TESTING & VALIDATION

SCIENCE
IS OUR SUPERPOWER

We believe that any innovation always starts with research, and any improvement has to be scientifically validated before it can be applied. That is why Lucchini RS has invested in science from the start, now boasting one of the world’s largest, most advanced, and complete train wheel and axle test and accreditation facilities.

If you combine the right equipment and the creative genius of dedicated people, science becomes a superpower. We use this superpower to improve passengers’ safety, extend the durability of train components, and safeguard the environmental sustainability of our products and manufacturing processes.

IMPARTIALITY OF RESULTS

The Lucchini RS laboratories are separate from the Group and open to test services for external customers. Cutting-edge equipment and impartial, independent, and knowledgeable staff allow the laboratories to perform metallurgical and metallographic tests, chemical and environmental analyses, as well as mechanical, fracture, dilatometric, corrosion, fatigue and stress tests of wheelset, axles and wheels.

The competence of Lucchini RS laboratories and the eligibility to perform specific tests to verify the conformity of wheelset component to the requirements is officially recognized by ACCREDIA (the Italian accreditation body; signatory of EA, IAF and ILAC Mutual Recognition Agreements), which certifies the competence, independence and impartiality of the laboratory to perform the tests in the accreditation scope and ensures their suitability to assess the conformity of services to the requirements of UNI CEI EN ISO/IEC 17025 standard.

LAB N° 1199 L
Signatory of EA, IAF and ILAC
Mutual Recognition Agreements

LAB N° 1339 L
Signatory of EA, IAF and ILAC
Mutual Recognition Agreements

FULL-SCALE VALIDATION

FATIGUE TESTS ON WHEELS AND AXLES

Modern test rigs (BDR2, BDR3) are used to validate the quality of the new wheels and axles (following EN13260, EN13261, EN13262). Innovative steel grades, surface treatments, and specific design solutions are also tested here to validate the manufacturing process or improve the design before manufacturing.

MODAL AND ACOUSTIC TESTS ON WHEELS

The cutting-edge vibroacoustic laboratory is equipped with a semi-anechoic room to test wheels’ sound power emissions and to measure in the field pass-by noise emission form rail vehicles (ISO3095). Experimental modal tests are made to determine modal frequencies and damping factors and enable the calculation of noise emissions of wheel-rail interaction through dedicated software (Stardamp).

CRACK PROPAGATION TESTS

The BDA test rig is a rotating bending machine for full-scale axles designed to conduct variable loading and crack propagation tests. The test monitors the propagation of a tiny crack in the axle detectable by an ultrasound probe while applying variable loads representative of a mileage of 1 million km of real service. Tests results are then used to validate crack propagation models (Starcrack) and define optimal in-service NDT inspection intervals.

STRUCTURAL TESTS ON WHEELS

The BSD test rig was developed to apply the radial and lateral loads to the wheel, reproducing the loading conditions used in the wheel design through Finite Element Models (FEM). Strain gauges, positioned in the critical points of the wheel geometry, provide the stresses in relation to the loading conditions and help to validate the design models. The same test rig is also used to verify resilient wheels, evaluate their radial, lateral and torsional stiffness, and analyze the wheel’s stiffness in rolling conditions.

RESIDUAL STRESS MEASUREMENT ON WHEELS AND AXLES

Fundamental properties are obtained on wheels by the differential quenching process, where the wheel’s rolling surface is cooled rapidly to obtain increased hardness and compressive circumferential stresses. This process provides to the rolling surface a superior performance preventing the propagation of initial surface cracks and sub-surface defects. Residual stresses in the wheel rim are measured via strain gauges or ultrasound technique (EMAT).

INTRODUCING BU300

The Lucchini RS R&D laboratory includes a full-scale roller rig “BU300” for railway wheelset. Able to reproduce straight and curving rolling conditions up to a speed of 300 km/h, it is the testing bench with the closest simulation of trains real-life operations.

The main areas of research include:

  • Characterization and benchmark of wheel steel grades in terms of wear and rolling contact fatigue

  • Dynamic behavior of resilient wheels for trams and metros

  • Dynamic behavior of wheelsets with defects (e.g., wheel tread, wheel flats, or RCF clusters)

  • Calibration of instrumented wheelsets to measure wheel-rail contact loads

RESEARCH PROJECTS

SCIENTIFIC PUBLICATIONS

Our engineers and scientists regularly collaborate with the best universities and publish independent research on innovative design solutions, engineering models, and new materials within the rail industry. Our main products and solutions are patented.

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