GERMANY: TÜV Süd’s Görlitz rolling stock test centre is carrying out extensive stress tests on digital automatic couplers from several manufacturers as part of the 21-member EU-funded FP5-DACtiVate Activating DAC Development Through Testing & Engineering project to support the DAC authorisation process.
TÜV Süd said its 50 000 m² facility offers ideal conditions for testing, with specialised track configurations supporting speeds up to 40 km/h, test rigs for vehicles and individual components and experts with hands-on experience from numerous DAC projects.
Tests in June and July focused on derailment safety, with wagons connected using DACs repeatedly shunted with increasing force into a loaded and braked row of cars on an S-curved section of track considered particularly hazardous for flange climb derailment.
The DACs were mounted on an unloaded car in the middle of the train formation and subjected to a horizontal compressive force of up to 550 kN, more than twice the usual level, to simulate a realistic scenario with a high risk of derailment.
DACs from different manufacturers were tested in various combinations to assess both safety and interoperability.
The results will form part of the technical documentation required to get the DAC approved for European rail freight operations.
