Outline of talk

Introduction.
Objectives.
Rail vehicle and track details.
Mathematical models for rail vehicle
Eigenvalue analysis and stability analysis.
Wheel/rail irregularities.
Dynamic response analysis.
- Frequency domain approach
- Time domain approach

Experimental studies (on going)

Mathematical model
Rail vehicle dynamics

Vertical dynamics

Lateral dynamics

(Ride comfort and dynamic

response analysis)

(Stability and dynamic

response analysis)

10 dof (degrees of
freedom) vehicle
model.

17 dof vehicle
model.

Vehicle/Track
coupled model (FE)

Combined vertical and

lateral dynamics
(Stability and ride comfort
analysis)

2 dof wheelset model.

31 dof full vehicle model
7 dof bogie/ truck model.

(Ongoing)

17 dof vehicle model.

Figure 1.1 Overview of work

Introduction to Railway Vehicle

Dynamics

Means of mass transportation in almost all countries.

Development in respect of safety and speed is required.
Modern railroad vehicles are required to carry more load per
axle

Railway vehicle system

Figure 1.2 General layout of railway vehicle system

Major problems associated with

railway dynamics system

Lateral stability
Ride comfort
Derailment
Curve negotiation

Lateral stability

Lateral stability associated with the term Hunting.

Conical wheel profile leads to creep forces from track.
The friction or creep forces between rail and wheels provide
effective damping.

The speed at which this effective damping between wheel and

rail becomes zero is called critical speed.

At this speed, a sustained periodic oscillation or hunting occurs.

6

Ride comfort

Ride quality : capability of the railroad vehicle suspension to

maintain the motion within the range of human comfort and or
within the range necessary to ensure that there is no damage to
the cargo it carries.

The ride quality of a vehicle depends on displacement,

acceleration, rate of change of acceleration and other factors
like noise, dust, humidity and temperature.
7

Contd.

The Sperlings ride index (Wz) : used by Indian Railways. The

Sperlings ride index is used to evaluate ride quality and ride
comfort.

Ride comfort implies that the vehicle is being assessed

according to the effect of the mechanical vibrations on the
human body whereas in ride quality the vehicle itself is judged.

Objectives
1. To develop vertical dynamic model (rigid body) of the vehicle
focusing on ride dynamics.
2. To develop a rail vehicle model (rigid body) focusing on the
lateral dynamics. The development includes lateral stability
models of a single wheelset and of a truck.
3. To develop a coupled vehicle/track dynamic model, where
track is modelled using finite element method and vehicle as
rigid body to study the influence of track on ride behaviour.
9

Contd.
5. To develop combined vertical and lateral dynamic model (rigid
body) to predict both stability and Sperling ride index.
6. To experimentally validate the vertical and lateral dynamic
response predicted using mathematical modelling.
Track/wheel inputs considered
Track geometrical irregularities
Wheel flat
Weld defects
10

Track Inputs for Dynamic Studies

1 Track geometrical irregularities acting as
random excitation

Figure 1.3 Different irregularities of track

11

Average vertical profile

For the present study these data on Indian rail tracks were
obtained from Iyengar and Jaiswal (1995).
Zl + Z r
Zv =
Average vertical profile ,
2
1E-4

Vertical profile (m2/Hz)

Vertical profile (m)

0.010

0.005

0.000

-0.005

-0.010

1E-5
1E-6
1E-7
1E-8
1E-9
1E-10

-0.015
0

10

15

Time (s)

20

25

10

15

20

Time (s)

12
Figure 1.4 Track vertical profile irregularities in time domain and its PSD

Track alignment irregularities

0.006

Alignment irregularities (m2/Hz)

Alignment irregularities (m)

Average lateral profile or alignment,

0.004
0.002
0.000
-0.002
-0.004
-0.006
-0.008
-0.010

Yl + Yr
Ya =
2

1E-4
1E-5
1E-6
1E-7
1E-8
1E-9
1E-10

-0.012
0

10

15

Time (s)

20

25

10

15

20

Frequency (Hz)

Figure 1.5 Track alignment irregularities in time domain and its PSD

13

Cross level irregularities

Cross level,

Zc = Zl Z r

0.004

1E-4

Cross level (m2/Hz)

Cross level (m)

0.002
0.000
-0.002
-0.004

1E-5
1E-6
1E-7
1E-8
1E-9
1E-10

-0.006

1E-11

-0.008

10

15

Time (s)

20

25

10

15

20

Frequency (Hz)

