Derailment risk and dynamics of railway vehicles in curved tracks： Analysis of the effect of failed fasteners

The effect of the fastener＇s failure in a railway track on the dynamic forces produced in the wheel-rail contact is studied using the simulation software VAMPIRE to assess the derailment risk of two different vehicles in two curves with distinct characteristics. First, a 3D-FEM model of a real track is constructed, paying special attention to fasteners, and calibrated with displacement data obtained experimentally during a train passage. This numerical model is subsequently used to determine the track vertical and lateral stiffness. This study evidences that although the track can practically lose its lateral stiffness as a consequence of the failure of 7 consecutive fasteners, the vehicle stability would not be necessarily compromised in the flawed zone. Moreover, the results reveal that the uncompensated acceleration and the distance along which the fasteners are failed play an important role in the dynamic behavior of the vehicle-track system, influencing strongly the risk of derailment.

Self-Sensing TDR for Bearing Failure Detection of CFRP Laminate Fastener Hole with Particular Reference to the Effect of Fasteners

Carbon fiber reinforced polymer composites (CFRP) have been applied to aerospace and automobile structures. For many CFRP structures, mechanical metallic fasteners are usually adopted. For the fasteners used in internal structures such as a wing box, the damage to the CFRP structures around fastener holes is visually quite difficult to find. A simple method to find the damage around fastener holes is required. In this study a self-sensing time domain reflectometry (TDR) method is newly applied to detect bearing failure around the fastener holes of CFRP structures. A microstrip-line method is generally used to create a transmission line. When the transmission line is mounted near the metallic fasteners, they may affect the impedance of the transmission line. In this study, the effect of distance between the fasteners and the transmission line was numerically investigated using a finite difference time domain analysis method. After finding the appropriate distance, experiments were performed to detect the bearing failure around a fastener hole. The experiments showed the performance of the self-sensing TDR for detecting bearing failure.

A study on joining magnesium alloy high pressure die casting components with thread forming fasteners

With tremendous weight saving potential,magnesium alloy high pressure die casting components have been widely used for automotive applications.Magnesium fastening technology is thus becoming increasingly important to design engineers.Joining as-cast holes of magnesium high pressure die casting components with thread forming fasteners provides significant advantages for the assembly process,overall cost benefit and joint integrity.This type of joint is thus preferred for structural applications.Designing the thread forming fasteners with as-cast holes follows the general rules for designing for the machined holes,including carefully designing the variables such as the assembly torque range,the length of thread engagement,the hole diameter and required failure mode.In addition,special attention needs to be paid to the draft angles of the magnesium cast components that are required for the die casting process.In this paper,the effects of above key factors,individually and combined,on the joint performance of thread forming fasteners with as-cast blind holes of AM60B magnesium components are studied.A joint design philosophy was proposed to optimize both joint performance(the prevailing torque,the failure torque and the failure mode)and manufacturing easiness(the hole diameter and corresponding draft angle).The detailed design considerations for as-cast holes of magnesium HPDC are discussed and explained through a hypothetical example.

Experimental and Numerical Investigation on the Mechanical Behaviors of the Velcro^(■) and Dual-Lock Fasteners

In order to characterize the mechanical behaviors of the Velcro~? and Dual-lock fasteners, a series of tests including the butt-joint(BJ) monotonic tensile and shear, mixed tensile-shear with various loading angles, the loading rates effects, the double cantilever beam(DCB) fracture and 180° peel experiments were performed. The tensile and shear tests results showed that the mechanical behaviors of Velcro~? fastener separation are analogous to ductile materials, and those of Dual-lock fasteners are more like brittle ones. The mixed tensile-shear with various loading angles tests results demonstrated that magnitudes of the peak stresses in 30°, 45°, and 60° have no significant differences, which are lower than those in the monotonic tensile or shear tests for the two fasteners. The effects of the loading rate tests show that the peak stresses of the Velcro~? fastener manifested good performance at the loading rate of 10 to 20 mm/min in the tensile and shear conditions, and the Dual-lock did it well around the loading rates of 10 to 20 mm/min in the tensile condition. The cohesive zone model(CZM) is employed to numerical predict the DCB fracture and the 180° peel tests. The CZM predictions results are proven to commendably capture the two tests separation processes, of the tow fasteners, and the numerical results agreed well with the peeling tests data of the Dual lock fasteners. The results and discussions in this study are expected to bring more understanding to engineers and designers about the performance of Velcro~? and Dual lock fasteners.

