Railway vehicle modelling for the vehicle–track interaction compatibility analysis

Abstract

Railway vehicle homologation with respect to running dynamics is addressed via dedicated norms that require the knowledge of the accelerations and wheel–rail contact forces obtained from experimental computational testing. Multibody dynamics allows the modelling of railway vehicles and their simulation on realistic operations conditions. However, the representativeness of the multibody models, and the results of their use in railway dynamics are greatly influenced by the modelling assumptions and their ability to represent the operational conditions. In this paper, two alternative multibody models of a railway vehicle are presented and simulated in a realistic railway track scenarios to appraise the consequences of different modelling assumptions on the railway dynamic analysis outcome. A vehicle–track interaction compatibility analysis is performed afterwards according to norm EN 14363. The analysis consists of two stages: the use of a simplified method, described in the norm for the identification of the different performance indexes from the railway vehicle dynamic analysis outcome; and the visual inspection of the vehicle motion with respect to the track via dedicated visualization tools. The results of the virtual vehicle homologation tests are presented and discussed in face of the modelling assumptions used, being significant differences identified between the railway vehicle modelled with cylindrical joints with clearances or with equivalent force elements. It is also concluded that the use of clearance joints prevents the need to use modelling assumptions on the equivalent force elements that have limited or no physical meaning, thus reducing the number of modelling parameters for which a high level of abstraction has to be exercised.

Keywords

Multibody models cylindrical joints with clearances railway dynamics vehicle approval wheel–rail contact

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Bruni

Vinolas

Mats

. Modelling of suspension components in a rail vehicle dynamics context. Veh Syst Dyn 2011; 49: 1021–1072.

Flores

Ambrósio

Claro

. Kinematics and dynamics of multibody systems with imperfect joints: Models and case studies, Dordrecht, The Netherlands: Springer, 2008.

Nikravesh

. Computer-aided analysis of mechanical systems, Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1988, pp. xiii–xiii.

Weidemann

. State-of-the-art railway vehicle design with multibody simulation. J Mech Syst Transport Logist 2010; 3.

EN 14363. Railway applications - Testing for the acceptance of running characteristics of railway vehicles - Testing of running behaviour and stationary tests, Brussels, Belgium: CENELEC European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardization, 2005.

Ambrósio

Verissimo

. Improved bushing models for general multibody systems and vehicle dynamics. Multibody Syst Dyn 2009; 22: 341–365.

Gummer

Sauer

. Modeling planar slider-crank mechanisms with clearance joints in RecurDyn. Multibody Syst Dyn 2014; 31: 127–145.

Zhuang

Wang

. Modeling and simulation of the nonsmooth planar rigid multibody systems with frictional translational joints. Multibody Syst Dyn 2013; 29: 403–423.

Kuka

Ariaudo

Verardi

. Modelling and simulation of tilting vehicles. Int J Railway Technol 2013; 2: 63–82.

10.

Facchinetti

Mazzola

Alfi

. Mathematical modelling of the secondary airspring suspension in railway vehicles and its effect on safety and ride comfort. Veh Syst Dyn 2010; 48: 429–449.

11.

. Research on vertical stiffness of belted air springs. Veh Syst Dyn 2013; 51: 1655–1673.

12.

Pombo J. A multibody methodology for railway dynamics applications. Lisbon, Portugal: Instituto Superior Técnico, 2004.

13.

Pombo

Ambrósio

. Application of a wheel-rail contact model to railway dynamics in small radius curved tracks. Multibody Syst Dyn 2008; 19: 91–114.

14.

Ignesti

Innocenti

Marini

. Development of a model for the simultaneous analysis of wheel and rail wear in railway systems. Multibody Syst Dyn 2014; 31: 191–240.

15.

Alonso

Guiral

Giménez

. Wheel-rail contact: Theoretical and experimental analysis. Int J Railway Technol 2013; 2: 15–32.

16.

Sugiyama

Yada

Yamamoto

. Wheel and rail profile wear on small radius curved tracks and its effect on derailment coefficients: Measurement and simulation. Int J Railway Technol 2013; 2: 85–98.

17.

Meli

Pugi

Ridolfi

. An innovative degraded adhesion model for multibody applications in the railway field. Multibody Syst Dyn 2014; 32: 133–157.

18.

Knothe

Wille

Zastrau

. Advanced contact mechanics–Road and rail. Veh Syst Dyn 2001; 35: 361–407.

19.

Piotrowski

Chollet

. Wheel–rail contact models for vehicle system dynamics including multi-point contact. Veh Syst Dyn 2005; 43: 455–483.

20.

Enblom

. Deterioration mechanisms in the wheel–rail interface with focus on wear prediction: A literature review. Veh Syst Dyn 2009; 47: 661–700.

21.

