What is BS EN 15610- Rail and wheel roughness measurement about?
BS EN 15610 is a European standard that discusses acoustics of railway application.
BS EN 15610 specifies a direct measurement method for characterizing the surface roughness
of the rail and wheel associated with rolling noise (“acoustic roughness”), in the form of a one-third octave band spectrum. Compliance with BS EN 15610 can help you effectively mitigate unwanted track conditions.
BS EN 15610 is applicable to the:
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Compliance testing of reference track sections in relation to the acceptance test for noise emitted by railway vehicles
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Performance testing of track sections in relation to noise emitted by railway vehicles
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Acceptance of the running surface condition only in the case where the acoustic roughness is the acceptance criterion
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Assessment of the wheel surface condition as an input for the acoustic acceptance of brake blocks
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Assessment of the wheel and rail roughness as input to the calculation of combined wheel-rail roughness
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Diagnosis of wheel-rail noise issues for specific tracks or wheels
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Assessment of the wheel and rail roughness as input to rolling noise modelling
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Assessment of the wheel and rail roughness as input to noise source separation methods.
Note: BS EN 15610 is not applicable to the:
- Measurement of roughness (rail roughness, wheel roughness or combined roughness) using an indirect method
- Analysis of the effect of wheel-rail interaction, such as a “contact filter”
- Approval of rail and wheel reprofiling, including rail grinding operations, except for those where theacoustic roughness is specifically the approval criterion (and not the grinding quality criteria as provided in e.g. EN 13231-3)
- Characterization of track and wheel geometry except were associated with noise generation.
Who is BS EN 15610- Rail and wheel roughness measurement for?
BS EN 15610 on rail and wheel roughness measurements is relevant to:
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Railway component and equipment designers
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Operators
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Mechanical engineers
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Railway authorities
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Train operating companies (TOCs)
Why should you use BS EN 15610- Rail and wheel roughness measurement?
Acoustic roughness is defined as the variation in the height of the running surface associated with rolling noise excitation expressed as a function of distance x along the running surface. Best industry practices for its measurement provide you with accurate evaluation of contact and friction between wheel and rail, that is the main cause of the rolling noise.
BS EN 15610 includes a method for:
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Selecting measuring positions along a track or selecting wheels of a vehicle
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Selecting lateral positions for measurements
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The data acquisition procedure
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Measurement data processing in order to estimate a set of one-third octave band roughness spectra
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Presentation of this estimate for comparison with limits of acoustic roughness
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Comparison with a given upper limit in terms of a one-third octave band wavelength spectrum
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The measuring system requirements
As a result, compliance with BS EN 15610 methods can be helpful to analyze and predict the extent of noise and vibration, and help you prevent and control any unwanted track conditions. Overall, this can help enhance operational efficiency, performance and durability of track systems.
What’s changed since the last update?
BS EN 15610:2019 supersedes BS EN 15610:2009, which is withdrawn. BS EN 15610:2019 includes some technical changes with respect to BS EN 15610:2009. These include:
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The most significant technical change is the introduction of a measurement procedure for the characterization of the wheel acoustic roughness
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Slight improvements of the section related to the characterization of the acoustic rail roughness have also been implemented