Preload Control Method of Threaded Fasteners:A Review

Threaded fasteners are one of the most commonly used connection methods for mechanical structures.Its primary function is to generate appropriate clamping forces and fasten the connected parts.An inappropriate preload can cause loosening,fatigue fracture,and other problems.This will affect the safety and reliability of mechanical equipment.The precise control of the preload has become a critical issue in mechanical assembly processes.Over the past few decades,various tightening measures and methods have been proposed to address this issue.However,many problems continue to exist with practical applications that have not been reviewed comprehensively and systematically.First,various control methods were summarized systematically,and their advantages and disadvantages in engineering applications were analyzed.Torque control is the most widely used tightening method owing to its simple operation and low cost.Therefore,the research on the torque control method was summarized systematically from three aspects:the torque-preload correlation formula,effective friction radius,and friction characteristics during tightening.In addition,the special circumstances that may increase preload uncertainty were discussed.Finally,based on a summary of the current research status,the prospects for future research were discussed.This study would aid researchers in extensively understanding the problems in preload control.

Deposition processes and properties of coatings on steel fasteners——A review

Mechanical fastening is widely used in joining metals, particularly in automotive, aerospace, building and construction industries. However, the main concern on mechanical fastening is the issue of corrosion. An effective way to prolong the service life of steel fasteners is to apply protective coatings onto these components. This paper reviews and compares a few common coating deposition techniques, i.e., electroplating, hot-dip galvanizing, ion vapour deposition and mechanical plating, in terms of their characteristics. Compositional and microstructural properties including morphology and porosity, corrosion resistance performance and frictional performance of the coatings formed by each process are discussed in details. Hydrogen embrittlement, a premature failure often occurred on high strength steel fasteners, is also reviewed. The key results of recent studies of various metallic coatings on fasteners are presented to provide a fundamental understanding of the evolving topics, and the research gaps have been identified for further investigation.

Review of research on loosening of threaded fasteners

Loosening of threaded fasteners is a key failure mode,which is mainly caused by the slippage and friction behaviors on the thread and bearing surfaces,and will affect the integrity and reliability of products.Numerous scholars have conducted research on the loosening of threaded fasteners;however,comprehensive reviews on the loosening of threaded fasteners have been scarce.In this review article,we define loosening as a loss of preload and divide it into non-rotational and rotational loosening.The causes and mechanisms of non-rotational and rotational loosening are summarised.Some essential topics regarding loosening under transverse vibration have also attracted significant attention and have been investigated widely,including the loosening curve,critical condition of loosening,and influencing factors of loosening.The research carried out on these three topics is also summarised in this review.It is believed that our work will not only help new researchers quickly understand the state-of-the-art research on loosening,but also increase the knowledge of engineers on this critical subject.In the future,it is important to conduct more quantitative research on local slippage accumulation,and the relationship between local slippage accumulation and rotational loosening,which will have the potential to comprehensively unravel the loosening mechanism,and effectively guide the anti-loosening design of threaded fasteners.

