where
the failure occurs, as this may have a significant impact on performance costs. The principles
and methodology demonstrated here could be applied to different infrastructure operator’s
data to facilitate more accurate life cycle cost analyses and to establish a base level of the
failure/cost relationship.
Section 7.1 contains a bibliographic review of the existing slab track systems has been
performed, assessing its suitability to various aspects including construction and assembly costs
as well as maintenance and repair aptness. The maximum operating train speed has also been
taken into account. As a result of this review, the modular prefabricated slab track is identified
as a competitive system with maintenance and repair advantages.
The work in In2Rail on track forms and the conclusions drawn from the In2Rail research are
summarized in section 7.2. It is concluded that In2Track has extended the work in In2Rail.
Important contributions from In2Track is the definition of large number of Key Performance
Indicators and in demonstrating a procedure of ranking track solutions, which showed the
significant difficulties in such a task. Potential demonstrators in In2Track2–3 could be to refine
GA H2020 730841 D3.1 Page 253 of 268

the set of KPIs and to perform a track form evaluation for a specified scenario where several of
the pitfalls with a general assessment could be resolved.
In section 7.3 a finite element model is built for investigation of track vibration mitigation by the
use of USPs. Firstly, shortened half-track model is excited by impact hammer and after impact
hammer experiments for validation half-track model is created for implementation of loading
profile from train passage. Shortened half-track and half-track are updated with USP Model to
analyse effect of USPs in vibration mitigation. Model showed good agreement with
measurements in terms of time domain results. Frequency domain analyses and update of the
half-track model can give results for track vibrational behaviour that matches track experiments
better.
The results from the study in section 7.4 show that the loading amplitude levels at a bituminous
sub-ballast layer are very small compared to typical road pavement values. Taking into account
these low load levels, the results also show that available common road base-course mixtures
present adequate thermomechanical properties for them to be used as sub-ballast materials,
even after moisture conditioning. Therefore, the use of common bituminous mixtures appears
suitable for railway applications. This allows an important optimization since no sophisticated
mixture design procedures or over-engineered components are needed. Good quality
components (aggregates, bitumen) and proper construction methods, especially compaction,
are however required, as is the case for any other infrastructure project.
The use of asphalt within railway track structures is becoming of increased interest due to its
potential to improve track performance and lifecycle costs. To assess the performance of asphalt
railway tracks, large scale laboratory tests of a railway subgrade transition zone were performed
and presented in section 7.5. A 9.40MGT cyclic compression test of a conventional ballast track
with and without asphalt layer was undertaken.
To benchmark the railway track performance in comparison with a conventional ballasted track
without asphalt layer, the following conclusions were drawn regarding asphalt track behaviour
at a transition under cyclic compression loading (track loading via ballast embedded sleepers):
a. By taking the overall mean values of the sleeper, ballast and subgrade settlement at
transition entry, centre and exit, the overall settlements were 624%, 734% and 377%
larger in the ballasted track than that in the ballast-asphalt track
b. The subgrade overall mean surface pressure in ballasted track is almost four times more
than that in ballast-asphalt track
c. The 1200mm long soft subgrade replicates a typical small wet bed. This project shows
one of the potential benefits of the asphalt layer is to be able to bridge overt and
minimise deflection at the rail head.
d. Since the soft subgrade in this test is an extreme example of stiffness, it would be
expected that this ballast-asphalt track system performs better in a real work
environment.
e. After testing the hybrid track the asphalt surface did not shown signs of degradation
due to ballast penetration
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In chapter 8, the extent and value of maximum compressive RS of high intensity shot peening
process makes it more prone to increasing the strength and resistance of the rail weld against
fatigue crack initiation. Shot peening creates good surface conditions with less defects and
notches that could behave as crack initiation sites. Better fatigue life cycle of the peened
samples comparing with un-peened state reveals the influence of better surface/subsurface
condition following the process. High maximum compressive stress value at subsurface and very
good depth of the compressive stress layer reveals the potential of shot peening on fatigue life
improvement of the weld zone. With additional parametric variations of peening and additional
fatigue tests under modified stress ranges with many samples can increase the knowledge on
benefits of shot peening on weak points of the track
Section 9.1 contains a comprehensive literature review of rail break detection technologies. The
reactive broken rail detection systems are also discussed in terms of efficiency, reliability and
compatibility. Various technics are continuously being investigated for detecting rail breakage.
UGW and Ultrasonic techniques are reliable but inefficient when used in a long track section.
Proactive methods are discussed in terms of their reliability and detection speed. Prominent
methods are ultrasonic method, visual camera and ACFM. These are all mounted on a test
vehicle and each method can detect different kinds of rail defects. That is, all the proactive
systems have their own pros and cons. For this reason, some methods/systems are used
together to detect different kinds of rail defects. Using proactive methods could prevent the rail
breakage and related broken rail derailment.
In summary, the conclusions from section 9.2 are that for track monitoring and inspection, there
are tools that gather data, models that perform analysis and manual interpretation of that data.
A central database, with enhanced frequency of recordings can potentially provide better
information about the asset’s degrading condition, which can be used to ultimately allow for
more pro-active intervention. Potentially, earlier intervention before the asset deteriorates to a
fault condition can lead to extended LCC and life of the asset, alongside understanding when to
transfer from tamping operations to stone blowing operations as the effectiveness of tamping
is identified as sub optimal. NR is aiming to bring all the data into one intelligent interface and
develop full WLC models for 30 assets (VTISM Dec 2017). Some key requirements to bring the
rail industry forward relate to:
• Improving the quality and frequency of inspections (data), this includes improving the
+/- 10 yards (specific to UK) accuracy in recording data.
• Having a robust database of the recorded information that is frequently updated
• Ensuring the database covers Plain Line and S&C track
• Informing staff on available tools that can aid “decision support”, building confidence in
their own capabilities
Streamlining the process with effective technology and sensors, to provide more frequent data,
a true asset condition can be determined to enhance the possibility of extending the asset life
cycle. An example of this is currently in development in the UK and Germany, using in-service
trains that have on-board unattended geometry measurement systems. Such systems are being
GA H2020 730841 D3.1 Page 255 of 268
developed in order to provide enhanced frequency of geometry measurement daily, instead of

