Measures to Reduce the Lateral Vibration of the Tail Car in a High Speed Train

Abstract

From the vibration data obtained simultaneously on several cars in the same Shinkansen train, it was observed that the vibration amplitude of the tail car is greater than those of the other cars in a train. The authors' analysis arrived at the conclusion that the vibration mode of a train has a tendency for the tail car to vibrate more than the others, when the carbody hunting characteristics of a train for the yawing mode are likely to emerge, and when aerodynamic forces work in a tunnel section. Referring to those results, by simulation analysis etc., it was found that two longitudinal dampers installed parallel between the car ends (Fig. 1) with their forces depending on the angular velocity between cars, are effective in decreasing the train vibration including the tail car's vibration. Then, the prototype of the longitudinal dampers between the cars for Shinkansen was designed by obtaining the proper damping coefficient through simulation. The effectiveness of the installed damper was verified when it was tested up to 310 km/h in the Shinkansen train.