Periodic Reporting for period 4 - FINE 1 (Future Improvement for Energy and Noise)
Período documentado: 2019-01-01 hasta 2019-10-31
The project was supporting and communicating with the S2T TDs providing improved methodology and a system-level analysis to optimize the results of S2R from a noise and energy perspective.
To facilitate an effective noise and energy management, a system approach was applied by including different parts of the rolling stock, the infrastructure and its close environment as applicable. The basic idea for handling noise and energy control in Shift2Rail is otherwise that the technical development of new solutions is included in the development of each system, as the rail or the mechanical drive. This approach is preferred to assure new low noise, and low energy technologies are compatible with all other constraints for the performance of a particular system. Tools and methods were also developed to improve technology development.
The system approach is essential to add because the technological developments in one part of the total system, say the rail, could lead to changes in performance or even create barriers in another part of the system, say the wheel. Also, the performance of all the systems acting together, as a complete train and track, needs to be considered and may give other priorities than consideration of only one isolated part of the system, e.g. only the wheel.
For the FINE1 energy consortium, a key strategic goal was to reinforce energy as a decision influencer in procurement decisions for rolling stock. For streamlined tender and project execution, a broadly accepted “protocol” was found in EN50591. The recently released norm EN50591 “Railway rolling stock – Specification and verification of energy consumption” is used as the basis for eco-labelling with regards to energy consumption. It defines broadly accepted and technically sound conditions, parameters, information to be produced and validation methods. To make sure the rail sector will use the eco-labelling, the strategy was to advertise both EN50591 approach (how to quantify energy) and the eco-label proposal (scheme how to structure/present the EN50591 information).
For the noise part, the most critical systems which are producing noise on rolling stock, as well as infrastructure in Shift2ail, were analysed and ranked. Several scenarios were defined combining rolling stock and infrastructure and after that also adding a traffic flow over 24h including, e.g. freight to form traffic scenarios. Targets were set, and improvements achieved by introducing noise control technologies developed was calculated at the end of the project. Therefore, the source ranking and system-level performance for the baseline was defined. In addition to assessments of progress, also tools and methodologies to support the development of efficient noise reduction technologies were performed primarily for interior noise. Sound propagation and distribution around typical train carbody structures were treated with extensive simulations, and testing campaigns and recommendations about preferred methods were included. Analysis of current methodologies for sources characterisation and proposals for improvements were delivered. Airborne, as well as structure-borne sound, was considered.
In the noise part, new innovative technologies for auralisation and visualisation of noise scenarios gave exciting results. The technology provides the possibility of listening and experiencing visually the noise of trains passing on a specific track, long before it is built and the system was demonstrated in the first version at, e.g. InnoTrans 2018.
The analysis of noise control effect as well as energy-saving aspects on a system level, including different systems on the train and the infrastructure together, gave an essential opportunity for optimisation of actions taken from an environmental as well as a financial point of view.
Moreover, new methods for simulations of energy as well as noise performance for interior noise were developed. These methods will improve the results available to enhance the performance already in the early design phase when the implementation costs are lower than at later stages.
FINE 1 provided new cost-effective noise reduction technologies and improved energy consumption strategies for the railway system in Europe. This can be used to reduce costs, improve sustainability as well as to increase the attractiveness of rail and promote a modal Shift2Rail.