News - Page 2 - PJM EN

Dynamic tests, instrumented wheel-sets and simulation for Rhaetian Rail

Projects always take our measurement technology team to particularly beautiful places. This was also the case recently in Switzerland. The Rhaetian Railway makes railway hearts beat faster. The track is one of the most beautiful in the world, and the Bernina and Albula lines are even UNESCO World Heritage Sites. In addition to the picturesque landscape, the technical requirements are fascinating. Typical for the metre gauge track are curves up to 45 m radius and gradients up to 70 ‰. The Allegra multiple-unit train made by Stadler AG, which is used on this line in various vehicle configurations, is perfectly tailored to these high line requirements. In order to test the running characteristics of different train compositions under special operating conditions, PJM was commissioned with running tests.

The project was carried out in several parts by the experienced system specialist from Austria:

In the preliminary stage, the wheel-rail forces as well as occurring buffer forces were determined by simulations. In this way, critical conditions or constellations could be resolved computationally. Another advantage is that this keeps the metrological effort to a minimum.
Instrumented wheel sets, accelerators, transducers as well as measuring buffers were prepared in the usual way at the company's location in Graz and then installed on the test vehicle at the RhB main workshop in Landquart.
The measurement campaign was carried out on the track between Poschiavo and Alp Grüm. In real operation, the running behaviour was tested under increased operating forces. The test runs took place in November 2022. The data analysis and report were recently completed.

Further information in the media release: https://pjm.co.at/en/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/02/PI-PJM-Rhaetian-Rail-Web-02-2023-EN.pdf

General / News - 02/01/2023

Solar-energy for our measurement devices

Which solutions are the best? If they are environmentally friendly, easy to handle and reliable. For several months now, a solar panel has been part of our testing facility team's equipment and supplies our measuring devices with solar energy. The panel can be set up in just a few steps, and a rechargeable battery guarantees a continuous supply even during tests and measurements lasting several hours.

Achieving climate neutrality depends on both large-scale measures and small steps. In the expansion of environmentally friendly rail transport, our digital overall system WaggonTracker is an essential contribution to modernising and making rail freight transport more attractive. In everyday life, we try to make our world a little more environmentally friendly with small contributions.

News / Waggon Tracker - 01/23/2023

A good start into a "projekt-rich" year

We have started into a project-rich year. Our laboratory team is currently working on new instrumented wheel sets. The engineering experts validate existing vehicles and optimise new vehicle designs using simulation and FE calculation. The test centre team is constantly on the road for vehicle tests. Our production team is constantly engaged in the production of our digital WaggonTracker technology. The projects of railway companies and vehicle manufacturers are carried out in Austria, Germany, the Czech Republic, Italy, Switzerland and Ireland, among others.

News / Waggon Tracker - 01/17/2023

New video: Automated brake test in operation

Automated brake testing is a crucial technology when it comes to modernising rail transport. The most important advantages are obvious:

- The time saved on a 500 m long freight train is close to 40 minutes
- Realisation of one-person operation
- Faster turnaround times due to faster handling

Check out how the automated brake test works in operational use in our brand-new short clip.

News / Waggon Tracker - 11/28/2022

Styrian Export Award 2022 for PJM

PJM was awarded the Styrian Export Prize. Our digital technology for efficient rail freight transport convinced the jury of experts, who included criteria such as degree of innovation, market potential, sustainability and local value creation in their assessment.

The award ceremony at the Aiola Castle was the highlight of the Styrian Export Day, which was organised by the ICS (Internationalisation Centre Styria). The awards in the three categories (small, medium and large enterprises) were presented by, among others, Barbara Eibinger-Miedl (member of the Styrian government), Josef Herk (President of WKO Styria) and Jürgen Roth (Supervisory Board Chairman of ICS).

This is already the 4th award for PJM this year. A strong signal for PJM's innovative strength, but also for the importance of modern, efficient and competitive rail freight transport.

Credit: Foto Fischer

News / Waggon Tracker - 11/17/2022

Mobile calibration test rig for instrumented wheelsets

Precision is the top priority in metrology, and calibration is a crucial factor. To ensure measurement reliability even for projects on site, PJM has developed a mobile calibration test stand. The advantages:

After reprofiling the measuring wheel sets, recalibration can be performed on site.
The new type of test stand enables unprecedented performance.
The test stand is easy to transport and is therefore ideally suited for worldwide use.

