CD - Labor Leitner - CD-Laboratory for Structural integrity in rail vehicle design

The CD-laboratory for structural integrity in rail vehicle design deals with the assessment of significant rail vehicle structures considering various influencing aspects. In the first module, the focus is on the fatigue strength of welded steel structures, which are used, for example, in bogie frames and other superstructures or in special lightweight railway axle concepts. Based on the state of the art, in the sense of specific standards and recommendations, as well as the current knowledge on fatigue strength assessment of such structures, aspects of technology, such as base material, manufacturing process and post-treatment methods, quality, taking into account local and global properties depending on the production, load effects, such as the influence of different load types and multiaxial loads, as well as the final transferability of representative small specimens to real-scale applications, are investigated within the framework of this module. The development of modern design concepts considering local and global characteristics and their validation for applicability to real structures is a key objective of this module. In the second module, the focus is on the structural integrity of selected components and designs, with the first section focusing on structural dynamics using the example of friction-induced brake vibrations. In addition to comprehensive multi-body simulations, fundamental tests are also planned on a new, innovative brake test bench, which will serve as the basis for analyzing and finally validating the design concept. A concluding assessment of the structural durability based on elaborate vibration fatigue methods also establishes a connection between the two modules in the CD-laboratory. The second section of the second module deals with aspects of fatigue and wear in wheel-rail contact and entire friction brake systems. Here, a roller test rig is implemented on the innovative brake test bench in order to be able to experimentally investigate the fatigue and wear behavior in the wheel-rail contact. Further analyses of disc and tread brake systems form the basis for the development of new design and evaluation methods as a key objective. The findings and scientific methods obtained in the CD-laboratory are intended to provide a basis for further application in the industrial sector and make a significant contribution to the design of innovative (lightweight) rail vehicle structures.