Corrosion Behaviour of Carbon Steel Fasteners in Neutral Chloride Solution

An experimental model for simulating the corrosion of carbon steel fasteners(bolt and nut) composed of a contact carbon steel electrode(CCSE) and an exposed bare carbon steel plate electrode(BCSE) was designed. The effect of coupling on the corrosion process of the galvanically coupled carbon steel electrode was evaluated and compared with the self-corrosion process observed independently at the exposed and contact regions. Results obtained indicated that at an equal area ratio and uncoupled conditions, the corrosion rate is accelerated in the surface directly exposed to bulk solution compared to the bolt surface in contact with the nut. A coupling current was recorded when the exposed surface(BCSE) was electrically connected with the contact surface(CCSE);with the CCSE acting as the anode thereby suppressing the corrosion process in the exposed surface. By implication, the galvanic coupling between CCSE and BCSE increased the corrosion rate of CCSE. The diff erence in oxygen supply was responsible for the coupling effect observed in the system as there was no decrease in the solution pH. Moreover, varying the cathode-to-anode area( S c/S a) ratio significantly influenced the corrosion current density as increased S c/S a ratio resulted in an accelerated galvanic corrosion process. The corroded surfaces and interfaces were analysed using stereomicroscopy and scanning electron microscopy. X-ray diff ractometry was adopted for corrosion product characterization. The results obtained showed supportive evidence of the corrosion behaviour in carbon steel fasteners.

Dynamic analysis of a high-speed train operating on a curved track with failed fasteners

A high-speed train-track coupling dynamic model is used to investigate the dynamic behavior of a high-speed train operating on a curved track with failed fasteners. The model considers a high-speed train consisting of eight vehicles coupled with a ballasted track. The vehicle is modeled as a multi-body system, and the rail is modeled with a Timoshenko beam resting on the discrete sleepers. The vehicle model considers the effect of the end connections of the neighboring vehicles on the dynamic behavior. The track model takes into account the lateral, vertical, and torsional deformations of the rails and the effect of the discrete sleeper support on the coupling dynamics of the vehicles and the track. The sleepers are assumed to move backward at a constant speed to simulate the vehicle running along the track at the same speed. The train model couples with the track model by using a Hertzian contact model for the wheel/rail normal force calculation, and the nonlinear creep theory by Shen et al. (1984) is used for wheel/rail tangent force calculation. In the analysis, a curved track of 7000-m radius with failed fasteners is selected, and the effects of train operational speed and the number of failed fasteners on the dynamic behaviors of the train and the track are investigated in detail. Furthermore, the wheel/rail forces and derailment coefficient and the wheelset loading reduction are analyzed when the high-speed train passes over the curved track with the different number of continuously failed fasteners at different operational speeds. Through the detailed numerical analysis, it is found that the high-speed train can operate normally on the curved track of 7000-m radius at the speeds of 200 km/h to 350 km/h.

Anti-loosening performance of coatings on fasteners subjected to dynamic shear load

This paper investigates the self-loosening of threaded fasteners subjected to dynamic shear load. Three kinds of typical coatings, PTFE, MoS_2, and TiN applied to bolts and nuts, are tested in this investigation. The study experimentally examines the loosening mechanisms of fasteners and assesses the anti-loosening performance of the three tested coatings based on their tightening characteristics, loosening curves, and the damage of thread surface. Additionally, the anti-loosening performance of the three coatings is compared under different load forms. The results indicate that the PTFE and MoS_2 coatings have significant anti-loosening effect, whereas the anti-loosening performance of Ti N coating is not satisfactory. It is also found that an appropriate increase of the initial tightening torque can significantly improve the anti-loosening effect. In addition, the microscopic analyses of PTFE and MoS2 coating reveal that a reduced initial tightening torque leads to fretting wear on the thread contact surfaces of fasteners, thereby aggravating the damage.

Insights into the characteristics of corrosion products formed on the contact and exposed regions of C1045 steel bolt and nut fasteners exposed to aqueous chloride environments

This study investigated the characteristics of corrosion products formed on the contact and exposed re-gions of C1045 steel bolt and nut fasteners exposed to aqueous chloride environments.The corroded sur-face morphology,rust compositions,and corrosion kinetics of the bolt specimen were studied by visual observation,optical microscopy(OM),scanning electron microscopy(SEM),X-Ray diffractometry(XRD),micro-Raman,electron probe micro-analyser(EPMA),and potentiodynamic polarization techniques.Re-sults obtained showed a variation in corrosion kinetics,morphology,and composition of the rust layer which were driven by differential aeration and concentration effects.Due to the availability of sufficient dissolved oxygen,the oxyhydroxide compound,lepidocrocite(γ-FeOOH)was detected in the outer rust layer in the exposed region,whereas the inner rust layer was composed of magnetite(Fe_(3)O_(4)).How-ever,the oxygen-deficient contact surface revealed the presence of akaganeite(β-FeOOH)and magnetite(Fe_(3)O_(4))as dominant oxide phases.The most stable phase,goethite(α-FeOOH)was also detected in the rust formed in both regions,though in significantly low amounts.Furthermore,owing to variation in environmental conditions,the amount and density of the rust layer varied in the different regions.The estimated corrosion stability values for the different regions revealed that the corrosion products formed on the steel surfaces were non-protective,suggesting the need for specific surface treatment as a protec-tive measure.