Figure 1.6 Track cross level irregularities in time domain and its PSD

14

Gauge irregularities
Gauge,

Y g = Yl Yr
1E-4

Gauge (m2/Hz)

1E-5
1E-6
1E-7
1E-8
1E-9
1E-10
0

10

15

20

Frequency (Hz)

Figure 1.7 Track gauge irregularities in time domain and its PSD

15

Track Inputs for Dynamic Studies

2 Wheel irregularities
Some of the irregularities considered only in some cases are
2 Wheel flat irregularities act as periodic excitation
The imperfection considered in this study is the wheel flatness,
which is flat zone on the wheel tread caused by unintentional
sliding of the wheel on the rail when the brake locks.
Mathematically,

Where w is the wave length of the corrugation (60 to 90 mm)

and c0 is the amplitude (0.41 to 0.93 mm).

16

Track Inputs for Dynamic Studies

3 Weld defects

Irregularities acting as impulse excitation.

Irregularities include the indentation on the railhead due to

the spalling or the raised joint and the dipped-joint.
Raise on weld joint
Impulse velocity
H

2H
V0 = V

r
0

(a)

H = 0.002m

17

Track Inputs for Dynamic Studies

Dipped joint
Impulse velocity

V0 =V (1 +2 )
1

(b)

Impulse velocity V0,

1 and 2 are dip angles

Figure1.8 (a) and (b) Rail weld defects

1 + 2 = 0.02 rad
18

Vehicle and track details

AC/EMU/T coach of Indian Railways is considered for modelling
Major components of the coach are
1. Carbody.
2. Bogie or truck assembly.
Bogie frame
Bogie bolster
Secondary suspension
Primary suspension
Axle box
Wheel and axle set

19

1197

3810

Carbody

952

11734

2896

14630

20726

Section AA
B

3658

1676
3658

Section BB
A

All dimensions in mm

Figure 1.9 View of full vehicle (Courtesy, ICF, Chennai)

20

Bogie or truck

Figure 1.10 View of bogie/truck (Courtesy, ICF, Chennai)

21

 The bogie consists of a 2 stage suspension and

2 pairs of wheels & axles
There is primary suspension between the axles
and the bogie constituted by 8 coil springs
There is secondary suspension between the
bogie and car body with 8 coaxial coil springs
(one spring inside the other)
The wheel and axle sets are mounted in
spherical roller bearings on either end of the
axle
22

Wheel and axle set

23

Vehicle parameters
mc
mb
mw
Jcy
Jby
Jcx
Jbx
Jwx
Jcz
Jbz
Jwz

Mass of car body (33700 kg)

Mass of bogie (3150 kg)
Mass of wheel set (1500 kg)
Pitch moment of inertia of car body (7.67105 kg.m2)
Pitch moment of inertia of bogie (2.92103 kg.m2)
Roll moment of inertia of car body (5.24104 kg.m2)
Roll moment of inertia of bogie (2.02103 kg.m2)
Roll moment of inertia of wheel set (7.13102 kg.m2)
Yaw moment of inertia of car body (7.36105 kg.m2)
Yaw moment of inertia of bogie (3.56103 kg.m2)
Yaw moment of inertia of wheel set (7.13102 kg.m2)
24

Contd

kh

Primary stiffness in longitudinal direction (58106 N/m)

Primary stiffness in lateral direction (4.75106 N/m)
Primary stiffness in vertical direction (0.7106 N/m)
Secondary stiffness in lateral direction (351103 N/m )
Secondary stiffness in vertical direction (334103 N/m )
Secondary stiffness in longitudinal direction (317103
N/m )
Hertzian stiffness of wheel and track (1.5109 N/m)

lc
lb
lp

Half of bogie centre pin spacing (7.315 m)

Semi wheel base of bogie (1.448 m)
Half of primary spring spacing lateral (1.127 m)

kpx
kpy
kpz
ksy
ksz
ksx

25

Contd
ls
lg
hc
hb
zc, zb1,
zw1
c,
b1,w1
c,
b1,w1
V
lb

Half of secondary spring spacing lateral (0.794 m)

Semi gauge length (0.864 m)
Height of car cg from secondary spring (2.429m)
Height of bogie cg from secondary spring (0.093 m)
Vertical displacement of car, bogie and wheel set
Roll of car body, bogie and wheel set
Yaw of car body bogie and wheel set
Linear velocity of wheel
Semi wheel base of bogie (1.448 m)

26

Contd

Contact angle parameter (8)