monthly to six-monthly, as at present. This enables degradation to be mapped, as well as
providing validation of effectiveness of maintenance carried out.
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12 Annexes
1. Andersson, R, Squat formation and subsequent crack growth, 59 pp, 2018 [will also be
appended to D3.2]
2. Andersson R et al, Evaluation of stress intensity factors under multiaxial and
compressive conditions using low order displacement or stress field fitting, Engineering
Fracture Mechanics, 189, pp.204–220, 2018
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effect of initial thermal damage, LCF8 Eighth International Conference on Low Cycle
Fatigue, pp. 275–280, 2017 [will also be appended to D3.2]
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International Conference on Contact Mechanics and Wear of Rail/Wheel Systems
(CM2018), Delft, The Netherlands, September 24-27, 7 pp, 2018
7. Jessop C, Damage and thermally induced defects in railway materials, 37 pp, 2017
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Mechanics, 61, pp.409–432, 2018
9. Nikas D, Formation of anisotropy in rails, and its effect on crack formation and growth,
Formation of anisotropy in rails, and its effect on crack formation and growth, 49 pp,
2018
10. Nikas D et al, Evaluation of local strength via microstructural quantification in a pearlitic
T rail steel deformed by simultaneous compression and torsion, Materials Science &
Engineering A, 737, pp.341–347, 2018
11. Nikas, D et al, Characterization of deformed pearlitic rail steel, IOP Conf. Ser.: Mater. Sci.
Eng. 219, 7 pp, 2017
12. Meyer K A et al, Microstructure and mechanical properties of the running band in a
pearlitic rail steel: Comparison between biaxially deformed steel and field samples,
Wear. 396–397, pp.12–21, 2018
13. Meyer, K A and Ekh, M, A comparison of two frameworks for kinematic hardening in
hyperelasto-plasticity, XIV International Conference on Computational Plasticity.
Fundamentals and Applications (COMPLAS XIV), 9 pp, 2017
14. Meyer K A et al, Modeling of kinematic hardening at large biaxial deformations in
pearlitic rail steel, International Journal of Solids and Structures, 130–131, pp.122–132,
2018
15. Voivret et al, Bituminous sub-ballast layers for less maintenance needs, 29 pp, 2018
GA H2020 730841 D3.1 Page 268 of 268

