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New article!

Sakalo V.I., Sakalo A.V. Criteria for predicting the initiation of rolling contact fatigue damage in the railway wheels and rails. Vestnik of the Railway Research Institute. 2019;78(3):141-148. (In Russian)

https://doi.org/10.21780/2223-9731-2019-78-3-141-148

New article

V. Sakalo, A. Sakalo, A. Rodikov, S. Tomashevskiy. Computer modeling of processes of wear and accumulation of rolling contact fatigue damage in railway wheels using combined criterion. Wear. Volumes 432–433, August 2019, 102900.

Full article available for free till 4/09/2019

UM 8.3.4 / 8.5.7

New UM releases 8.3.4 / 8.5.7 are available via the following links:

Library of Car Suspensions

A library of automotive suspension is finished and will be available in the nearest UM release. The library contains the most common types of suspensions for cars and trucks. The following suspension models will be available soon:

New article! Development of dynamics simulation program for coupling vibration of maglev train-track beam based on UM (in Chinese)

Invitation to CONTACT training course in China

Our colleagues from VORtech BV (The Netherlands) and Tongsuan Technology (China) announced an advanced training course focusing on numerical simulation of Wheel-Rail contact mechanics based on the CONTACT software in May 2019 in Beijing and Chengdu (China). 

New converter from STEP and IGES for Universal Mechanism

We have just developed and published a new utility that converts STEP and IGES files into UM compatible UM CAD file format. 

New lesson for beginners in UM: cantilever beam

We have finished the new lesson that is devoted to the simulation of a cantilever beam in UM.

Totally new UM Rolling Contact Fatigue module v. 2

The updated UM Rolling Contact Fatigue (UM RCF) module of version 2.0 is included to the new UM 8.3 release.

UM User Meeting 2018 in China

We are very glad to announce UM User Meeting 2018 that will be held 18th-19th of October 2018 in Sichuan province, China.

Download information leaflet.

Beta-testing: UM 8.5

After several years of development we are glad to present the UM 8.5 beta version that is based on the new graphical engine. Please find details below.

New version: UM 8.3

New UM 8.3 version is now available. Revision history is in versions.txt. The list of new features in this release is given below.

Presentations from Workshop 2018

Presentations reported during the IV International Scientific and Technical Workshop "Computer Simulation in Railway Transport: Dynamics, Strength, Wear" are now published:

New article! Computer modelling of process of accumulation of rolling contact fatigue damage in railway wheels.

Some questions of influence of wheel steels hardness on processes of contact-fatigue damages accumulation are considered in the new article of our colleagues.

Now in Facebook! Subscribe!

Dear friends, we are glad to inform you that now you can find our news, videos and photos in Facebook. You may also ask a question or discuss a problem. Exclusive materials for our subscribers!

Training at Newcastle University, UK

From 27 November to 1 December a week-long training in NewRail railway research centre at Newcastle University was held.

Training in Kazakh Academy of Transport and Communications named after M.Tynyshpayev

20-24 November 2017 ten employees of the Kazakh Academy of Transport and Communications named after M.Tynyshpayev (Kazakhstan, Almaty) have been trained. The training was focused on issues of computer simulation dynamics of railway rolling stock.

New article: Optimization of secondary suspension of three-piece bogie with bevelled friction wedge geometry

International Journal of Rail Transportation has published a new article about the results of optimization of secondary suspension of three-piece bogie with bevelled friction wedge geometry, written by our users.

Free full paper (for first 50 downloads)

New article: Simulation of longitudinal train dynamics

We are glad to inform you that the Vehicle System Dynamics journal has published a new article with our participation, in which the results of comparative testing of the train longitudinal dynamics, performed in 9 different simulators from 6 countries, are given. Universal mechanism has shown reliable results in the main group for all four considered train models.

Free full paper (for first 50 downloads)

First International Conference on Rail Transportation 2017

The First International Conference on Rail Transportation took place in Chengdu, China on July 10-12, 2017. In the course of this conference some reports, implemented with the help of the “Universal mechanism” software, were presented.

