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Recalculate the Gross Plant Heat Rate and Net Plant Heat Rate for a 10 MW scale CFSPP

Vehicle/Trackway Interface (1 of 2)

As vehicle technology continues to evolve, so does the complexity of the interface between the vehicles and the track. There are few hard and fast rules about the relationships between vehicles and track on light rail transit systems. In spite of this lack of design consistency, there are several key vehicle-to-track and trackway parameters that the track designer must consider during design of light rail systems. These include:

1. Vehicle Weight (both empty and with full passenger load)

2. Clearances

• Required track-to-platform location tolerances to meet ADA requirements

• Required clearance between cars on adjacent tracks considering car dynamics

• Required route clearances (wayside, tunnel, bridge) considering car dynamics

3. Wheel Dimensions

• Wheel diameter, which can be very small in the case of low-floor vehicles and is virtually always smaller than that used on freight railroad equipment. Smaller wheel diameters produce higher contact stresses than larger wheel diameters, with resulting implications regarding rail corrugation and wear on both wheels and rail

• Wheel profile or contour, including the wheel tread width, which must be compatible with the rail section(s) selected, particularly in the case of special trackwork

• Wheel gauge, to ensure compatibility with the track gauge, including tolerances

• Wheel back-to-back gauge that is compatible with flangeway dimensions and special trackwork check gauges

4. Longitudinal Vehicle Forces on the Track

• Maximum acceleration and associated tractive forces

• Maximum/emergency deceleration from a combination of friction brakes, dynamic braking and electromagnetic track brakes, including the automatic application of sand

5. Lateral Vehicle Forces on the Track

• Maximum lateral forces resulting from all speed and curvature combinations

6. Dynamic Vehicle Forces on the Track

• Impact of car and truck natural frequencies

• Impact of wheel flats or damaged wheels