Innotrack Rail Fracture and Others

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IN2TRACK

Project Title: Research into enhanced tracks, switches and structures

Starting date: 2016-09-01

Call (part) identifier: H2020-S2RJU-2016-01/H2020-S2RJU-CFM-2016-01-01

Grant agreement no: 730841

Enhanced track structure – Status, key influencing parameters and

Due date of deliverable: 2018-10-30

Actual submission date: 2018-12-03

Responsible partner Trafikverket

Document Status: Final

GA H2020 730841 D3.1 Page 1 of 268

DISCLAIMER AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

GA H2020 730841 D3.1 Page 2 of 268

NAME ORGANIZATION SECTION(S)

Deliverable Anders EKBERG Trafikverket 1, 3, 4, 5.1, 7.2,

Author(s) Knut Andreas MEYER Trafikverket 5.1

GA H2020 730841 D3.1 Page 3 of 268

NAME ORGANIZATION DATE

Review(s) Anders EKBERG Trafikverket 2018-11-11

Mitigation(s) Frédéric FAU British Steel 2018-11-19

Ben LEE NR 2018-11-28

Approval by Anders EKBERG (Deliverable Leader) Trafikverket 2018-12-03

Approval by Sam BERGGREN (Project Leader) Trafikverket 2018-12-03

GA H2020 730841 D3.1 Page 4 of 268

2017-03-15 6 Content outlined and responsible partners Anders EKBERG

2018-06-29 10 Compilation of basis for the September Anders EKBERG

2018-10-27 11 Compiled final version Anders EKBERG

2018-10-29 F1 Final version for review Anders EKBERG

2018-11-28 F2 Final version with mitigated review Anders EKBERG

2018-12-03 F2 NR review mitigations included Anders EKBERG

GA H2020 730841 D3.1 Page 5 of 268

2.1 Terms ...........................................................................................................................14

2.2 Acronyms and abbreviations .......................................................................................15

5 Links between failures and root causes ..............................................................................22

5.1 Rail cracks ....................................................................................................................22

5.1.2 Squat formation and subsequent crack growth...................................................24

5.4 Analysis of rail failure data ..........................................................................................47

5.4.1 Background and issues with RCF ..........................................................................47

5.4.3 Deployment and rail management strategy ........................................................59

5.4.4 UT and EC development and its future role .........................................................61

6.1 Managing and analysis of information required for a cost-efficient analysis of

GA H2020 730841 D3.1 Page 6 of 268

6.1.1 Objectives ............................................................................................................64

6.1.2 Introduction and analysis of information ............................................................64

6.2 Maintenance requirements for different steel grades ................................................98

6.2.1 Inspection ............................................................................................................98

6.2.2 Maintenance technologies...................................................................................99

6.2.3 Quality of machining ............................................................................................99

6.4 Analysis of cost data ..................................................................................................103

7 Optimized track support ...................................................................................................109

7.1 Exhaustive analysis of existing track supporting structures ......................................109

7.2.2 Lessons from and extensions to the work in In2Rail ..........................................117

7.3.2 Introduction .......................................................................................................118

7.3.3 The transition zone for optimization .................................................................124

7.3.5 Field experiments...............................................................................................138

7.3.6 Results of simulations and experiments ............................................................145

7.4 Bituminous sub-ballast layers for less maintenance needs .......................................162

7.5 Innovative materials in track design ..........................................................................163

7.5.1 Background ........................................................................................................163

7.5.2 Introduction .......................................................................................................163

7.5.3 Test Methodology ..............................................................................................163

7.5.7 Further reading ..................................................................................................177

8.1 Scope .........................................................................................................................179