An approach for the validation of railway vehicle models based on on-track measurements

This paper proposes an approach for the validation of railway vehicle models based on on-track measurements. The validation of simulation models has gained importance with the introduction of new applications of multi-body simulation in railway vehicle dynamics as the assessment of track geometry defects, the investigation of derailments and the analysis of gauging. These applications are not only interested in qualitative predictions of the vehicle behaviour but also in precise quantitative results of the safety and comfort relevant vehicle responses. The validation process aims at guaranteeing that the simulation model represents the dynamic behaviour of the real vehicle with a sufficient good precision. A misfit function is defined which quantifies the distance between the simulated and the measured vehicle response allowing to evaluate different models at different running conditions. The obtained modelling errors are compared to the measurement uncertainty estimated for one vehicle using repeatability analysis.     

Pareto optimisation of railway bogie suspension damping to enhance safety and comfort

This paper presents the optimisation of damping characteristics in bogie suspensions using a multi-objective optimisation methodology. The damping is investigated and optimised in terms of the resulting performances of a railway vehicle with respect to safety, comfort and wear considerations. A complete multi-body system model describing the railway vehicle dynamics is implemented in commercial software Gensys and used in the optimisation. In complementary optimisation analyses, a reduced and linearised model describing the bogie system dynamics is also utilised. Pareto fronts with respect to safety, comfort and wear objectives are obtained, showing the trade-off behaviour between the objectives. Such trade-off curves are of importance, especially in the design of damping functional components. The results demonstrate that the developed methodology can successfully be used for multi-objective investigations of a railway vehicle within models of different levels of complexity. By introducing optimised passive damping elements in the bogie suspensions, both safety and comfort are improved. In particular, it is noted that the use of optimised passive damping elements can allow for higher train speeds. Finally, adaptive strategies for switching damping parameters with respect to different ride conditions are outlined and discussed.     

Identification of the technical state of suspension elements in railway systems

The running safety and passenger comfort levels in a vehicle are tightly related to the technical state of the suspension elements. The technical state of the suspension depends of the service life time as its components become old and wear out. In this paper, a study on the dynamic behaviour of a railway vehicle is established in relation to the damping elements in one of its suspension stages. An experimental measurement model is developed, obtaining a set of useful signals for the identification of the dynamic parameters of the vehicle and developing a test through the application of the operational modal analysis technique, using least-squares complex exponential method as a basis to validate the numerical model of the multi-body system. Then, the study focuses on developing numerical simulations for the identification of the technical state of the dampers by the registration of dynamic variables under commercial service conditions and on estimating the state of the suspension elements.     

Conceptual design of high-speed semi-low-floor bogie for train-tram

Train-tram railway vehicles implement the connection between urban tramlines and the surrounding railway network. Train-tram railway vehicles, which use existing infrastructure, can help to avoid large investments in new railways or tramlines and make interchanges between city center and surrounding cities unnecessary. However, present train-tram rail vehicle cannot carry out the integration of operating by means of high speed in intercity railways with operating on small radius of curvature in inner city tramlines. This paper aims to develop a new model for solid wheelsets train-tram railway vehicles, which will not only pass the curve of 25mR radius of curvature traveling on inner city tramlines with the speed of 18 km/h, but also can travel on straight railway with 200 km/h high speed between intercity. In this paper, a new train-tram model, including five car-body and five motor bogies with ten traction motors, is addressed. Expect as a real rail vehicle testing, this study prefer virtual simulation, which is an effective way to show the rail vehicle performance, such as ride stability, ride comfort and ride safety, by means of evaluating the dynamic characteristics of rail vehicle. Moreover, Design of Experiment (DOE) method is used to optimize solid wheelsets bogie system on improving passenger comfort, safety and stability of train-tram. Parameters of components of bogie system are tuned to minimize the derailment coefficient and the ride comfort index. The results shows that the best comfort index for passenger and minimum derailment coefficient are found. The results also show that this optimized new train-tram model is reliable and practical enough to be applied on real rail vehicle design.     

