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Sustainability and Digital Transformations in Railway Systems: Modelling, Planning, and Management

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Sustainable Transportation".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 January 2022) | Viewed by 12018

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Yang Song

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Structural Engineering, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, 7030 Trondheim, Norway
Interests: railway dynamics; high-speed railway; pantograph–catenary interaction; traction power system; rail–wheel interaction
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Hongrui Wang

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Engineering Structures, Delft University of Technology, 2628CN Delft, The Netherlands
Interests: signal processing; artificial intelligence; applications of signal processing and artificial intelligence in the structural health monitoring and digital modelling and design of railway infrastructures
Dr. Yongqiu Zhu

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Institute for Transport Planning and Systems, ETH Zurich, 8093 Zurich, Switzerland
Interests: optimization, reinforcement learning, applications of optimization and reinforcement learning in railway traffic management; disruption management; passenger assignment; passenger-oriented decision making; passenger information provision

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Rail has already demonstrated that it can satisfy massive transport demands as the cleanest and most sustainable transport mode. The first two decades of the 21st century have witnessed a substantial expansion of rail transport across the world. In the foreseeable future, rail will become the backbone of sustainable mobility in our society. However, the rail sector is still facing major challenges in fulfiling such a critical role. We must accelerate research and innovation in the rail sector to meet the ever-growing mobility demand, to become more flexible and attractive to passengers and goods, to interrelate with other transport modes for multimodal mobility, and to offer greener solutions in planning, management, and operation. This transformation should rely on emerging concepts and technologies including artificial intelligence, digital twins, automated/autonomous trains, renewable energies, and more.

In this context, we are pleased to announce this Special Issue with the general theme of “Sustainability and Digital Transformations in Railway Systems: Modelling, Planning, and Management”. Possible topics include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • Physical modelling and digitalization of railway systems
  • Digital twins and simulations of railway systems
  • Smart and sustainable asset management in rail transportation
  • Resilient line planning and timetabling
  • Smart structural health monitoring solutions
  • Predictive maintenance decision making
  • Railway traffic management and disruption management
  • Passenger-friendly information systems
  • Energy-efficient automated/autonomous train control
  • Renewable energies for trains
  • Emerging technologies for future railways

We invite researchers and experts to submit original research and review articles that can describe the state of the art and further stimulate innovations in the field.

Dr. Yang Song
Dr. Hongrui Wang
Dr. Yongqiu Zhu
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • Sustainable railway
  • Digital transformation
  • Renewable energy
  • Railway operation
  • Planning and (re)scheduling
  • Smart monitoring
  • Predictive maintenance
  • Artificial intelligence
  • Digital twins
  • Automated/autonomous trains

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Further information on MDPI's Special Issue polices can be found here.

