On the accuracy of the assessment of open-air pressure loads due to passing trains: Part 1: Experimental assessment

Passing trains generate aerodynamic loads (‘open-air pressure pulses’) that cause fatigue on wayside objects and other trains. The European regulatory framework requires, for every rolling stock type, type tests in which the peak-to-peak pressure changes caused by passing trains are measured close to the track over a range of heights. These measurements are subsequently corrected and processed so as to obtain an assessment value, which is then compared with a limit value. The assessment value is characterized by uncertainty. In this paper, we provide quantitative indicators of such uncertainty based on work carried out in the European FP7 project AeroTRAIN.