Active yaw damper for the improvement of railway vehicle stability and curving performances: simulations and experimental results

To further increase passenger train comfort and handling performances, a mechatronic approach to the design of railway vehicles is necessary. In fact, active systems on board a railway vehicle allow to push design barriers beyond those encountered with just passive systems. The article deals with the development of an electro-mechanical actuator to improve the running behaviour of a railway vehicle, both in straight track and curve. The main components of the active system are a brushless motor and a mechanical transmission, used to apply a longitudinal force between the carbody and the bogie of the vehicle. The actuator is operated in force control. Different control strategies were developed for straight track running, where the aim is to increase the vehicle critical speed, and for curve negotiation, where the goal is to reduce the maximum values of track shift forces. A mathematical model of the railway vehicle incorporating the active control device has been developed and used to optimise control strategies and hardware set-up of the active device and to estimate the increase in operating performances with respect to a conventional passive vehicle. The active control device has then been mounted on an ETR470 railway vehicle, and its performances have been evaluated during in-line tests in both straight and curved tracks.     

Active yaw damper for the improvement of railway vehicle stability and curving performances: simulations and experimental results

To further increase passenger train comfort and handling performances, a mechatronic approach to the design of railway vehicles is necessary. In fact, active systems on board a railway vehicle allow to push design barriers beyond those encountered with just passive systems. The article deals with the development of an electro-mechanical actuator to improve the running behaviour of a railway vehicle, both in straight track and curve. The main components of the active system are a brushless motor and a mechanical transmission, used to apply a longitudinal force between the carbody and the bogie of the vehicle. The actuator is operated in force control. Different control strategies were developed for straight track running, where the aim is to increase the vehicle critical speed, and for curve negotiation, where the goal is to reduce the maximum values of track shift forces. A mathematical model of the railway vehicle incorporating the active control device has been developed and used to optimise control strategies and hardware set-up of the active device and to estimate the increase in operating performances with respect to a conventional passive vehicle. The active control device has then been mounted on an ETR470 railway vehicle, and its performances have been evaluated during in-line tests in both straight and curved tracks.     

Robustness analysis of bogie suspension components Pareto optimised values

Bogie suspension system of high speed trains can significantly affect vehicle performance. Multiobjective optimisation problems are often formulated and solved to find the Pareto optimised values of the suspension components and improve cost efficiency in railway operations from different perspectives. Uncertainties in the design parameters of suspension system can negatively influence the dynamics behaviour of railway vehicles. In this regard, robustness analysis of a bogie dynamics response with respect to uncertainties in the suspension design parameters is considered. A one-car railway vehicle model with 50 degrees of freedom and wear/comfort Pareto optimised values of bogie suspension components is chosen for the analysis. Longitudinal and lateral primary stiffnesses, longitudinal and vertical secondary stiffnesses, as well as yaw damping are considered as five design parameters. The effects of parameter uncertainties on wear, ride comfort, track shift force, stability, and risk of derailment are studied by varying the design parameters around their respective Pareto optimised values according to a lognormal distribution with different coefficient of variations (COVs). The robustness analysis is carried out based on the maximum entropy concept. The multiplicative dimensional reduction method is utilised to simplify the calculation of fractional moments and improve the computational efficiency. The results showed that the dynamics response of the vehicle with wear/comfort Pareto optimised values of bogie suspension is robust against uncertainties in the design parameters and the probability of failure is small for parameter uncertainties with COV up to 0.1.     

Numerical Model of a Tilting Body Railway Vehicle Compared With Rig and on Track Tests

The aim of the paper is to describe and verify a numerical model for the simulation of the dynamic behaviour of a tilting body railway vehicle, with particular attention to the curve negotiation conditions. In the model the dynamics of the tilting active control devices are reproduced, combining the numerical mechanical model of the vehicle with the control software used on the real vehicle. In order to validate the numerical simulation model, numerical results and experimental ones, from both a test rig and out-door tests, were compared.     

Numerical Model of a Tilting Body Railway Vehicle Compared With Rig and on Track Tests

The aim of the paper is to describe and verify a numerical model for the simulation of the dynamic behaviour of a tilting body railway vehicle, with particular attention to the curve negotiation conditions. In the model the dynamics of the tilting active control devices are reproduced, combining the numerical mechanical model of the vehicle with the control software used on the real vehicle. In order to validate the numerical simulation model, numerical results and experimental ones, from both a test rig and out-door tests, were compared.     