Bosso

Spiryagin

Gugliotta

. Review of wheel-rail contact models. In: Mechatronic modeling of real-time wheel-rail contact, Berlin Heidelberg: Springer, 2013, pp. 5–19.

22.

Kalker

. Three-dimensional elastic bodies in rolling contact, Dordrecht, The Netherlands: Kluwer Academic Publishers, 1990, pp. xxvi–xxvi.

23.

Antali

Stepan

Hogan

. Kinematic oscillations of railway wheelsets. Multibody Syst Dyn 2015; 34: 259–274.

24.

Polach

Evans

. Simulations of running dynamics for vehicle acceptance: application and validation. Int J Railway Technol 2013, pp. 59–84.

25.

Willson

Fries

Witte

. Assessment of safety against derailment using simulation and vehicle acceptance tests: A worldwide comparison of state-of-the-art assessment methods. Veh Syst Dyn 2011; 49: 1113–1157.

26.

Gear

. Simultaneous numerical solution of differential-algebraic equations. IEEE Trans Circuit Theory 1971; 18: 89–95.

27.

Ambrósio

Neto

. Stabilization methods for the integration of DAE in the presence of redundant constraints. Multibody Syst Dyn 2003; 10: 81–105.

28.

Flores

Ambrósio

. On the contact detection for contact-impact analysis in multibody systems. Multibody Syst Dyn 2010; 24: 103–122.

29.

Pereira

Ramalho

Ambrosio

. An enhanced cylindrical contact force model. Multibody Syst Dyn 2015; 35: 275–289.

30.

Guo

. A dissipative contact force model for impact analysis in multibody dynamics. Multibody Syst Dyn 2015, pp. 1–21.

31.

Flores

Leine

Glocker

Modeling and analysis of rigid multibody systems with translational clearance joints based on the nonsmooth dynamics approach. In: Arczewski

Blajer

Fraczek

Wojtyra

(eds). Multibody dynamics, Netherlands: Springer, 2011, pp. 107–130.

32.

Hunt

Crossley

FRE

. Coefficient of restitution interpreted as damping in vibroimpact. J Appl Mech 1975; 42: 440–445.

33.

Lankarani

Nikravesh

. Continuous contact force models for impact analysis in multibody systems. Nonlinear Dyn 1994; 5: 193–207.

34.

Gupta

. Advanced dynamics of rolling elements, New York: Springer, 1984.

35.

Azman

Rahnejat

King

. Influence of anti-dive and anti-squat geometry in combined vehicle bounce and pitch dynamics. Proc IMechE, Part K: J Multi-body Dynamics 2004; 218: 231–242.

36.

Goodarzi

Ghajar

. Integrating lane-keeping system with direct yaw moment control tasks in a novel driver assistance system. Proc IMechE, Part K: J Multi-body Dynamics 2015; 229: 16–38.

37.

Persson

Kufver

Berg

. On-track test of tilt control strategies for less motion sickness on tilting trains. Veh Syst Dyn 2012; 50: 1103–1120.

38.

Persson

Goodall

Sasaki

. Carbody tilting – technologies and benefits. Veh Syst Dyn 2009; 47: 949–981.

39.

Zhou

Zolotas

Goodall

. Robust system state estimation for active suspension control in high-speed tilting trains. Veh Syst Dyn 2014; 52: 355–369.

40.

Zarifian

Kolpahchyan

. Computer modeling of electric locomotive as controlled electromechanical system. Multibody Syst Dyn 2009; 22: 425–436.

41.

Polach

. A fast wheel-rail forces calculation computer code. Veh Syst Dyn 1999; 33: 728–739.

42.

Shen

Hedrick

Elkins

A comparison of alternative creep force models for rail vehicle dynamic analysis. In: Hedrick

(ed.). 8th IAVSD symposium on dynamics of vehicles on road and tracks, Cambridge, MA: Swets and Zeitlinger, 1983, pp. 591–605.

43.

Johnson

. Contact mechanics, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1985, pp. xi–xi.

44.

Pombo

Ambrosio

Silva

. A new wheel-rail contact model for railway dynamics. Vehi Syst Dyn 2007; 45: 165–189.

45.

Iwnicki

. Handbook of railway vehicle dynamics, Boca Raton: CRC Press, 2006.

46.

Dukkipati

Amyot

. Computer-aided simulation in railway dynamics, New York: Marcel Dekker, 1988, pp. ix–ix.

47.

Magalhães

. Development of advanced computational models of railway vehicles, Lisbon, Portugal: Instituto Superior Técnico, 2013.

48.

Hamrock

Schmid

Jacobson

. Fundamentals of fluid film lubrication, 2nd ed. New York: Marcel Dekker, 2004, pp. xiv–xiv.

49.

Pombo

. Application of a computational tool to study the influence of worn wheels on railway vehicle dynamics. J Softw Eng Appl 2012; 5: 51–61.