Regression Method for Rail Fastener Tightness Based on Center-Line Projection Distance Feature and Neural Network

In the railway system,fasteners have the functions of damping,maintaining the track distance,and adjusting the track level.Therefore,routine maintenance and inspection of fasteners are important to ensure the safe operation of track lines.Currently,assessment methods for fastener tightness include manual observation,acoustic wave detection,and image detection.There are limitations such as low accuracy and efficiency,easy interference and misjudgment,and a lack of accurate,stable,and fast detection methods.Aiming at the small deformation characteristics and large elastic change of fasteners from full loosening to full tightening,this study proposes high-precision surface-structured light technology for fastener detection and fastener deformation feature extraction based on the center-line projection distance and a fastener tightness regression method based on neural networks.First,the method uses a 3D camera to obtain a fastener point cloud and then segments the elastic rod area based on the iterative closest point algorithm registration.Principal component analysis is used to calculate the normal vector of the segmented elastic rod surface and extract the point on the centerline of the elastic rod.The point is projected onto the upper surface of the bolt to calculate the projection distance.Subsequently,the mapping relationship between the projection distance sequence and fastener tightness is established,and the influence of each parameter on the fastener tightness prediction is analyzed.Finally,by setting up a fastener detection scene in the track experimental base,collecting data,and completing the algorithm verification,the results showed that the deviation between the fastener tightness regression value obtained after the algorithm processing and the actual measured value RMSE was 0.2196 mm,which significantly improved the effect compared with other tightness detection methods,and realized an effective fastener tightness regression.

Research on Track Fastener Service Status Detection Based on Improved Yolov4 Model

As an important part of railway lines, the healthy service status of track fasteners was very important to ensure the safety of trains. The application of deep learning algorithms was becoming an important method to realize its state detection. However, there was often a deficiency that the detection accuracy and calculation speed of model were difficult to balance, when the traditional deep learning model is used to detect the service state of track fasteners. Targeting this issue, an improved Yolov4 model for detecting the service status of track fasteners was proposed. Firstly, the Mixup data augmentation technology was introduced into Yolov4 model to enhance the generalization ability of model. Secondly, the MobileNet-V2 lightweight network was employed in lieu of the CSPDarknet53 network as the backbone, thereby reducing the number of algorithm parameters and improving the model’s computational efficiency. Finally, the SE attention mechanism was incorporated to boost the importance of rail fastener identification by emphasizing relevant image features, ensuring that the network’s focus was primarily on the fasteners being inspected. The algorithm achieved both high precision and high speed operation of the rail fastener service state detection, while realizing the lightweight of model. The experimental results revealed that, the MAP value of the rail fastener service state detection algorithm based on the improved Yolov4 model reaches 83.2%, which is 2.83% higher than that of the traditional Yolov4 model, and the calculation speed was improved by 67.39%. Compared with the traditional Yolov4 model, the proposed method achieved the collaborative optimization of detection accuracy and calculation speed.

YOLO-O2E:A Variant YOLO Model for Anomalous Rail Fastening Detection

Rail fasteners are a crucial component of the railway transportation safety system.These fasteners,distinguished by their high length-to-width ratio,frequently encounter elevated failure rates,necessitating manual inspection and maintenance.Manual inspection not only consumes time but also poses the risk of potential oversights.With the advancement of deep learning technology in rail fasteners,challenges such as the complex background of rail fasteners and the similarity in their states are addressed.We have proposed an efficient and high-precision rail fastener detection algorithm,named YOLO-O2E(you only look once-O2E).Firstly,we propose the EFOV(Enhanced Field of View)structure,aiming to adjust the effective receptive field size of convolutional kernels to enhance insensitivity to small spatial variations.Additionally,The OD_MP(ODConv and MP_2)and EMA(EfficientMulti-Scale Attention)modules mentioned in the algorithm can acquire a wider spectrum of contextual information,enhancing the model’s ability to recognize and locate objectives.Additionally,we collected and prepared the GKA dataset,sourced from real train tracks.Through testing on the GKA dataset and the publicly available NUE-DET dataset,our method outperforms general-purpose object detection algorithms.On the GKA dataset,our model achieved a mAP 0.5 value of 97.6%and a mAP 0.5:0.95 value of 83.9%,demonstrating excellent inference speed.YOLO-O2E is an algorithm for detecting anomalies in railway fasteners that is applicable in practical industrial settings,addressing the industry gap in rail fastener detection.

A Railway Fastener Inspection Method Based on Abnormal Sample Generation

Regular fastener detection is necessary to ensure the safety of railways.However,the number of abnormal fasteners is significantly lower than the number of normal fasteners in real railways.Existing supervised inspectionmethods have insufficient detection ability in cases of imbalanced samples.To solve this problem,we propose an approach based on deep convolutional neural networks(DCNNs),which consists of three stages:fastener localization,abnormal fastener sample generation based on saliency detection,and fastener state inspection.First,a lightweight YOLOv5s is designed to achieve fast and precise localization of fastener regions.Then,the foreground clip region of a fastener image is extracted by the designed fastener saliency detection network(F-SDNet),combined with data augmentation to generate a large number of abnormal fastener samples and balance the number of abnormal and normal samples.Finally,a fastener inspection model called Fastener ResNet-8 is constructed by being trained with the augmented fastener dataset.Results show the effectiveness of our proposed method in solving the problem of sample imbalance in fastener detection.Qualitative and quantitative comparisons show that the proposed F-SDNet outperforms other state-of-the-art methods in clip region extraction,reaching MAE and max F-measure of 0.0215 and 0.9635,respectively.In addition,the FPS of the fastener state inspection model reached 86.2,and the average accuracy reached 98.7%on 614 augmented fastener test sets and 99.9%on 7505 real fastener datasets.

Parametric investigation of railway fastenings into the formation and mitigation of short pitch corrugation

Short pitch corrugation has been a problem for railways worldwide over one century.In this paper,a parametric investigation of fastenings is conducted to understand the corrugation formation mechanism and gain insights into corrugation mitigation.A three-dimensional finite element vehicle-track dynamic interaction model is employed,which considers the coupling between the structural dynamics and the contact mechanics,while the damage mechanism is assumed to be differential wear.Various fastening models with different configurations,boundary conditions,and parameters of stiffness and damping are built up and analysed.These models may represent different service stages of fastenings in the field.Besides,the effect of train speeds on corrugation features is studied.The results indicate:(1)Fastening parameters and modelling play an important role in corrugation formation.(2)The fastening longitudinal constraint to the rail is the major factor that determines the corrugation formation.The fastening vertical and lateral constraints influence corrugation features in terms of spatial distribution and wavelength components.(3)The strengthening of fastening constraints in the longitudinal dimension helps to mitigate corrugation.Meanwhile,the inner fastening constraint in the lateral direction is necessary for corrugation alleviation.(4)The increase in fastening longitudinal stiffness and damping can reduce the vibration amplitudes of longitudinal compression modes and thus reduce the track corrugation propensity.The simulation in this work can well explain the field corrugation in terms of the occurrence possibility and major wavelength components.It can also explain the field data with respect to the small variation between the corrugation wavelength and train speed,which is caused by frequency selection and jump between rail longitudinal compression modes.

