Euler angles and numerical representation of the railroad track geometry
This article studies relations and concepts related to the representation of railroad track geometries. In engineering sciences there is a need for a sparse but accurate and intuitive description. Since it serves as input to costly numerical simulations that ultimately have to guarantee safety of train operation, it is necessary that engineers are aware of the assumptions underlying such a description and can properly judge their validity in the given context. Railroad tracks are modelled as curves plus frames along the curve and are locally described via points plus arc-length and diverse angles or curvatures. Justified by little slope in a distinguished vertical direction, engineering practice often prefers quantities related to the curve's top view. The multitude of geometric entities related to railroad track specifications poses a couple of mathematical questions which this article addresses. By the fundamental theorem of differential geometry, data dependencies cannot be avoided among three or more differential geometric quantities that are given as functions of arc-length. The article discusses these and provides differential relations and conversion formulas. It also deals with the validity of linear data interpolation and about geometric continuity questions and illustrates concepts or possible misconceptions with simple geometric examples. From a mathematician's viewpoint, the mathematics in this article is not particularly deep, unusual or surprising. But it is interesting to see how engineering requirements shape mathematical descriptions of real world objects and why fundamental mathematical understanding is necessary for properly assessing their strengths and weaknesses.
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