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Fundamentals of vehicletrack coupled

dynamics
a
Wanming Zhai , Kaiyun Wang & Chengbiao Cai
Train and Track Research Institute, Traction Power State Key

Laboratory , Southwest Jiaotong University , Chengdu, P.R. China
Published online: 14 Oct 2009.
To cite this article: Wanming Zhai , Kaiyun Wang & Chengbiao Cai (2009) Fundamentals of
vehicletrack coupled dynamics, Vehicle System Dynamics: International Journal of Vehicle
Mechanics and Mobility, 47:11, 1349-1376
To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00423110802621561
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Vehicle System Dynamics

Vol. 47, No. 11, November 2009, 13491376
Fundamentals of vehicletrack coupled dynamics

Wanming Zhai*, Kaiyun Wang and Chengbiao Cai
Downloaded by [Addis Ababa University] at 23:20 20 July 2014
Train and Track Research Institute, Traction Power State Key Laboratory,
Southwest Jiaotong University, Chengdu, P.R. China
(Received 14 April 2008; final version received 11 November 2008 )
This paper presents a framework to investigate the dynamics of overall vehicletrack systems with
emphasis on theoretical modelling, numerical simulation and experimental validation. A threedimensional vehicletrack coupled dynamics model is developed in which a typical railway passenger
vehicle is modelled as a 35-degree-of-freedom multi-body system. A traditional ballasted track is
modelled as two parallel continuous beams supported by a discrete-elastic foundation of three layers
with sleepers and ballasts included. The non-ballasted slab track is modelled as two parallel continuous beams supported by a series of elastic rectangle plates on a viscoelastic foundation. The vehicle
subsystem and the track subsystem are coupled through a wheelrail spatial coupling model that considers rail vibrations in vertical, lateral and torsional directions. Random track irregularities expressed
by track spectra are considered as system excitations by means of a timefrequency transformation
technique. A fast explicit integration method is applied to solve the large nonlinear equations of motion
of the system in the time domain. A computer program named TTISIM is developed to predict the
vertical and lateral dynamic responses of the vehicletrack coupled system. The theoretical model
is validated by full-scale field experiments, including the speed-up test on the BeijingQinhuangdao
line and the high-speed running test on the QinhuangdaoShenyang line. Differences in the dynamic
responses analysed by the vehicletrack coupled dynamics and by the classical vehicle dynamics are
ascertained in the case of vehicles passing through curved tracks.
Keywords: traintrack interaction; vehicle dynamics; vehicletrack coupled dynamics; curving
performance; experimental validation
1.
Introduction
The classical theory of railway vehicle dynamics [1,2] usually focuses on the railway vehicle
itself as the analysis object without consideration of the dynamic behaviour of the track system
that supports the vehicle, i.e. the track structure is assumed to be a rigid base. In fact, the railway
track is a typical elastic structure with damping. Vibrations of the vehicle can be transmitted to
the track via the wheelrail contact and excite vibrations of the elastic track structure, which
can in reverse influence the vibrations of the vehicle not only in the vertical direction but in
the lateral direction as well. Therefore, the vibrations of a vehicle and a track are essentially
coupled with each other.
*Corresponding author. Email: wmzhai@swjtu.edu.cn
ISSN 0042-3114 print/ISSN 1744-5159 online