On the effect of unsupported sleepers on the dynamic behaviour of a railway track

The effect of unsupported sleepers on the dynamic behaviour of a railway track is studied based on vehicle–track dynamic interaction theory, using a model of the track as a Timoshenko beam supported on a periodic elastic foundation. Considering the vehicle's running speed and the number of unsupported sleepers, the track dynamic characteristics are investigated and verified in the time and frequency domains by experiments on a 1:5 scale model wheel–rail test rig. The results show that when hanging sleepers are present, leading to a discontinuous and irregular track support, additional wheel–rail interaction forces are generated. These forces increase as further sleepers become unsupported and as the vehicle's running speed increases. The adjacent supports experience increased dynamic forces which will lead to further deterioration of track quality and the formation of long wavelength track irregularities, which worsen the vehicles’ running stability and riding comfort. Stationary transfer functions measurements of the dynamic behaviour of the track are also presented to support the findings.     

The effect of spring pads in the secondary suspension of railway vehicles on bogie yaw resistance

This paper deals with properties of bogie yaw resistance of an electric locomotive with secondary suspension consisting of flexi-coil springs supplemented with tilting spring pads. Transversal stiffness of a sample of a spring/pad assembly was measured on a dynamic test stand of the University of Pardubice (Czech Republic) and the results were applied into a multi-body model of the locomotive created in the simulation tool ‘SJKV’. On the basis of the simulation results, a detailed analysis of the bogie yaw resistance was performed in order to explain the effect in dynamic behaviour of the locomotive when the moment against bogie rotation (and therefore the distribution of guiding forces on individual wheels, as well) is influenced with the vehicle speed in a certain curve. Results of this analysis show that the application of suspension elements with strongly directionally dependent transversal stiffness into the secondary suspension can just lead to a dependency of the bogie yaw resistance on cant deficiency, i.e. on the vehicle speed in curve. This fact has wide consequences on the vehicle dynamics (especially on the guiding behaviour of the vehicle in curves) and it also points out that the current method of evaluation of the bogie yaw resistance according to relevant standards, which is related with assessment of the quasistatic safety of a railway vehicle against derailment, is not objective enough.     

Wear/comfort Pareto optimisation of bogie suspension

Pareto optimisation of bogie suspension components is considered for a 50 degrees of freedom railway vehicle model to reduce wheel/rail contact wear and improve passenger ride comfort. Several operational scenarios including tracks with different curve radii ranging from very small radii up to straight tracks are considered for the analysis. In each case, the maximum admissible speed is applied to the vehicle. Design parameters are categorised into two levels and the wear/comfort Pareto optimisation is accordingly accomplished in a multistep manner to improve the computational efficiency. The genetic algorithm (GA) is employed to perform the multi-objective optimisation. Two suspension system configurations are considered, a symmetric and an asymmetric in which the primary or secondary suspension elements on the right- and left-hand sides of the vehicle are not the same. It is shown that the vehicle performance on curves can be significantly improved using the asymmetric suspension configuration. The Pareto-optimised values of the design parameters achieved here guarantee wear reduction and comfort improvement for railway vehicles and can also be utilised in developing the reference vehicle models for design of bogie active suspension systems.     

The Application of Roller Rigs to Railway Vehicle Dynamics

Roller rigs have been built world-wide to research into the dynamics of railway vehicles and they have particularly been applied to the development of high-speed trains. This survey takes into consideration both full scale as well as small scale model roller rigs. Besides performance, most important experimental work and the emphasis of application, the scaling strategies of model test rigs and the differences involved in roller rig experiments are treated. Suggestions for potential future uses and developments are also given for this tool which is useful for demonstration and analysis of railway vehicle dynamic behaviour.     

The Application of Roller Rigs to Railway Vehicle Dynamics

Roller rigs have been built world-wide to research into the dynamics of railway vehicles and they have particularly been applied to the development of high-speed trains. This survey takes into consideration both full scale as well as small scale model roller rigs. Besides performance, most important experimental work and the emphasis of application, the scaling strategies of model test rigs and the differences involved in roller rig experiments are treated. Suggestions for potential future uses and developments are also given for this tool which is useful for demonstration and analysis of railway vehicle dynamic behaviour.     

