In2Track3 benefits from successful collaboration, Dr. Björn Pålsson at Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden, states. Together with project partners in Austria and other colleagues at Chalmers he is developing a simulation framework for simulation-based evaluation of switch and crossing designs, a so-called Whole System Model.
Björn Pålsson is active in Work Package 1 (WP1) in In2Track3 . One of his tasks is the development of a so-called Whole System Model (WSM). It is a simulation tool for the evaluation of switch and crossing (S&C) designs.
– The purpose of the WSM is to allow for design optimization of S&C that can result in good and durable designs that give low life cycle costs before they are built and installed in track, he says.
The WSM is based on physical modelling of the mechanical aspects of the S&C system. Dynamic interaction between S&C and passing vehicles is considered along with loading and deterioration of S&C components over time.
– As it is not feasible for one single model to capture all relevant effects to evaluate the LCC performance of a full S&C, the WSM is a framework that integrates state-of-the-art simulation tools and technique, says Björn Pålsson.
In this project a successful collaboration has formed between three partners in the project: Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden and two partners in Austria; Materials Center Leoben (MCL) and Virtual Vehicle (ViF). It is the complexity of the WSM and the expertise required in different areas such as dynamic vehicle-track interaction, track settlement and material modeling that calls for collaboration between project partners.
– While there has been a long-standing collaboration between these partners in EU-projects and other settings, a closer collaboration was initiated in 2020 during In2Track2, Björn Pålsson says.
The project partners are now working on a common WSM and each partner contributes with different models and data.
– Joined together we can develop a more advanced and capable simulation model than any of us would be capable of doing on our own, says Björn Pålsson.
His recipe for a successful collaboration is to have a valuable objective that can best be reached via the integration of complementary skills. The collaboration will then be a natural win-win for all parties as everyone can see that the whole becomes greater than the sum of its parts.