2009 Taylor & Francis
DOI: 10.1080/00423110802621561
http://www.informaworld.com
1350
W.M. Zhai et al.
With the increase in train speed and vehicle axle load, effects of the dynamic interaction
between the vehicle and the track obviously intensify. Dynamic effects of the vehicle on the
track structure increase accordingly, especially in the case of increasing the train speed on
existing railway track structures such as in Chinese Railways (CR) [3]. Furthermore, a great
interest of modern railway designers as well as maintenance engineers is motivated by the
desire to improve ride comfort, to prevent vehicle hunting, to reduce deformations of the track,
to minimise damage and wear of both vehicle and track components and, most important of
all, to ensure running safety. All above aspects relate to the dynamic behaviour of the entire
vehicletrack system. Well understanding the dynamic characteristics of the entire system
provides the possibility to optimise the design parameters of both the vehicle and the track
components that would minimise the dynamic interactions between the vehicle and the track.
Therefore, it is necessary to systematically investigate the dynamics of a vehicle and a track
from the entire vehicletrack system. This is the basic idea of the vehicletrack coupled
dynamics, which was already adopted by the author in the early 1990s [46].
In fact, it seems to be a trend to consider the vehicle and the track as an integral system in recent studies on track dynamics and on wheelrail dynamic interactions [719]. The
rapid development of computation technique makes it easy to analyse a large complicate
vehicletrack coupled system. However, most of the research work deals with vertical dynamic
problems. Very few can be found on the lateral system dynamics [8,11,16,19]. It is important
to analyse the lateral dynamic behaviour of a vehicle running on a viscoelastic track structure
instead of a rigid track. Our field experiment results [20] showed that the lateral displacement
of the top of the rail could reach 45 mm for the wooden sleeper track and 23 mm for the
concrete sleeper track when a freight train is passing through a 287 m radius curve. The maximum values of the gauge enlargement corresponding to these two cases were measured to be
about 9 mm and about 3 mm, respectively. So large lateral motions of the rails will definitely
cause great changes in the wheelrail contact geometry and will thereby eventually influence
the lateral and vertical wheelrail dynamic forces. It is not clear how big the difference is
between the lateral dynamic indices predicted by the models with and without consideration
of track vibration, for example the difference between the lateral wheelrail forces on a curved
track with a rigid track model and with an elastic track model. It is also not very clear which
parameters of the track system have a significant influence on the lateral dynamic performance
of the vehicle as well as on the lateral vehicletrack interaction.
This paper intends to systematically introduce the framework of the vehicletrack coupled
dynamics with emphasis on new advances made by the authors in recent years. A threedimensional model of a typical passenger coach on a ballasted track will be described in
detail. A dynamic model of a non-ballasted track is also developed in consideration of the
wide application of this type of track on high-speed railways. Random track irregularities
varying with the rail longitudinal direction are simulated based on the track spectra and used
as excitation input to the vehicletrack coupled system. The models will be validated using
field measurement data obtained from the speed-up test on the BeijingQinhuangdao line and
from the high-speed test on the QinhuangdaoShenyang line. Special attention will be paid to
the differences of the curving performances analysed with the vehicletrack coupled dynamics
and with the classical vehicle dynamics without consideration of elastic track structures.
2. Theoretical model
A vehicletrack coupled model is the theoretical foundation for analysing the vehicletrack
interaction. During the last decade, a series of vehicletrack system models have been
established for various research purposes. A vertical and lateral coupling model for a freight
1351
car with three-piece bogies and a ballasted track was published in an early paper by the author
in 1996 [11]. A similar model for the vertical and lateral dynamics of the wagontrack system
was presented by Sun et al. in 2003 [16]. This paper will present a three-dimensional coupled
model for typical passenger coaches and tracks including the non-ballasted slab track.
2.1.
Three-dimensional vehicletrack coupled model
Figures 13 illustrate the various components of the three-dimensional vehicletrack model in

