Scale Testing Theory and Approaches

This chapter describes the use of reduced-scale test benches for simulating different aspects concerning railway vehicles. Starting from a historical analysis of the development of these types of simulators, this chapter analyses the main problems related to the use of scaled models in the specific railway case. In particular, the different similitude approaches proposed by different authors and the inherent errors that must be considered are discussed. The peculiarities of different constructive solutions used in some existing test benches are then analysed in detail. Finally, the main applications for the use of scaled benches in the railway sector are described, analysing how some of the benches have been modified in order to meet specific test requirements. The main areas of application considered are the use of benches as dynamic track simulators, for tribological studies and for hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) applications.