Success Story Harsco Rail: Catenary Maintenance Vehicle Control Software
Testing the software of the new Deutsche Bahn catenary maintenance vehicle according to DIN EN 50657
The Customer
HARSCO RAIL is a globally operating company which provides track renewal and maintenance vehicles, enabling technology in motion. The offering includes tailored products and services that improve performance related to track life cycle activities. Its customers include major rail network operators such as Swiss Federal Railways, Network Rail UK and Deutsche Bahn. Harsco Rail employs over 1,000 people globally and sells its products worldwide.
The Challenge
The new Deutsche Bahn catenary maintenance vehicle developed by Harsco Rail has a complex vehicle control architecture. The control system software developed by Harsco must be tested according to DIN EN 50657.
For this purpose, the other participants in the vehicle control communication must be simulated.
These surrounding systems operate via different interfaces and protocols (TRDP, CANopen, J1939, …), but the functionality of the vehicle control software as well as its interfaces should be able to be tested as automatically as possible within a single test environment.
The Solution
Harsco Rail is using CANoe.Ethernet as software- and the VN56xx for hardware access. Vector is using the TCNOpen TRDPLight reference implementation and provides its functionality over the .NET API by using Distributed Objects to exchange the payload and information.
The Advantages
- CANoe.Ethernet enables the access to the Ethernet data and the interpretation in CANoe. It offers the possibility of simulating and stimulating the entire system with an easy-to-use software.
- VN56xx enables hardware access to the Ethernet bus, which is used by the TRDP protocol.
- The overall setup minimizes test times, lowers costs, and improves product quality.
