Testing facilities

Operation

Fire-resistance tests

• Cone calorimeter
• Smoke density chamber and FTIR
• Floor radiant panel
• Spread of flame apparatus
• Combustion shaft
• Combustion box
  ​

Operation

Strength and function tests for components of vehicles and permanent ways

• Task-specific test arrangements

• Dynamic forces up to 600 kN
• Static forces up to 4 MN
  ​

• Dynamic forces up to 600 kN
• Static forces up to 4 MN
  ​

Load portal and freely selectable load force supports

Fatigue resistance and crack progression tests on wheels and shafts

Prestressed bed with out-of-balance excitation

• EN 13261 and EN 13262
• Rotational bending force (level and frequency depend on the object to be tested)

All types of side window

Pressure chambers of different sizes

• UIC 566
• Dynamic pressures up to 10 kPa
• Frequencies up to 10 Hz
• Sinusoidal and square-wave signal
  ​

Axle box

Test bed shafts with diameters of 120 mm, 130 mm and 150 mm

EN 12082
Speed up to 3,000 rpm (500 km/h)
Axle load up to 27 t
Headwind simulation at 20°C
​

• EN 12663-1 and -2
• Static forces up to 2,000 kN
• Lift forces/stroke motions up to 400 mm
  ​

Rail vehicles, load securing

• EN 12663-1 and -2
• Vehicle speeds up to 15 km/h
  ​

Operation

• Wheels, brake discs (axle-mounted brake discs /wheel-mounted brake discs), shoes, linings
• Certification testing (UIC/DIN EN/TSI)
• Simulation of operational scenarios (real rail line/load profiles)
  ​

• 2200 rpm (350 km/h according to a simulating wheel diameter of 890mm)

Operation

Testing and optimisation of

• Wheel slide protection
• Wheel rotating monitoring system (WRM)

Testing of components, e.g.

• Axle speed sensors
• WSP dump valves

• UIC 541-05 
• EN 15595

• Wheel slide protection systems for up to 6 axles
• Maximum speeds up to 500 km/h
• Hardware-in-the-loop testing
• Wheelset simulation via electric motors
• Pneumatic system with air consumption measurement
  ​

Operation

EMC component tests

• Absorber chamber with ferrite absorber lining
• Dimensions: 7.4 m x 3.1 m x 3 m (L x W x H)
• Performance of development-accompanying emissions measurements in the frequency domain of 30 MHz to 1 GHz
• Performance of emissions and radiation-specific immunity measurements taken from a measurement distance of 3 m
• Test receiver/spectrum analyser for tests in accordance with DIN EN 50121-3-2 and regulation no. EMC 06 available
• Power amplifier for development-accompanying immunity tests available

Operation

Static measurements

Tests

• Immunity testing of components (e.g. axle counters, GPE) against magnetic fields
• Calibration of magnetic field probes and magnetometers

Testing area

• Superimposing both fields gives rise to an area with a largely homogeneous magnetic field between both coils near the coil axis that can be freely accessed for experiments.

Operation

• Function tests for components (e.g. doors, couplings, brakes)
• Air conditioning type tests for railway vehicles
• Energy consumption investigations:
  -Analyses and evaluation of environmental control systems (air conditioning systems)
  -Optimisation of thermal comfort
  -Thermography analyses
  -Analyses of components used in climate control and air conditioning systems
  -Determination of the k-value of vehicles
• Simulation of the solar radiation for the drivers´s cab

Testing conditions

• Temperature range in test chamber from -25°C to +45°C
• Snow and icing systems
• Controlled humidification of the chamber air at temperatures higher than +10°C
• Location and time-based consistency of testing condition in accordance with the relevant standards
• Test chamber size up to 75 m x 5 m x 5 m (L x W x H)

Contact

Operation

Roller rig for wheel/rail contact

• Wear and rolling contact fatigue
• Rolling tests with lubrication and brake slip
• Acoustic analyses, curve squeal, rolling noise, wheel noise absorber
• Vibration analyses
• Tests with wheelset and bearing diagnosis systems

Wheelset

• Carrying and powered wheelsets with a wheel tread diameter of 400 to 1,250 mm

• Axle load up to 340 kN, shear force up to 30 kN
• Up to 300 km/h, dynamic, freely programmable
• Skew, brake slip, lubrication, moistening

Operation

Linear test bed for wheel/rail contact

• Wear and crack formation
• Interaction between wheel and rail
• Rail segments
• Application and connection weldings
• Insulated rail joints
• Complete common crossings and pairs of switches

Devices under test

• Rail and switch segments with lengths of 2.8 to 3.6 m

• Load cycles/h, approx. 1 MGT/d
• Contact force up to 200 kN, shear force up to 20 kN
• Wheel flange offset, skew

Operation

Small linear test bed for wheel/rail contact

• Common crossings with reduction in scale
• Rewelding of pairs of switches
• Insulated rail joints
• Welding filler materials, weld joints

• Rail segments of up to 1 m in length

• 5,000 load cycles/h; approx. 5 MGT/d
• Contact force up to 200 kN
• Wheel flange offset, skew

Operation

• Wheel constructions with elastic springs, e.g. tram wheels
• Wheelset constructions, e.g. adjustable wheelsets
• Fatigue crack growth of axle shafts
• Inspection of shaft-hub connections

Wheelset

• Powered wheelsets (wheel tread diameter 600 to 1,200 mm)

• E.g. 10 million load changes (continuous load) in 12 days
• Axle load up to 340 kN, shear force up to 80 kN
• Up to 160 km/h, programmable load spectrums

Operation

• Pantograph

• Forces up to 550 kN
• Frequency range 0 to 20 Hz
• Track profile simulation
  ​

Ultrasonic cracking test for wheelsets 

• Wheelset removed
• Transverse crack testing on wheel rim of wheels with a comparative defect depth from 2 mm
• Radial cracks in the wheel disk of wheels with a comparative defect depth from 2 mm