which subsystems describing the vehicle and the track are spatially coupled by the wheelrail
interface.
In the vehicle submodel, the car body is supported on two double-axle bogies at each end. The
bogie frames are linked with the wheelsets through the primary suspensions and linked with the
car body through the secondary suspensions. Three-dimensional springdamper elements are
used to represent the primary and the secondary suspensions.Yaw dampers and anti-roll springs
are considered in the secondary suspensions. Furthermore, the lateral clearances between
the car body and the stop-blocks on the bogie frames are also considered in the secondary
suspensions. The vehicle is assumed to move along the track with a constant travelling speed.
Each component of the vehicle has five degrees of freedom (DOFs): the vertical displacement
Z, the lateral displacement Y, the roll angle , the yaw angle and the pitch angle with
respect to its centre of mass (the pitch for a wheelset corresponds to the variation of rotation
around its mean rotational speed). All angles are assumed to be small, which simplifies the
kinematics and the equations of motion. As a result, the total DOFs of the passenger vehicle
submodel are 35.
Figure 1. Three-dimensional vehicletrack coupled model (elevation).
1352
W.M. Zhai et al.
Figure 2. Three-dimensional vehicletrack coupled model (planform).
Figure 3. Three-dimensional vehicletrack coupled model (end view).
The track submodel shown in Figures 1 and 3 represents the typical ballasted track structure,
consisting of rails, rail pads, sleepers, the ballast and the subgrade. Both the left and the
right rails are treated as continuous BernoulliEuler beams which are discretely supported at
railsleeper junctions by three layers of springs and dampers, representing the elasticity and
1353
damping of the rail pad, the ballast and the subgrade, respectively. The model allows the input
of track parameters varying along the rails longitudinal direction, such as sleeper spacing or
track supporting stiffness. Three kinds of vibrations of the rails are considered: vertical Z r ,
lateral Y r and torsional r . The sleeper is assumed to be a rigid body with three DOFs of
the vertical displacement Z s , the lateral displacement Y s and the roll angle displacement s .
Lateral springs and dampers are considered to represent the lateral dynamic properties in the
fastener system. Similarly, the lateral springs and dampers are used to represent the elasticity
and damping property between the sleeper and the ballast in the lateral direction.
For modelling the ballast, a five-parameter model of ballast under each rail-supporting point
is adopted [6,21], which is based upon the hypothesis that load transmission from a sleeper to
the ballast approximately coincides with cone distribution [22]. Only the vertical motion Z b of
the ballast mass is taken into account. In order to account for the continuity and the coupling
effects of the interlocking ballast granules, a couple of shear stiffness (K w ) and shear damping
(C w ) is introduced between adjacent ballast masses in the ballast model. The ballast model
was recently modified [21] to be able to cover the practical situation in which an overlapping
of adjacent ballast masses may occur, see Figure 4. In this case, the vibrating mass of ballast
under a rail-support point could be defined as the shadowed region as shown in Figure 4, where
h0 is the height of the overlapping regions, hb is the depth of ballast, ls is the sleeper spacing,
lb is the width of sleeper underside and is the ballast stress distribution angle.
If the analysed track structure is a non-ballasted track such as the slab track, the above track
dynamic model should be changed correspondingly. Figures 5 and 6 show the established
three-dimensional slab track model in which the track slabs are described as elastic rectangle
plates supported on viscoelastic foundation. In Figure 6, K sv and C sv are the vertical stiffness
and damping of the CA layer, and K sh and C sh are the lateral stiffness and damping of the CA
layer, respectively. Because the lateral bending stiffness of the slab is very large, it is sufficient
to consider the rigid mode of the slab vibration in the lateral direction.
Figure 4.
Modified model of the ballast.
Figure 5. Three-dimensional slab track model (elevation).
1354
W.M. Zhai et al.
Figure 6. Three-dimensional slab track model (end view).
2.2. Equations of motion

2.2.1.
Equations of motion of vehicle subsystem
By using the system of coordinates moving along the track with vehicle speed, the equations
of motion of the vehicle subsystem can be easily derived according to DAlemberts principle,
which can be described in the form of second-order differential equations in the time domain:
MV AV + CV (VV )VV + KV (XV )XV = FV (XV , VV , XT , VT ) + FEXT ,
(1)
where XV , VV and AV are the vectors of displacements, velocities and accelerations of the
vehicle subsystem, respectively; MV is the mass matrix of the vehicle; CV (VV ) and KV (XV )
are the damping and the stiffness matrices which can depend on the current state of the vehicle
subsystem to describe nonlinearities within the suspension; XT and VT are the vectors of
displacements and velocities of the track subsystem; FV (XV ,VV ,XT ,VT ) is the system load
vector representing the nonlinear wheelrail contact forces determined by the wheelrail
coupling model, which depend on the motions XV and VV of the vehicle and XT and VT of the
track; and FEXT describes external forces including gravitational forces and forces resulting
from the centripetal acceleration when the vehicle is running through a curve [23].
There are several nonlinear factors existing in the suspension systems of passenger cars,
e.g. the nonlinear yaw dampers and the clearances between the car body and the stop-block
on the bogie frames. Generally, the yaw damper has a saturation nonlinearity, as shown in
Figure 7. The damping force of a yaw damper can be described by
Fmax vxct
if |vxct | < v0 ,
v0
Fxs =
Fmax sign(vxct ) if|vxct | v0 ,
Figure 7.
Nonlinear characteristic of a yaw damper.
(2)
1355
where Fmax is the saturation force of the damper; v xct is the relative velocity between two ends
of the damper connecting the car body and the bogie frame in the longitudinal direction; and
v 0 is the unloading velocity of the damper.
Figure 8 shows a picture of a stop-block on the bogie frame used in the secondary suspension.
It can be clearly seen there is a lateral clearance between the car body and the stop-block on
the bogie frame. If the lateral clearance disappears, the car body will contact the stop-block
and a large contact stiffness will contribute to the secondary stiffness, as shown in Figure 9.
Therefore, the lateral force of a secondary suspension can be given by

