Rail-Highway Grade Crossings: Multi-Vehicle Accelerometer-Based Rideability Measures

Unlike highways, no widely accepted quantitative method exists to assess the rideability of rail-highway grade crossings. Conventional qualitative judgment-based inspection can be subjective. Therefore, a quantitative method is desirable for objective prioritization of repair, rehabilitation or reconstruction. Previously, an acceleration-based metric was proposed and tested for a single vehicle at one crossing. This paper reports accelerometer-based testing for selected vehicles at various crossings to assess the effect of vehicle type on rideability measurements. Maximum positive and negative accelerations at different speeds are recorded, as well acceleration profiles and a proxy measure for total energy dissipated, root mean square (RMS) of accelerations. The ability to use a single “test” vehicle to predict the rideability experienced by other vehicle types is also demonstrated.

• Supplemental Notes:
  • This paper was sponsored by TRB committee AHB60 Standing Committee on Highway/Rail Grade Crossings.
• Corporate Authors:

  Transportation Research Board

  500 Fifth Street, NW
  Washington, DC  United States  20001
• Authors:
  • Wang, Teng
  • Souleyrette, Reginald R
• Conference:
  • Transportation Research Board 96th Annual Meeting
  • Location: Washington DC, United States
  • Date: 2017-1-8 to 2017-1-12
• Date: 2017

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Digital/other
• Features: Figures; Photos; References; Tables;
• Pagination: 17p
• Monograph Title: TRB 96th Annual Meeting Compendium of Papers

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Acceleration (Mechanics); Accelerometers; Railroad grade crossings; Ride quality; Test vehicles
• Subject Areas: Design; Highways; Pavements;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01631699
• Record Type: Publication
• Report/Paper Numbers: 17-03987
• Files: TRIS, TRB, ATRI
• Created Date: Apr 1 2017 10:45PM