The Austrian company Virtual Vehicle is an In2Track3 partner working on a modular Whole System Model-based framework. Kamil Sazgetdinov is one of Virtual Vehicle in the project.
In2Track3’s Mats Tiborn was curious of what the benefits of the Whole System Model are for rail Europe.
In what way do the results that Virtual Vehicle are part of developing make the railway, and the world for that matter, better?
The modular Whole System Model (WSM) – based framework that we are currently actively working on in collaboration with the colleagues from Chalmers University, Material Center Leoben and voestalpine Railway Technologies is primarily aimed at a holistic track damage analysis. Due to the unique features of the WSM, such as damage mechanisms interaction, we believe, that therewith we will be able to, on the one hand, optimize the railway turnouts design and innovative materials selection. On the other hand, WSM model will be an important milestone towards overall turnout service, maintenance and Life-Cycle-Costs optimization from which both rail manufacturers and major railway network operators will benefit in the future.
What are the main benefits for Virtual Vehicle in being part of the In2Track3 Project?
Having a great team of experts in the railway field, Virtual Vehicle benefits from the fruitful collaboration and knowledge exchange among other strong Research Institutions and R&D Departments of the Industrial Partners of the In2Track3 Project. The best solutions developed and implemented into the railway network, were established as a result of effective collaboration work. We at Virtual Vehicle believe that through years of cooperation with our long-time partners within already third generation of the In2Track series of projects we are able to improve our current wheel-rail interaction related models and frameworks step-by-step. Being part of In2Track3 Project helps to establish good interaction with partners, maintain long-term cooperation and work together towards bringing the developed railway solutions to the next level of maturity.
Do you see further development in your work beyond the project?
Yes, as the Whole System Model has already established and showed good qualitative results, our industrial partners (such as voestalpine, ÖBB and SBB) have been proposing diverse applications and use-case scenarios including also such effects as a rolling contact fatigue to be incorporated into our framework. We definitely see a big potential in the further framework development in the follow-up activities and projects.