Fys =
if|Ycb | sc ,
Ksy Ycb
Ksy Ycb + Ksc (|Ycb | sc )sign(Ycb ) if |Ycb | > sc ,
(3)
where sc is the lateral clearance between the car body and the stop-block; K sy is the lateral
stiffness of the secondary spring; K sc is the contact stiffness in the lateral direction if the
car body is in contact with the stop-block; Y cb is the relative displacement between two
ends of the secondary spring connecting the car body and the bogie frame in the lateral
direction.
Figure 8.
Lateral clearance between the car body and the stop-block on the bogie frame.
Figure 9.
Nonlinear characteristic of lateral stiffness in the secondary suspension.
1356
W.M. Zhai et al.
2.2.2.
Equations of motion of track subsystem
The equations of motion of the track subsystem are more complex than those of the vehicle
subsystem due to the spatial continuity of rails and slabs. The equations of motion of rails are
given in form of the fourth-order partial differential equations:
Vertical vibration:
EIy
N
4

4 Zr (x, t)
2 Zr (x, t)
+
m
=
F
(t)(x
x
)
+
Pj (t)(x xwj )
r
svi
i
x 4
t 2
i=1
j =1
(4)
Lateral vibration:
EIz
N
4

4 Yr (x, t)
2 Yr (x, t)
+
m
=
F
(t)(x
x
)
+
Qj (t)(x xwj )
r
sli
i
x 4
t 2
i=1
j =1
(5)
Torsional vibration:
GK
N
4

2 r (x, t)
2 r (x, t)
+
I
=
M
(t)(x
x
)
+
Mwj (t)(x xwj )
0
si
i
x 2
t 2
i=1
j =1
(6)
In Equations (4)(6), Z r (x, t), Y r (x, t) and r (x, t) are the vertical, lateral and torsional displacements of the rail, respectively; mr is the rail mass per unit length; is the rail density;
EI y and EI z are the rail bending stiffness to the Y -axle and to the Z-axle, respectively; I 0 is
the torsional inertia of the rail; GK is the rail torsional stiffness; F svi (t) and F sli (t) are the
vertical and lateral dynamic forces at the ith rail-supporting point; Pj (t) and Qj (t) are the jth
wheelrail vertical and lateral forces; M si (t) and M wj (t) are the moments acting on the rails
due to the forces F svi (t) and F sli (t) and due to the forces Pj (t) and Qj (t), respectively; and (x)
is the Dirac delta function.
The moments M si (t) and M wj (t) can be determined based on the forces acting on the rail
cross-section, as shown in Figure 10:

Msi (t) = [Fsv2i (t) Fsv1i (t)]b Fsli (t)a,
(7)
Mwj (t) = Qj (t)hr Pj (t)e,
where a is the vertical distance between the rail torsional centre and the lateral force from
the fastening system; b is half of the distance between two vertical forces from the fastening
Figure 10.
Forces acting on the cross-section of the rail.
1357
system; hr is the vertical distance from the rail torsional centre to the lateral wheelrail force;
and e is the lateral distance from the rail torsional centre to the vertical wheelrail force.
By describing the slab as a plate supported by a viscoelastic foundation, the vertical
vibrations of each slab are given by:
4 w(x, y, t)
4 w(x, y, t) 4 w(x, y, t)
Cs w(x, y, t) s hs 2 w(x, y, t)
+
2
+
+
+
x 4
x 2 y 2
y 4
Ds
t
Ds
t 2
Np
Nb

