Overview and analysis of instrumented wheelset designs

The article provides an overview and analysis of the designs of instrumented wheelsets used to measure lateral, longitudinal and vertical forces at the point of contact between the wheel and the rail. The use of instrumented wheelsets is an important tool for conducting research and certification tests on rolling stock. The relevance of this tool increases with higher axle loads and higher speeds. In addition, the instrumented wheelsets currently in use allow for the implementation of various (piecewise continuous or continuous) methods for recording vertical and lateral interactive forces in the wheel-rail system in a single turn of a wheel. Point methods of measuring the impact of rolling stock on the railway track by deformation in the rail allow for measuring the force between the wheel and the rail only at the moment when the wheel is above the measuring section of a railway track. The main disadvantage of using existing instrumented wheelsets for estimating the condition of a railway track is that measurements depend on the speed of movement and the discreteness of the measuring equipment. When using an instrumented wheelset for assessing the condition of a railway track, the probability of detecting a section of the track that presents a risk of derailment is not high enough and needs to be increased.Methods: A retrospective analysis of the use of instrumented wheelsets was conducted; the main stages of the evolution of instrumented wheelsets were identified. The features of the designs of modern Russian and foreign instrumented wheelsets and methods for recording measurements of vertical and lateral forces acting between the wheel and the rail were considered. Findings: Conclusions were made about the main directions of development and requirements for instrumented wheelsets.A description was provided for the design and characteristics of the instrumented wheelset with continuous measurement recording developed by scholars of PGUPS and NVC Vagony JSC, which features the lowest measurement pitch among the currently known Russian systems and is provided with special software used to detect sections of the railway track that present the risk of derailment.