| Download | - View final version: Investigation of freight car air brake system performance in cold temperature (PDF, 2.1 MiB)
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| Author | Search for: Toma, Elton1ORCID identifier: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3599-0724; Search for: Jahagirdar, Alok1; Search for: Mackie, Stephen1; Search for: Wahba, Albert1; Search for: Backs, Christine2 |
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| Affiliation | - National Research Council Canada. Automotive and Surface Transportation
- Transport Canada
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| Format | Text, Poster |
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| Conference | Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting, January 7–11, 2024, Washington, D.C. |
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| Abstract | This paper presents results from controlled laboratory testing of the operational performance of 23 service-worn and 21 refurbished freight car air brake systems at temperatures ranging from +50°F to -40°F (+10°C to -40°C). The 44 systems were tested using service and emergency brake applications from brake pipe pressures of 75 psi and 90 psi. Forces after 10 and 90 minutes are compared for emergency brake applications. Airflow demand is also compared. Findings are that service-worn brake systems require up to 5 times more air at -40°F when compared to a new brake system at the same temperatures and that service-worn brake systems demonstrate degraded performance at colder temperatures dependent on time since previous refurbishment.
Quantifying the performance of freight train air brakes under controlled and repeatable conditions requires the control of the external temperature of the air brake components as installed and operated on a freight car, and a controlled method of brake applications. To allow for such testing in controlled conditions, the National Research Council (NRC) Canada has built a Cold Weather Air Brake (CWAB) research facility to study freight car air brake systems under temperature-controlled conditions. The main goal of this research is to better understand the performance and operations of freight train air brakes under controlled and repeatable cold weather conditions. |
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| Date published | 2024-01 |
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| Publisher | Transportation Research Board |
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| Language | English |
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| Peer reviewed | Yes |
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| Export citation | Export as RIS |
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| Report a correction | Report a correction (opens in a new tab) |
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| Record identifier | 0d17f39c-e918-4011-8696-db7953434cb5 |
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| Record created | 2026-05-25 |
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| Record modified | 2026-05-25 |
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