1
=
Fsvi (t)(x xpi )(y ypi )
FCAvj (t)(x xbj )(y ybj ) .
(8)
Ds i=1
j =1
For the lateral motions, the slab is considered as a rigid body. Thus, the lateral vibrations are
described by:
s Ls Ws hs ys (t) =
Np

Fsli (t)
Nb

FCAlj (t),
(9)
j =1
i=1
where
Ds =
Es h3s
12(1 s2 )
(10)
in Equations (8)(10), w(x, y, t) and ys are the vertical and lateral displacements of the slab;
C s is the damping of the slab; Ds is the vertical bending stiffness of the slab; s is the slab
density; L s , W s and hs are the length, width and thickness of the slab, respectively; F CAvj (t)
and F CAlj (t) are the vertical and lateral dynamic forces at the jth supporting point under the
slab; E s and s are Youngs elastic modulus and Poissons ratio of the slab; N p and N b are the
total number of rail fasteners on one slab and the total number of discrete supporting points
under one slab used in the calculation.
In order to solve the track subsystem equations with the time-stepping integration method,
the fourth-order partial differential equations of rails and slabs must be transformed into a
series of second-order ordinary differential equations in terms of the generalised coordinates,
which could be done by means of Ritzs method [6,11]. The transformation results for the rail
equations could be found in [11]. It should be pointed out that sufficient numbers of rail modes
are necessary to describe the vibrations of the track system. Numerical trial results show that
0.5L/ls is enough to be chosen as the rail mode number to study the present vehicletrack
coupled dynamics, where L is the effective length of the rail used in the calculation.
For the slab equation (8), the solution can be assumed as
w(x, y, t) =
Ny
Nx

Xm (x)Yn (y)Tmn (t),
(11)
m=1 n=1
where X m (x) andY n (y) are the mode functions of the slab with x and y coordinates respectively;
T mn (t) is the generalised coordinate in terms of time t; m and n are the mode numbers of X m (x)
and Y n (y), respectively; and N x and N y are the total mode numbers of the slab mode functions
X m (x) and Y n (y) selected for the calculation.
1358
W.M. Zhai et al.
For the rectangle plate supported on the viscoelastic foundation with free boundaries, the
mode functions X m (x) and Y n (y) are given by:
X1 (x) = 1,
2x
,
X2 (x) = 3 1
(12a)
Ls
Xm (x) = cosh(m x) + cos(m x) m [sinh(m x) + sin(m x)] (m > 2),
Y1 (y) = 1,
2y
,
Y2 (y) = 3 1
(12b)
Ws
Yn (y) = cosh(n y) + cos(n y) n [sinh(n y) + sin(n y)] (n > 2),

where m and n are the frequency coefficients corresponding to X m (x) and Y n (y), and m and
n are the mode coefficients corresponding to X m (x) and Y n (y), respectively.
4.73002
,
3 =
Ls
(13a)
2m 3
m =
(m 4),
2Ls
4.73002
,
3 =
Ws
(13b)
2n 3
n =
(n 4),
2Ws
3 = 0.982502,
cosh(m Ls ) cos(m Ls )
m =
(m 4),
sinh(m Ls ) sin(m Ls )
3 = 0.982502,
cosh(n Ws ) cos(n Ws )
n =
(n 4).
sinh(n Ws ) sin(n Ws )
(14a)
(14b)
Substituting Equation (11) into Equation (8) yields

Ny
Nx

Xm
(x)Yn (y)Tmn (t) + 2
m=1 n=1
Ny
Nx

m=1 n=1
Ny
Nx

Xm
(x)Yn (y)Tmn (t)
m=1 n=1
Xm (x)Yn (y)Tmn (t)+
Ny
Nx
Cs
Xm (x)Yn (y)Tmn (t)
Ds m=1 n=1
Np
Ny
Nx
1
s hs
Xm (x)Yn (y)Tmn (t) =

