DIN EN 13103:2012-10

Railway axles were among the first train components to give rise to fatigue problems. Many years ago, specific methods were already developed in order to design these axles; they were based on a feedback process from the service behaviour of axles. Combined with the examination of failures and on fatigue tests conducted in the laboratory, characterizations and optimizations of the design and materials used have been made for railway axles. This European Standard DIN EN 13103: 1) gives the forces and moments to be taken into account with reference to masses and braking conditions; 2) gives the stress calculation method for axles with outside axle journals; 3) specifies the maximum permissible stresses to be assumed in calculations for steel grade EA1N defined in EN 13261; 4) describes the method for determination of the maximum permissible stresses for other steel grades; 5) determines the diameters for the various sections of the axle. The preferred shapes and transitions to achieve adequate service performance are defined. This standard is applicable to: 1) solid and hollow axles of railway rolling stock used for the transportation of passengers and freight; 2) axles defined in EN 13261; 3) all gauges. This standard is applicable to axles fitted to rolling stock intended to run under normal European conditions. Before using this standard, if there is any doubt as to whether the railway operating conditions are normal, it is necessary to determine whether an additional design factor has to be applied to the maximum permissible stresses. The calculation of wheelsets for special applications (for example, tamping/lining/levelling machines) may be made according to this standard only for the load cases of free-running and running in train formation. This standard does not apply to workload cases. They are calculated separately. For light rail and tramway applications, other standards or documents agreed between the customer and supplier may be applied. Non-powered axles of motor bogies and locomotives are analysed according to the requirements of EN 13104. The modification of DIN EN 13103 by Amendment A2:2012 has been prepared by Technical Committee CEN/TC 256 "Railway applications", the secretariat of which is held by DIN (Germany). The responsible German standardization committee is Working Committee NA 087-00-02 AA "Fahrwerke" ("Running gear") of the Railway Standardization Committee (FSF). This standard differs from DIN EN 13103:2011-02 as follows: a) Complete technical revision of clause 7 "Maximum permissible stresses". b) Update of Annex ZA on the relationship between this standard and EU Directives. It has been aligned with the new Directive 2008/57/EC and the latest version of the Technical Specification on interoperability by means of which the Essential requirements of the Directive into technical requirements have been implemented, by exchange of Tables ZA.2 and ZA.3.