Roll coefficient (0.038)

Conicity (0.05 rad)

27

TRACK OR PERMANENT WAY

Track or permanent way is the railroad on which
the train runs.
Wheel load is directly transferred to the track.
Track consists of the following major
components.
Rails
Sleepers
Fittings and fastenings
Ballast
Formation

The rails standardised for Indian Railways

28
are 60 kg, 52 kg and 90R

Track

29

 The 52PSC and 60PSC track systems consist of 2 rails of an

I rail cross section with masses of 52 and 60 kg
respectively /m length of the rail.
The rails in these tracks are supported by prestressed
concrete sleepers with a constant sleeper spacing of 0.65 m.
The track (rail and sleeper) super structure is covered with
ballast, which in turn rests on the subgrade (soil).
Many researchers have modeled the rail as a Beam (with
mass and stiffness) On Elastic Foundation (BOEF), with the
ballast being represented by a linear spring.
Often the rail is described as an infinitely long beam discretely
supported at rail/sleeper junctions by a series of springs,
dampers and masses representing a Discretely Supported
Model (DSM)
30

Rail parameters
Cross sectional area of the rail (7.595103 m2)
Modulus of elasticity of rail (21011 N/m2)
Rail second moment of inertia (7.595103 m2)

A
E
I
mrail
W

Rail mass per unit length (60 kg/m)

Static load of the vehicle on track (202103 N)

r0
rrail
Kf

Poissons ratio (0.3)

Nominal rolling radius of wheel(0.45 m)
Rail head radius (0.3 m)
Foundation stiffness (4107 N/m)

31

Coordinate system
Translational degrees of freedom

1. X Longitudinal
Y

Figure 2.1
Coordinate system

2. Y- Lateral
3. Z Bounce or vertical
Rotational degrees of freedom
1. Pitch (about y-axis)
2. - Roll (about x-axis)
3. - Yaw (about z-axis)
32

Lateral dynamic model of the wheelset

y
Cpy

Kpy

CG

Kpy

Cpy

Figure 2.4 Wheelset configuration

Two degrees of freedom

o

lateral motion of the wheelset (y)

yaw motion of the wheelset ()

33

Dynamic equation of motion

Lateral equation of motion is given by

mw &&
yw + Fsyw + M sw + M gw Fy + Fn = 0
a
a

Yaw equation of motion is given by

&& + M
I zw
w
s w + M g w M z = 0

34

Lateral dynamic truck/bogie model

b2
Kpx, Cpx
Kpy, Cpy
Cpx/2,
Kpx/2

Bogies [13]
- Lateral displacement

b3

- Yaw and Roll

Ksy, Csy

Wheel and axle [22]

- Lateral displacement
b

- Yaw
Cpz, kpz

b1

35

Figure 2.5 Details of bogie vehicle / truck

6 DOF MODEL
Car body
mc Jcy
c

lc
ks

Secondary

lb

suspension
Bogie

kp

mb Jby

b1
zb1

zc

z
b2

Primary
suspension

zb2

Wheels

36

Vertical dynamic analysis -10 DOF MODEL

c
Secondary
suspension

Bogie

Zc

Primary
suspension
Wheelset

Zb

Zb
Y

Hertzian
stiffness (Kh)

Zw

Track

Figure 4.1 Model for analysis of vehicle system

37

Contd.
10 dof vertical dynamic model
Car body [12]
-Vertical translation
-Pitch
Bogies [22]
-Vertical translation
-Pitch
Wheel and axle [14]
-Vertical translation
38

17 DOF MODEL

zc
b1
b1
zb1

w1

zw1

39

X
Under frame

Z
Y

Bogie frame

Rail

Secondary suspension
Primary suspension
Axle
Wheel

40
Fig. 2. 1 Finite element UF model

FE MODEL
Z

41

Wheelset modeling

Maxle

Msusp
l

Mcreep

Fcreep

Msuspen

FNormal

Faxle

Figure 2.2 Free body diagram of wheelset

42

17 dof lateral dynamic model

Car body [13]

- Lateral translation
- Roll and yaw

Bogies [23]
- Lateral translation
- Roll and yaw

Wheel and axle [42]