Download full presentation

UM Training in ECJTU

June 17-19, our partner in China, Tongsuan Technology was invited to train the users in East China Jiaotong University. During the training, the users learned dynamics modeling and simulation of railway vehicle, flexible railway track, flexible wheelset and rail/wheel wear based on UM software.

Upcoming training courses in China

Our partner in China – Tongsuan Technology Co., Ltd. – provides UM training courses of various complexities starting from elementary to advanced ones. Please contact our colleagues via um@tong-suan.com to order training or send us your questions regarding it.

Training courses in China

Series of training courses for China Academy of Railway Sciences and Shijiazhuang Tiedao University took place in April 2017.

New version: UM 8.0

New UM 8.0 version is now available. Revision history is in versions.txt.  Please find all details regarding the new version in What is new in UM 8.0.

Basics of PBS Analysis in UM

Presentation is devoted to using Universal Mechanism software for PBS analysis of road trains.

Simulation of Road Vehicle Dynamics

Renewed presentation devoted to simulation of road and tracked vehicle dynamics and related questions is published on our web site.

UM in Korea

Two open seminars devoted to computer simulation of vehicle dynamics will be held 7th and 8th of July in Seoul, South Korea, by ableMax company. Railway vehicles will be considered on 7th of July. On 8th of July road and tracked vehicles will be discussed.

CONTACT add-on for UM 8

The CONTACT add-on for UM will be available in the next UM 8. CONTACT add-on is a version of CONTACT that is integrated seamlessly into Universal Mechanism. This provides the option to simulate vehicle dynamics using CONTACTs detailed contact algorithms. 

UM in Australia

Series of presentations devoted to simulation of railway vehicle dynamics in Universal Mechsnism took place in branches of Railway Technical Society of Australasia (RTSA) in Perth (May 26), Sydney (May 30), Melbourne (June 1) and Adelaide (June 2).

Railway tools and applications

Renewed presentation devoted to simulation of railway vehicle dynamics and related questions is published on our web site. Download the presentation (PowerPoint presentation, 565 Mb, 162 slides, with animations).

Import from CAD

Plugins for exporting data from Autodesk Inventor, SolidWorks, Unigraphics, Creo and Unigraphics NX in UM-compatible UM CAD format were developed and published on the site. The plugins support both 32- and 64-bit versions of programs. Plugins are freely distributed and do not require any license or Universal mechanism to be installed on a computer.

Import from CAD

Plugins for exporting data from Autodesk Inventor and Unigraphics NX in UM-compatible UM CAD format are available. Plugins support both 32- and 64-bit versions of Autodesk Inventor and Unigraphics NX. Plugins are freely distributed and do not require any license or Universal mechanism to be installed on a computer.

New paper

The paper "R. Kovalev, A. Sakalo, V. Yazykov, A. Shamdani, R. Bowey & C. Wakeling (2016): Simulation of longitudinal dynamics of a freight train operating through a car dumper" is published in Vehicle System Dynamics: International Journal of Vehicle Mechanics and Mobility.

UM Academy 2016

Welcome to UM training courses. Contact us via office@universalmechanism.com to register for a training or send us your questions regarding it. Instructions how to find us from the nearest international airports and hotels nearby are given here.
 

Free student license

Free 6-month academic license is provided for (PhD) students on request.

Training in Shanghai

From 21^st to 25^th of September the third opening training course in 2015 for UM software was successfully held in Shanghai. The users from China Academy Railway Sciences, CRRC Sifang, Beijing Jiaotong University, Shijiazhuang Tiedao University, East China Jiaotong University and Tongji University attended this course.

The XIth All-Russian Congress on Mechanics

The XI^th All-Russian Congress on Basic Problems of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics was held in Kazan during August 20-24, 2015. The Laboratory of Computational Mechanics of BSTU was presented by Oleg Dmitrochenko, Alexey Sakalo, Alexander Rodikov.

Ballast dynamics

Simulation of ballast section dynamics which consists of a mixture of new and refined ballast in various operating conditions for optimizing its fractional composition was done. The adequate convergence of the results of computer simulation with the field experiments was obtained.