Fsvi (t)(x xpi )(y ypi )
+
Ds m=1 n=1
Ds i=1
Nb
1
FCAvj (t)(x xbj )(y ybj ).
Ds j =1
(15)
Multiplying Equation (15) by X k (x)Y h (y) and then applying integral in the slab area yields
the second-order ordinary differential equations of the slab vertical vibration in terms of the
1359
generalised coordinate T mn (t) as follows:

Cs
Ds B2 B3 + 2B4 B5 + B1 B6
Tmn (t) +
Tmn (t)
Tmn (t) +
s h s
s h s
B1 B 2
Np
Nb

1
=
Fsvi (t)Xm (xpi )Yn (ypi )
FCAvj (t)Xm (xbj )Yn (ybj ) ,
s hs B1 B2 i=1
j =1
(16)
where m = 1,2, . . . ,N x , n = 1,2, . . . , N y . Due to the orthogonality of the mode functions, the
integrals vanish for k = m and h = n.
L 2
(x)dx,
B1 = 0 s Xm
B2 = 0 s Yn2 (y)dy,

B3 = Ls Xm
(x)Xm (x)dx,
0

L
B = s X (x)X (x)dx,
4
m
m
0
Ws
B5 = 0 Yn (y)Yn (y)dy,
W
B6 = 0 s Yn (y)Yn (y)dy.
(17)
Therefore, the final equations of the track subsystem, either for the ballasted track structure
including the equations of the sleepers and ballast blocks which are modelled as individual
rigid masses or for the non-ballasted track structure could be expressed in terms of the standard
matrix form as
MT AT + CT VT + KT XT = FT (XV , VV , XT , VT ),
(18)
where MT is the mass matrix of the track structure; CT and KT are the damping and the
stiffness matrices of the track subsystem; AV is the vector of accelerations of the system;
and FT (XV ,VV ,XT ,VT ) is the load vector of the track subsystem representing the nonlinear
wheelrail forces obtained by the wheelrail coupling model.
2.3. Wheelrail coupling model
The wheelrail coupling model is the essential element that couples the vehicle subsystem
with the track subsystem at the wheelrail interfaces.
Unlike the early wheelrail contact model used in the classical vehicle dynamics, in which
the rails are assumed to be fixed without any movement, the dynamic wheelrail coupling
model for the analysis of the three-dimensional vehicletrack coupled dynamics should consider three kinds of rail motions in vertical, lateral and torsional directions, as shown in
Figure 11. In the model, C Lc and C Rc are the left and the right wheelrail contact points and L
and R are the left and the right wheelrail contact angles, respectively. The nonlinear Hertzian
elastic contact theory is used to calculate the wheelrail normal contact forces according to the
elastic compression deformation of wheels and rails at contact points in the normal directions,
which depends on the displacements of wheels and rails. The tangential wheelrail creep
forces are calculated first by the use of Kalkers linear creep theory and then modified by the
ShenHedrickElkins nonlinear model [24]. Details of the new wheelrail coupling model
could be found in a recent paper by Chen and Zhai [25].
1360
W.M. Zhai et al.
Figure 11. Wheelrail coupling model.
The new spatial wheelrail coupling model eliminates the assumption that the wheel and the
rail are in contact all the time as used in the classical vehicle dynamics. Thus the current model
is capable of dealing with the situation that the wheel loses its contact with the rail existing in
practical railway operations, which may provide a new path to simulate the dynamic process
of derailment.
3.
System excitation
As we know, the vehicletrack coupled vibrations are mainly excited by irregularities on the
surfaces of wheels and rails. Generally, there are two types of geometric irregularities existing
at the wheelrail system. One type is specific irregularities such as the wheel flat, the outof-round wheel, the dipped rail-joint and the rail corrugation, etc., which has been widely
discussed in the literature. The other type is random irregularities such as the roughness on
the surfaces of wheels and rails, which mainly influence the wheelrail rolling noise, and the
random deviation of the track geometry. Random track irregularities exist in railway lines
everywhere and influence the dynamic performance of vehicles moving on tracks. This paper
will focus on the excitation by the random irregularity of the track.
The random track irregularity is usually expressed by a one-sided power spectrum density
(PSD) function, namely track spectrum. The PSD function of the track spectrum measured on
CR mainlines is expressed as a unified formula
S(f ) =
A(f 2 + Bf + C)
,
f 4 + Df 3 + Ef 2 + Ff + G
(19)
where the unit of S(f ) is mm2 /(1/m); f = 1/ is the spatial frequency in cycle/m ( is the
wavelength, > 1 m); A to G are the specific parameters which are different for vertical and
lateral rail irregularities. Table 1 gives the values of these parameters for the CR speed-raised
railway lines such as the BeijingShanghai line and the BeijingGuangzhou line. Figure 12
compares the CR track spectrum with the AAR track spectra. It can be seen from Figure 12a
that the rail vertical profile irregularities of the CR track spectrum are usually located between
those of the AAR 5th class spectrum and 6th class spectrum. Figure 12b shows that the rail
alignment irregularities of the CR track spectrum are larger than those of the AAR 5th class
1361
Table 1. Values of parameters of the CR mainline track spectrum.

