A scaled roller test rig for high-speed vehicles

Scaled roller rigs are quite widespread among railway research centres, and several examples are described in the literature. Due to their low costs and ease of use compared with full-scale counterparts, these types of rigs are used for a wide range of studies concerning dynamical stability, comfort, mechatronic subsystem and wear. Furthermore, scaled roller rigs can be a powerful education tool for railway engineering students. In this paper, the design and the main features of the scaled rolled rig that will be installed in the Mechatronics and Dynamic Modeling Laboratory of the University of Florence located in Pistoia, Italy, are described. The main feature of the proposed rig will be the simulation of degraded adhesion conditions. This feature is very important for hardware-in-the loop testing of many safety relevant on-board subsystems like wheel slide protection systems, traction and stability controls, odometry and automatic train protection and control.