The Association of American Railroads’ (AAR) Wheels, Axles, Bearings & Lubrication (WABL) Committee has voted to approve PJ Messtechnik GmbH (PJM) for performing strength calculations of wheels according to the S-660 and S-690 standards.
“We are very pleased that we can now also offer our customers this consultancy service for the use of rail vehicles in North America,” PJM Managing Director Martin Joch said during the Sept. 1 announcement.
PJM is described as an accredited test center according to ISO/IEC 17025; it carries out tests worldwide for the approval of rail vehicles in the areas of running behavior, fatigue strength, braking, acoustics and aerodynamics. According to the company, its expertise includes calculations and the design of measuring wheelsets.
PJM’s in-house engineering team comprises experts in design, calculation, simulation and certification. “Extended by the measurement specialists, PJM offers unique know-how in the product development of structural railway components,” the company reported. In addition to railway work, all engineering specialists are said to have many years of experience in the automotive and mechanical engineering sectors. Additionally, the “combination of theoretical calculations with the expertise gained from test runs creates essential added value for customers,” according to PJM. “The calculation experts and designers receive the results from the test runs and then check the mathematical design by means of laboratory tests and operational test drives.”
WABL Committee is charged with establishing, improving, and maintaining wheel, axle, bearing and lubrication system interchange standards and rules, and certifying and monitoring the performance of new equipment.