Training in Beijing

20^th-24^th July, the second opening training course in 2015 for UM software was held successfully in Beijing. The users from China Academy of Railway Sciences, Beijing Jiaotong University, Lanzhou Jiaotong University and Shijiazhuang Tiedao University attended this course.

Train & dumper

This example showcases the modeling of a long heavy haul train through a dumper, which allows simulation of train longitudinal dynamics. This model can be used to optimize dumping strategies for trains through a typical dumper. Field measurements using instrumented cars were used for the validation of this model. The model allows investigation of the influence of different operational parameters on in-train forces.

UM at the IHHA 2015

UM at the International Heavy Haul Association Conference in Australia.

Training in Chengdu

18th-22nd of May 2015, the first opening training course in 2015 for UM software was held successfully in Chengdu. The users from Southwest Jiaotong University and China Academy Railway Sciences attended this course.

China 2015: Training Schedule

In order to help users to learn UM quickly, our partner in China is going to hold several open training courses for railway and rolling stock industry. The training courses will be held in Chengdu, Beijing and Shanghai, so you can choose the nearest one. The courses are divided into two parts: basic course and advanced courses.

New version: UM 7.5

New UM 7.5 version is now available. Revision history is in versions.txt. Please find new features in recent UM reseases below.

New version: UM 7.4

New UM 7.4 version is now available. Revision history is in versions.txt.

Announce: Model of Flexible Railway Track

New UM tool for simulation of the flexible railway track will be published soon. New tool will allow to analyse stress load and durability of elements of railway track, more accurately predict wheel-to-rail forces, estimate railway track vibrations.

New version: UM 7.3

New UM 7.3 version is now available.

Forum

It is our pleasure to inform all visitors of this site that the forum, that is devoted to various aspects of simulation of dynamics of mechanical systems with the help of Universal Mechanism software, is opened.

New UM Application: Drillstring Dynamics

New presentation and paper, that are devoted to simulation of drillstring dynamics using the multibody approach, are presented. The research is supported by Weatherford International.

New video: BELAZ Dump Trucks and ABRAMS M1A1

New videos with simulation of dynamics of BELAZ Dump Trucks and ABRAMS M1A1 are added to Presentations / Road vehicles play list. Play now.

Presentation in Melbourne

Dr. Roman Kovalev, Deputy Director of Computational Mechanics Ltd, presented the capabilities of Universal Mechanism with respect to railway applications on Monday 18th November at Faculty of Engineering at Monash University, Melbourne, Australia.

UM in Australia

UM signed a partner agreement with the Institute of Railway Technology - the premier track and vehicle railway research centre in Australia.

UM RCF Presentation

New presentation which is devoted to simulation of accumulation of contact fatigue damages in railway wheels with the help of Universal Mechanism software is now available on our web site.

Matlab Import

UM Control/Matlab Import UM 7.1.1 now supports recent Matlab releases R2012 and R2013.

Astra Rail Industries

Astra Rail Industries now uses Universal Mechanism software to simulate freight car and Y25 bogie dynamics. The week training for the staff of the design office in Poprad, Slovakia and testing lab in Arad, Romania took place in Poprad during 7-11 October 2013.

New version: UM 7.1

New UM 7.1 version is now available. New modules and features are considered here.

AR.Drone tennis

Our team have upgraded the AR.Drone to play tennis with it.

UM FEM: new interfaces

UM FEM module now supports some new finite-element analysis programs and its versions. The following FEA programs are now supported: ANSYS 14, MCS.NASTRAN 2010 and NX NASTRAN 8.0.

New UM Module: Rolling Contact Fatigue

New UM Rolling Contact Fatigue module, intended for simulation of accumulation of contact fatigue damages in railway wheels, is announced.

New version: UM 7.0

New version of Universal Mechanism software 7.0 is available.

Discounts for Small Business

Recently we announced prices for small business with 50% discount.

New version: UM 6.0

New UM 6.0 release is available now.

Simulation of Tracked Vehicles (UM Tracked Vehicle module)

New UM Tracked Vehicle module, intended for simulation of tracked vehicle dynamics, is released.

Partners