The mobile calibration test stand has already proven its worth during the first "field test" and was used in a project for the Rhaetian Railway. Thus we can react quickly and flexibly to customer requirements even under challenging conditions.

General / News - 11/10/2022

Optimised design for Stadler Rail AG

In the development of rail vehicles, a key factor is: as little material and weight as necessary, but as much load-bearing capacity as possible. Topology optimisation has been part of our everyday engineering work for years. Among others, Stadler Rail AG relies on our calculation know-how. In a current project, our engineering team is dealing with structural optimisation and strength verification of the wagon bodies of a local transport vehicle.

We think out of the box

We have a particularly effective and efficient engineering team, as experienced experts in design, calculation, simulation and certification work very closely together. Expanded by measurement technology specialists, we offer unique know-how in the product development of structural railway components. Our innovative strength is further enhanced by our distinctive out-of-the-box thinking: All engineering staff have many years of experience in the automotive and mechanical engineering sectors in addition to their railway activities. Therefore, we are not only engineering experts in rail transport, but also in projects in other sectors, such as the optimization of waste treatment plants or other mechanical engineering projects.

Best calculations for the future

With our concentrated knowledge in calculation, simulation and measurement, as an accredited testing laboratory we are well prepared when calculations and simulations are increasingly used for the approval of railway vehicles in the future. For all this, FprCEN/TS 17833:2022 comes into play, the "Guideline for the use of simulations to demonstrate compliance with technical and regulatory requirements".

We seamlessly dovetail our profound experience from worldwide test drives and approval trials with our engineering know-how. We link our empirical values from track tests with our design knowledge and thus create great added value for our customers.

News - 11/08/2022

Technical article on condition based maintenance for intermodal train of Mercitalia

We have new reading material for you: The latest technical article in the German trade magazine "Eisenbahn Ingenieur" describes in detail how targeted monitoring saves costs, increases efficiency and enhances the safety of an intermodal train.

Technical article (in German language):

https://pjm.co.at/en/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/10/10_15_Petsching_Lorenzutti-Beleg-Web.pdf

News / Waggon Tracker - 10/31/2022

Nightjets of ÖBB: Measuring wheel sets and approval tests

In future, a total of 33 Nightjets of the new Viaggio Next Level generation from Siemens Mobility will ensure comfortable and at the same time climate-friendly travel in Central Europe. For the approval of the newly developed passenger coaches, PJM is on board as an accredited test center according to ISO/IEC 17025. The Austrian system specialist was commissioned for the overall approval in cooperation with ÖBB. The contract specifically includes the instrumented wheel sets as well as the approval tests in the areas of running behavior, fatigue strength, acoustics and aerodynamics.

6 instrumented wheel sets were developed and manufactured in Graz and then installed in the test vehicle at the ÖBB plant in Vienna. The test runs started in autumn 2021. The test train is in use throughout the entire Austrian rail network. To evaluate derailment safety, the first approval tests started in the field of running behavior, after which the bogies were upgraded for the test runs in the area fatigue strength. Finally, high-speed measurements follow for the aerodynamics area. The acoustic tests will complete the approval tests. "For an extensive project like this, it is above all our metrology expertise and experience in bringing together all specialist areas that prove their worth. Our flexibility and routine, which we have gained from our numerous international projects, are also essential. Due to the weather, there are always changes in procedures, for example during test runs in winter on the Arlberg at 1,000 m above sea level," explains Martin Joch, CEO of PJM. "A good collaboration with the project partners is also immensely important in large-scale projects. The cooperation with ÖBB's measurement group is excellent."

Get more in the media release:

https://pjm.co.at/en/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/10/10-2022-Presse-Info-Nightjets-PJM-Web2-EN.pdf

News / Presseberichte - 10/06/2022

InnoTrans 2022: PJM presents rail freight solutions

Our innovations will be presented at InnoTrans! We look forward to meeting you in person and talking shop about the current topics in the industry and our solutions in digital rail freight transport, vehicle testing according to ISO/IEC 17025 and engineering. Live in Berlin - we look forward to seeing you!

News / Waggon Tracker - 08/23/2022