Development of new HIL architecture to study high speed trains dynamics on full-scale test-rigs

A new Hardware In the Loop (HIL) architecture to study high speed trains dynamics on full-scale test-rigs is proposed in this work. Through the new architecture different wheel-rail adhesion patterns and, in particular, degraded adhesion conditions can be reproduced on the test-rig. The new strategy will be implemented into the full-scale test-rig of the Railway Research and Approval Center of Firenze-Osmannoro (Italy); this test-rig has been designed by Trenitalia and by SICME (for the actuation system). To validate the proposed architecture, at this initial step of the research, both the hardware and the software parts of the HIL system have been accurately modeled (using the real component characteristics provided by Trenitalia). The simulated results have been compared to experimental data related to traction on-track tests carried out by Trenitalia in Velim, Czech Republic, with a E402-B locomotive equipped with a fully-working antiskid device. The initial model validation shows the good accuracy of the new HIL architecture in describing, on the test-rig, the complex system physics (characterized by degraded adhesion conditions coupled to railway vehicle dynamics) during the vehicle traction.