The Effects of Fatigue Cracks on Fastener Loads during Cyclic Loading and on the Stresses Used for Crack Growth Analysis in Classical Linear Elastic Fracture Mechanics Approaches

High strength threaded fasteners are widely used in the aircraft industry, and service experience shows that for structures where shear loading of the joints is significant, like skin splices, fuselage joints or spar caps-web attachments, more cracks are initiated and grow from the edges of the fastener holes than from features like fillets radii and corners or from large access holes. The main causes of this cracking are the stress concentrations introduced by the fastener holes and by the threaded fasteners themselves, with the most common damage site being at the edge of the fastener holes. Intuitively, it is easy to visualize that after the crack initiation, during the growth stages, some of the load transferred initially by the fastener at the cracked hole will decrease, and it will be shed to the adjacent fasteners that will carry higher loads than in uncracked condition. Using currently available computer software, the method presented in this paper provides a relatively quick and quantitatively defined solution to account for the effects of crack length on the fastener loads transfer, and on the far field and bypass loads at each fastener adjacent to the crack. At each location, these variations are determined from the 3-dimensional distribution of stresses in the joint, and accounting for secondary bending effects and fastener tilt. Two cases of a typical skins lap splice with eight fasteners in a two rows configuration loaded in tension are presented and discussed, one representative for wing or fuselage skins configurations, and the second case representative for cost effective laboratory testing. Each case presents five cracking scenarios, with the cracks growing from approx. 0.03 inch to either the free edge, next hole or both simultaneously.

Corrosion Test of the Steel Plate in a WJ-8 Fastener for High Speed Rail

It was found that the steel plate in the composite plate in the WJ-8 fastener used in high speed rail is rusty. The objective of this study is to test the zinc coating of the steel plate. A literature review was conducted to identify the zinc coating techniques, and the companies that can provide different coating service was identified. A salt fog chamber was built that was in compliance with the ANSI B117 code, and the steel plates that were coated by the identified companies were tested using the salt fog chamber. The results indicated that the coating technique that had the best performance in preventing corrosion was the Greenkote plates with passivation. The galvanized option had the roughest coating layer, and it was the most reactive in the salt water solution. This makes it non-ideal for the dynamic rail environment because the increased friction of the plate could damage the supports, especially during extreme temperatures that would cause the rail to expand or contract. Greenkote with Phosphate and ArmorGalv also provided increased corrosion prevention with a smooth, strong finish, but it had more rust on the surface area than the Greenkote with ELU passivation. The ArmorGalv sample had more rust on the surface area than the Greenkote samples. This may not be a weakness in the ArmorGalv process;rather, it likely was the result of this particular sample not having the added protection of a colored coating.

Effect of laser shock processing on fatigue life of fastener hole

The fatigue properties of laser shock processing （LSP） on both side surfaces of fastener hole with diameter of 3 mm in the LY12CZ aluminum alloy specimens were investigated. The superficial residual stress was measured by X-ray diffraction method. Fatigue experiments of specimens with and without LSP were performed, and the microstructural features of fracture of specimens were characterized by scanning electron microscopy （SEM）. The results indicate that the compressive residual stress can be induced into the surface of specimen, and the fatigue life of the specimen with LSP is 3.5 times as long as that of specimen without LSP. The location of fatigue crack initiation is transferred from the top surface to the sub-surface after LSP, and the fatigue striation spacing of the treated specimen during the expanding fatigue crack is narrower than that of the untreated specimen. Furthermore, the diameters of the dimples on the fatigue crack rupture zone of the specimen with LSP are relatively bigger, which is related to the serious plastic deformation in the material with LSP.

典型加筋壁板纯剪切工况有限元模拟

针对典型加筋壁板纯剪切试验夹具,利用Abaqus软件对该纯剪切工况进行模拟,验证夹具设计的合理性。采用一维、二维和三维单元相结合的方式,显著提高计算效率。从壁板承受面内剪力角度分析加筋壁板的整体受力情况。计算结果表明,整体模型von Mises应力呈现中心对称性,壁板芯边界上距加载端较远区域应力分布均匀,满足纯剪切条件;壁板向加筋条的载荷传递效率较低;夹头螺栓附近应力呈现较好的对称分布。