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

22 pages, 26426 KiB  
Article
Modelling and Analysis of Power-Regenerating Potential for High-Speed Train Suspensions
by Ruichen Wang, Paul Allen, Yang Song and Zhiwei Wang
Sustainability 2022, 14(5), 2542; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14052542 - 22 Feb 2022
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 1944
Abstract
Sustainable technologies in transport systems have attracted significant research efforts over the last two decades. One area of interest is self-powered devices, which reduce system integration complexity and cost with an undoubtedly great potential for improving adaptability and developing sustainability in railway transport [...] Read more.
Sustainable technologies in transport systems have attracted significant research efforts over the last two decades. One area of interest is self-powered devices, which reduce system integration complexity and cost with an undoubtedly great potential for improving adaptability and developing sustainability in railway transport systems. One potential solution is a regenerative suspension system, which enables the suspension movements and dissipated energy to be converted into useful electricity. This paper explores the application of hydraulic–electromagnetic regenerative dampers (HERDs) under realistic railway operating conditions for a high-speed train (HST). A vehicle-track-coupled dynamics model is employed to evaluate the regenerative power potential of an HST suspension over a range of operating conditions. The work considers typical route curvature and track irregularity of a high-speed line and speed profile. It was found that power could be regenerated at a level of up to 5–30 W and 5–45 W per generation unit when fitted to the primary and secondary dampers, respectively. Such power-regeneration levels were adequate to supply a variety of low-power-consumption onboard components such as warning lights and wireless sensors. Further analysis of the carbody loading level also was carried out. The analysis revealed that, in the case of a high-speed journey, poor track geometry, low curvature, and reduced carbody weight increased the quantity of regenerative energy harvested by the HERDs. It was concluded that a suitable HERD design could be achieved that could facilitate the development of a smart railway damper that includes both self-sensing and power-generation functions. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainability and Digital Transformations in Railway Systems: Modelling, Planning, and Management)
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19 pages, 4535 KiB  
Article
Multiobjective Railway Alignment Optimization Using Ballastless Track and Reduced Cross-Section in Tunnel
by Salvatore Antonio Biancardo, Francesco Avella, Ernesto Di Lisa, Xinqiang Chen, Francesco Abbondati and Gianluca Dell’Acqua
Sustainability 2021, 13(19), 10672; https://doi.org/10.3390/su131910672 - 26 Sep 2021
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2297
Abstract
The increasing need for railway planning and design to connect growing cities in inland mountainous areas has pushed engineering efforts toward the research of railway tracks that must comply with more restrictive constraints. In this study, a multiobjective alignment optimization (HAO), commonly used [...] Read more.
The increasing need for railway planning and design to connect growing cities in inland mountainous areas has pushed engineering efforts toward the research of railway tracks that must comply with more restrictive constraints. In this study, a multiobjective alignment optimization (HAO), commonly used for highway projects, was carried out to identify a better solution for constructing a high-speed railway track considering technical and economic feasibilities. Then, two different and innovative scenarios were investigated: an unconventional ballastless superstructure, which is more environment-friendly than a gravel superstructure, and a reduced cross-section in a tunnel, which enables a slower design speed and then, less restrictive geometric constraints and earthmoving. The results showed that the first solution obtained a better performance with a slight increase in cost. Moreover, both scenarios improved the preliminary alignment optimization, reducing the overall cost by 11% for the first scenario and 20% for the second one. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainability and Digital Transformations in Railway Systems: Modelling, Planning, and Management)
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25 pages, 10940 KiB  
Article
Mechanism of Sleeper–Ballast Dynamic Impact and Residual Settlements Accumulation in Zones with Unsupported Sleepers
by Mykola Sysyn, Michal Przybylowicz, Olga Nabochenko and Jianxing Liu
Sustainability 2021, 13(14), 7740; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13147740 - 11 Jul 2021
Cited by 37 | Viewed by 4385
Abstract
Unsupported sleepers or void zones in ballasted tracks are one of the most recent and frequent track failures. The void failures have the property of intensive development that, without timely maintenance measures, can cause the appearance of cost-expensive local instabilities such as subgrade [...] Read more.
Unsupported sleepers or void zones in ballasted tracks are one of the most recent and frequent track failures. The void failures have the property of intensive development that, without timely maintenance measures, can cause the appearance of cost-expensive local instabilities such as subgrade damages. The reason for the intensive void development lies in the mechanics of the sleeper and ballast bed interaction. The particularity of the interaction is a dynamic impact that occurs due to void closure. Additionally, void zones cause inhomogeneous ballast pressure distribution between the void zone and fully supported neighbour zones. The present paper is devoted to studying the mechanism of the sleeper–ballast dynamic impact in the void zone. The results of experimental in situ measurements of rail deflections showed the significant impact accelerations in the zone even for lightweight slow vehicles. A simple three-beam numerical model of track and rolling stock interaction has shown dynamic interaction similar to the experimental measurements. Moreover, the model shows that the sleeper accelerations are more than 3 times higher than the corresponding wheel accelerations and the impact point appears before the wheel enters the impact point. The analysis of ballast loadings shows the specific impact behaviour in combination with the quasistatic part that is different for void and neighbour zones, which are characterised by high ballast pre-stressed conditions. The analysis of void size influence demonstrates that the maximal impact loadings and maximal wheel and sleeper accelerations appear at a certain void depth, after which the values decrease. The ballast quasistatic loading analysis indicates an increase of more than 2 times in the ballast loading in neighbour zones for long voids and almost full quasistatic unloading for short-length voids. However, the used imitation model cannot explain the nature of the dynamic impact. The mechanism of the void impact is clearly explained by the analytic solution using a simple clamped beam. A simplified analytical expression of the void impact velocity shows that it is linearly related to the wheel speed and loading. The comparison to the numerically simulated impact velocities shows a good agreement and the existence of the void depth with the maximal impact. An estimation of the long-term influences for the cases of normal sleeper loading, high ballast pre-stress and quasistatic loading in the neighbour zones and high impact inside the void is performed. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainability and Digital Transformations in Railway Systems: Modelling, Planning, and Management)
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14 pages, 2132 KiB  
Article
Smart Collaborative Performance-Induced Parameter Identification Algorithms for Synchronous Reluctance Machine Magnetic Model
by Linjie Ren, Guobin Lin, Yuanzhe Zhao and Zhiming Liao
Sustainability 2021, 13(8), 4379; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13084379 - 14 Apr 2021
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1696
Abstract
In rail transit traction, due to the remarkable energy-saving and low-cost characteristics, synchronous reluctance motors (SynRM) may be a potential substitute for traditional AC motors. However, in the parameter extraction of SynRM nonlinear magnetic model, the accuracy and robustness of the metaheuristic algorithm [...] Read more.
In rail transit traction, due to the remarkable energy-saving and low-cost characteristics, synchronous reluctance motors (SynRM) may be a potential substitute for traditional AC motors. However, in the parameter extraction of SynRM nonlinear magnetic model, the accuracy and robustness of the metaheuristic algorithm is restricted by the excessive dependence on fitness evaluation. In this paper, a novel probability-driven smart collaborative performance (SCP) is defined to quantify the comprehensive contribution of candidate solution in current population. With the quantitative results of SCP as feedback in-formation, an algorithm updating mechanism with improved evolutionary quality is established. The allocation of computing resources induced by SCP achieves a good balance between exploration and exploitation. Comprehensive experiment results demonstrate better effectiveness of SCP-induced algorithms to the proposed synchronous reluctance machine magnetic model. Accuracy and robustness of the proposed algorithms are ranked first in the comparison result statistics with other well-known algorithms. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainability and Digital Transformations in Railway Systems: Modelling, Planning, and Management)
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