- Lateral translation
- Yaw
43

Equation of motion
x
c

y
c

Figure 3.1 Rigid body model of railroad vehicle

44

Contd.
Wheelset 1

mw &&
ywy1 + Fsyw1 + M s w1 + M g w1 Fy1 = Qy1
a1
a1

J wz&&w1 + M s w1 + M g w1 M z 1 = Q 1
Wheelset 2

mw &&
y wy 2 + Fsyw 2 + M s w 2 + M g w 2 Fy 2 = Q y 2
a1
a1

J zw&&w 2 + M s w 2 + M g w 2 M z 2 = Q 2
45

Eigenvalue analysis

Carbody

Table 3.1 Natural frequencies

of vehicle (Hz)
Bogie 1

Bogie 2

Wheelset 1
Wheelset 2
Wheelset 3
Wheelset 4

Predominant
motion

Frequency (Hz)

Lateral

0.82

Roll

1.24

Yaw

1.11

Lateral

6.95

Roll

1.63

Yaw

8.41

Lateral

6.95

Roll

1.56

Yaw

8.41

Lateral

44.64

Yaw

44.62

Lateral

44.64

Yaw

44.62

Lateral

44.64

Yaw

44.62

Lateral

44.64

Yaw

44.62

46

Dynamic response analysis

Frequency domain approach
Assumptions
1. System with eight random disturbances due to track
irregularities at each of the eight rail wheel contact points.
2. The input from the left rail is considered to be completely
correlated with that from the right rail.
3. Input is space correlated between the successive wheels on
each rail.
4. p(t), q(t), r(t) and s(t) - random loads acting simultaneously on
the railroad vehicle at wheel rail contact points
5. xp, xq, xr and xs - corresponding receptances.

47

Contd.

Car body

Bogie
Wheel
p(t)

q(t)

r(t)

s(t)
b6

b4
b1

b5
b2
b3

Figure 3.4 Points of application of random load

48

Contd.
The PSD Sx(f) of response x(t) is

Sx ( f ) = xp + xq + xr + xs + 2xp xq cos1 +2xr xp cos2 +

2xs xp cos3 + 2xq xr cos4 + 2xq xs cos5 + 2xr xs cos6 Sp ( f )

Here Sp(f) = Sq(f) = Sr(f) = Ss(f) = PSD of p(t), q(t), r(t) and s(t)
Phase angles are

1 = 2 fb1 v , 2 = 2 fb2 v ,
3 = 2 fb3 v , 4 = 2 fb4 v ,
5 = 2 fb5 v , 6 = 2 fb6 v
Time lags 1, 2 and 3 corresponding to wheel bases
b1 (2.896 m), b2 (14.63 m) and b3 (17.526 m)

49

Vertical dynamic analysis

Assumptions
1.

All displacements are considered to be small.

2.

All characteristics like damping, stiffness etc. are linear.

3.

The vehicle is moving at a constant speed on a straight track.

4.

Since the vehicle is symmetrical about the centerline of the

track, only half of the coupled system is used for ease of
computation.

50

Contd.
10 dof vertical dynamic model
Car body [12]
-Vertical translation
-Pitch
Bogies [22]
-Vertical translation
-Pitch
Wheel and axle [14]
-Vertical translation
51

Vertical dynamic analysis

c
Secondary
suspension

Bogie

Zc

Primary
suspension
Wheelset

Zb

Zb
Y

Hertzian
stiffness (Kh)

Zw

Track

Figure 4.1 Model for analysis of vehicle system

52

Sperling ride index

a is the amplitude of acceleration in cm/s2

B is the acceleration weighting factor
f is the frequency in Hz.

For ride quality

For ride comfort

53

Contd.
Table 4.2 Ride indices for the different operating speeds (m/s)
AVP alone

AVP +Wheel flat + Dipped joint

Speed
(kmph)

Ride quality
index

Ride comfort
index

Ride quality
index

Ride comfort
index

45

2.2391

3.1782

3.4283

4.7104

50

2.1815

3.2251

3.5091

4.8229

55

2.1607

3.2958

3.5949

4.9410

60

2.2153

3.3946

3.6815

5.0606

65

2.3414

3.5250

3.7662

5.1770

54

Ride evaluation scales

Table 4.3, Ride evaluation scales ride quality and ride comfort
Ride index Wz

Ride quality

Very good

Good

Satisfactory

Acceptable for running

4.5

Not acceptable for running

Dangerous

Ride Index Wz

Ride comfort

Just noticeable

Clearly noticeable

2.5

More pronounced but not unpleasant

Strong, irregular, but still tolerable

3.25

Very irregular

3.5

Extremely irregular, unpleasant, annoying; prolonged

exposure intolerable

Extremely unpleasant ; prolonged exposure harmful

55