基于车内瞬变压力变化的400 km/h高速铁路隧道净空面积探讨

为推进中国高速铁路隧道技术标准深化研究,开展400 km/h隧道结构设计参数的研究工作,而隧道净空面积为其中的一项重要内容。为尝试从列车内部瞬变压力角度得到400 km/h高速铁路隧道净空面积,建立基于舒适度标准的高速铁路隧道净空面积确定方法,以控制工况为基础,通过计算和分析,从列车密封性能方面讨论维持现有隧道净空断面的可能性,并研究提出400 km/h隧道净空断面建议值。主要结论有:1)现有350 km/h单线隧道以400 km/h运营时,列车动态密封指数最低为22 s,车内瞬变压力超标的可能性较大; 2)400 km/h单、双线隧道净空面积建议值分别为85 m~2和100 m~2,对应的列车动态密封指数最低为18 s,更加符合现有标准对列车密封性能的要求,车内瞬变压力超标的可能性大幅降低; 3)提出的400 km/h高速铁路隧道净空面积建议值和对应的密封性能要求可为有关标准、规范的制订提供参考。     

换道操作对智能车辆乘客舒适性的影响研究

乘坐舒适性是决定乘客对智能车辆接受度的重要因素之一。为了提升智能车辆的舒适性,服务智能驾驶控制算法的设计和优化,开展了基于乘客主观感知的实车乘坐舒适性试验,试验中驾驶人驾驶传统车辆执行多次换道操作,获取了60名被试乘客对换道操作的舒适性评价数据,并采集了车辆的运动数据。选取换道时横向最大加速度、回正时横向最大加速度、横向最大加加速度、横向加速度转换幅值以及横向加速度转换频率这5个车辆运动参数作为研究对象。采用二元Logistic回归单因素分析法分析了这5个车辆运动参数对乘坐舒适性的影响,采用接收者操作特征(ROC)曲线分析法为不同晕车易感性的乘客分别确立了这5个车辆运动参数的舒适性阈值,并根据岭回归分析法确定了不同参数对乘坐舒适性的影响权重。结果表明：所选取的5个车辆运动参数对乘坐舒适性具有显著影响,易晕乘客的舒适性阈值小于不易晕乘客的舒适性阈值,在换道过程中,换道时横向最大加速度、回正时横向最大加速度和横向加速度转换幅值是影响乘坐舒适性的主要因素。最后根据车辆运动参数和乘客生理特征参数建立了基于动态时间归整(DTW)和K最近邻(KNN)算法的乘坐舒适性预测模型,该模型对乘坐舒适性的预测准确率为84%,可用于智能车辆控制算法的舒适性判断。     

Dynamics of railway freight vehicles

This paper summarises the historical development of railway freight vehicles and how vehicle designers have tackled the difficult challenges of producing running gear which can accommodate the very high tare to laden mass of typical freight wagons whilst maintaining stable running at the maximum required speed and good curving performance. The most common current freight bogies are described in detail and recent improvements in techniques used to simulate the dynamic behaviour of railway vehicles are summarised and examples of how these have been used to improve freight vehicle dynamic behaviour are included. A number of recent developments and innovative components and sub systems are outlined and finally two new developments are presented in more detail: the LEILA bogie and the SUSTRAIL bogie.     

Dynamic model for ride comfort evaluations of the rubber-tired light rail vehicle

The dynamic model was developed to evaluate vibration accelerations and ride comforts during the running of the Korean-standardised rubber-tired light rail vehicle. Ride comfort indexes were analysed and tested in accordance with UIC 513R by using the dynamic model and the actual vehicle in the test track. Based on the comparisons between analysis results and test results, the validity of the developed dynamic model was evaluated. It was verified whether or not the developed Korean-standardised rubber-tired light rail vehicle met the specified target specification on ride comfort. In addition, the influence of the wearing of guide wheels on ride comfort was estimated.     

Random Response of Tractor-Semitrailer System

This work describes an analytical study of the dynamic behaviour of a tractor-semitrailer vehicle. A digital computer simulation was used to describe the longitudinal, vertical, and pitching motions of the vehicle travelling over a stationary random road surface. A man-seat model was also incorporated into the simulation. Vehicle response to road irregularities has been studied by assuming two different roads for loaded and unloaded cases.

Numerical results are presented for vehicle, showing system eigenvalues, power spectral densities and root mean square values of the linear and angular accelerations and displacements. Vehicle acceleration response is compared with the ISO riding comfort standard. All results for the loaded and unloaded cases and for smooth and rough roads indicated that an uncomfortable ride would result from vehicle response.