Communications of the ACM
5.5-Million-Euro Virtual Train Tests Project Nears Completion
The DynoTRAIN project could allow manufacturers of rail vehicles to test the trains they develop virtually, ensuring they are safe under all possible conditions while saving on development costs.
Credit: Bombadier Transport
University of Huddersfield researchers have developed DynoTRAIN, a project that could enable manufacturers of rail vehicles to use virtual testing of trains in order to ensure safety standards throughout Europe while saving on development costs.
DynoTRAIN aims to accelerate the process of certifying rail vehicles so that they can run safely on tracks throughout Europe. The project relied on the Institute of Railway Research (IRR) to develop modeling software that can simulate the dynamic behavior of railway vehicles, helping to estimate the safe operation of a train in differing conditions.
"One of our tasks as part of DynoTRAIN has been to build mathematical tools that take data collected from different countries about the track and synthesize that data into a representative track that you would use in a virtual test environment," says IRR's Yann Bezin.
Manufacturers would be able to use virtual test tracks to make adjustments to vehicles based on the conditions in which they would be employed. The researchers hope that DynoTRAIN will help to establish virtual testing as a legitimate route to certification.
From University of Huddersfield
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