TY - CONF A1 - Auersch, Lutz T1 - Impacts between different drop masses and different targets in different scales N2 - The Federal Institute of Material Research and Testing has performed many impact tests from very small laboratory tests to very big “free-field” tests with heavy containers on stiff foundations. The first measurements have been done on a big foundation where it should be guaranteed that the foundation is rigid and the container is tested properly. Later on, a smaller drop test facility has been built on the ground inside an existing building. It had to be controlled by prediction and measurements that the drop test will not damage the building. Tests from different heights on soft, medium, and stiff targets have been done to find out rules which allow to identify acceptable and unacceptable drop tests. Later on, the biggest drop test facility has been built for masses up to 200 t. It was necessary for the design of the foundation to estimate the forces which oc-cur during the drop tests. In addititon, the acceptable tests should be selected and controlled by measurements where the impact duration is important. Dif-ferent sensors, accelerometers, accelerometers with mechanical filters, geo-phones (velocity transducers), strain gauges, and pressure cells have been ap-plied for these tasks. Signal transformations and model calculations have been used to check and understand the dynamic measurements. The simplest law is the conservation of the momentum which is a good approximation if the impact is short. If the soil under the foundation has an influence on the deceleration of the container, the maximum foundation velocity is lower than the simple esti-mation. T2 - 10th International Conference on Experimental Vibration Analysis for Civil Engineering Structures CY - Milano, Italy DA - 30.08.2023 KW - Drop test KW - Vibration measurements KW - Container loading KW - Foundation load PY - 2023 AN - OPUS4-58504 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Auersch, Lutz A1 - Song, Jiaojiao T1 - Analysis of intact and damaged (floating) slab tracks by finite-element boundary-element models and by measurements N2 - The damage detection and repair control have become important tasks for slab tracks. Different intact and damaged slab tracks have been investigated theoretically and experimentally for train passages and hammer impacts. The following damages have been considered: The loss of contact between the sleeper and the track slab, between the track slab and the base slab, and between the base slab and the base layer. At first, a slab track with a gap between the track slab and the base layer has been calculated by the combined finite-element boundary-element method which correctly incorporates the behaviour of the infinite soil. The basic results are the track displacements of the rail, the track slab, and the base layer along the track which are caused by a single axle load. These solutions are properly superposed for to get the complete train load. The influence of track and soil parameters and of the track damage has been analysed. For the intact track, the compliance of the soil is dominant whereas the track bending stiffness becomes more important for the damaged track. By comparing the calculated results with the measurements, the length of the gap could be quantified. A slab track with a loose sleeper (without contact to the supporting track slab) was analysed by the transfer function between the displacements and the hammer force (receptance functions) where a resonance appeared in case of the damage. Differences between the different track elements confirmed the detection of the damage. A floating slab track with a thin rubber layer has been investigated for a possible gap between the base slab and the base layer. The behaviour of the intact track has been calculated by a wavenumber-domain method, and the same behaviour has been found in the measurements at several track sections, indicating that there is no damage. Finally, a floating slab track with steel springs and viscous fluid dampers has been measured in the Tongji laboratory. The modes of the floating track slab and the transfer function with corresponding resonances have been calculated and successfully compared with results from wheelset drop tests. T2 - 3rd International Conference of Rail Transportation CY - Shanghai, China DA - 07.08.2024 KW - Slab tracks KW - Damage KW - Vibration measurements KW - Finite-element boundary-element method PY - 2024 AN - OPUS4-61227 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER -