2022 Dr. Sundar Shrestha
Post Graduate Thesis Award 2022
Thesis: ESTIMATION OF ADHESION CONDITIONS BETWEEN WHEELS AND RAILS FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF ADVANCED BRAKING CONTROL SYSTEM
2022 Post Graduate Thesis Award
Winner
Dr. Sundar Shrestha
Doctor of Philosophy
Place of Study: Central Queensland University, Australia
Dr. Sundar Shrestha is awarded with the RTSA 2022 PhD Thesis Award for his thesis which makes a significant contribution to knowledge of the process of adhesion estimation between wheel and rail contact in a real-time mode that is currently unavailable; and has therefore not been implemented in existing rollingstock brake control system designs.
An ideal braking system not only ensures safety and ride comfort but also attracts significant cost benefits through optimum on-time operation and reduction in wheel-rail damage processes. For such a braking system, the adhesion condition information between the wheel and rail at contact interfaces during rail vehicle operation is essential.
In this thesis work, a real-time novel observer was designed to estimate such adhesion condition information. The information was further utilised for the improvement of the braking performance of a heavy haul wagon. For the transition from the algorithm development to the physical implementation/validation, an experimental scaled bogie test rig was designed based on an existing heavy haul wagon design and equipped with a newly designed braking system. For robustness of the system, the acoustic signal emanating from wheel-rail interaction was considered in this project as an additional input parameter.
Dr. Sundar’s research confirms the capability for enhancement of the productivity, efficiencies, and safety of trains that will ultimately be a contribution toward sustainable transportation.
Dr. Sundar Shrestha and Dr. Hang Su accepting their Post Graduate Thesis Awards in Melbourne, August 2022 (also pictured Robert Moffat, CEO Australasian Centre for Rail Innovation and Roy Unny, Executive, Chair of the RTSA)
2022 Post Graduate Thesis Award
Runner Up #1
Dr. Hang Su
THESIS: PLASTIC DEFORMATION OF FLASH BUTT WELDS IN HIGH STRENGTH RAIL STEELS IN HEAVY HAUL RAILWAY SYSTEMS
Doctor of Philosophy
Place of Study: Monash University, Clayton, Australia
Dr. Hang Su’s thesis is awarded to be the Runner up of the RTSA 2022 PhD Thesis Award. The investigation and research findings from his thesis form the fundamentals for understanding the ratcheting performance of rail welds and parent rails in terms of rolling contact fatigue initiation and provide information for railway operators to develop more reliable and cost-effective maintenance strategies for rails.
The application of premium high strength rail steels has been evidenced to improve the overall performance of heavy haul operations by controlling or reducing rail degradation. However, these benefits can be offset by the potential of localized degradation in rail flash butt welds. It has been found that plastic ratcheting plays an essential role in causing rail degradation. Variety of tasks and experiments were designed and performed to investigate the plastic deformation (in particular ratcheting behavior) of flash butt welds in high strength rail steels in Australian heavy haul railway environment. Dr. Su’s thesis provides comprehensive description of the investigation process, data gathered, and research outcomes which provides valuable information for further research in this field.
Runner up #2
Dr. Steven McKerlie
THESIS: INVESTIGATIONS ON EXISTING OPEN DECK RAILWAY BRIDGES AND TRANSOM SYSTEMS TO INFORM THE DEVELOPMENT OF NEW TRANSOM TECHNOLOGIES
Doctor of Philosophy
Place of Study: University of Southern Queensland, Australia
Dr. Steven McKerlie is awarded with the Runner up of the RTSA 2022 PhD Thesis Award for his investigation and contributions in transom technologies. His thesis provided a comprehensive review of Australia’s railways and open deck transom top bridges which included a critical appraisal of historic and current design practices and standards with inputs from participating rail organisations and salient findings from relevant overseas research. This provided essential baseline data and understanding for the issues to be addressed.
Dr. McKerlie’s thesis provided a practical state-of-the-art reference that will assist the Australian rail industry in successfully transitioning from hardwood to new transom technologies. The methods and investigative techniques developed for his research may be applied to any bridge on any network in Australia. Therefore, this body of work is considered a major step towards “next generation” bridge transoms that are best for track and bridge.
Master Thesis Award
Mohan Sankarasubbu
Place of Study: University of South Australia
Mohan is awarded the RTSA 2022 Master Thesis Award, whose Master’s Thesis studied capacity issues in passenger rail networks and proposed an advanced train control system.
The solution developed was performed using outputs from simulation modelling and compared with the results of a pilot project in a system integration laboratory. The proposal utilised standardised architecture that could be applied and expanded for the entire project area and be used as a typical solution for future rail network expansion projects where capacity is an issue.
The capital expansion cost and subsequent ongoing maintenance costs on a rail network would be reduced by having a standard train control system instead of contending with mixed systems and technologies.