Parameter
Left rail vertical

Right rail vertical
Left rail alignment
Right rail alignment
Cross-level
1.1029
0.8581
0.2244
0.3743
0.1214
1.4709
1.4607
1.5746
1.5894
2.1603
0.5941
0.5848
0.6683
0.7265
2.0214
0.8480
0.0407
2.1466
0.4353
4.5089
3.8016
2.8428
1.7665
0.9101
2.2227
0.2500
0.1989
0.1506
0.0270
0.0396
0.0112
0.0094
0.0052
0.0031
0.0073
Figure 12. Comparison of the Chinese track spectrum with AAR track spectra: (a) rail vertical profile irregularities;
(b) rail alignment irregularities.
spectrum if 1 m < < 7 m, smaller than those of the AAR 5th class spectrum if > 15 m, and
approximately the same at the wavelength range from 7 to 15 m.
The wavelength in the above track spectra is > 1 m. In order to excite high-frequency
wheelrail interactions, however, the irregularities with wavelength shorter than 1 m are
needed. A measurement result of this type of rail vertical irregularity on the Chinese
ShijiazhuangTaiyuan line is given here [26]
S(f ) = 0.036f 3.15 ,
(20)
where the range of the wavelength is 0.01 m 1 m.

In order to input the track spectrum into the vehicletrack system, the PSD function should be
transformed into vertical and lateral changes of the rail geometry varying with the tracks longitudinal distance (or in time domain) by means of a timefrequency transformation technique
[27]. Figure 13 displays samples of the vertical and lateral irregularities of the left and right
rails representing the CR mainline condition, which are transformed from Equation (19) with
parameters listed in Table 1, superposed with vertical short wavelength irregularities on rails
in the form of Equation (20).
W.M. Zhai et al.
1362
Figure 13. Samples of the vertical and lateral rail irregularities obtained from the CR track spectra: (a) vertical
irregularity of the left rail; (b) lateral irregularity of the left rail; (c) vertical irregularity of the right rail; (d) lateral
irregularity of the right rail.
4.
1363
Numerical solution
Time-stepping integration provides the best way for a numerical solution of the equations of
motion of the vehicletrack system including nonlinearities. In order to enhance the computational speed for such a large-scale dynamic system, a simple fast explicit integration method
previously developed by Zhai [28] is employed. The scheme of this integration method to
calculate the displacement X and the velocity V of a system is expressed as follows:

Xn+1 = Xn + Vn t + (1/2 + )An t 2 An1 t 2 ,
(21)
Vn+1 = Vn + (1 + )An t An1 t,
where t is the time step; the subscripts n + 1, n and n 1 denote the integration time at
(n + 1)t, nt and (n 1)t, respectively; and and are free parameters that control the
stability and numerical dissipation of the algorithm. Usually a value of 0.5 could be assigned
to and to achieve good compatibility between numerical stability and accuracy.
With the help of this explicit integration method, the solution of the nonlinear vehicle
track coupled dynamics could be easily simplified without solution of any algebraic equation
group. For each time step, the integration method is, respectively, applied to the vehicle
subsystem and the track subsystem to explicitly calculate the responses of displacements
and velocities. The nonlinear wheelrail contact forces can then be determined based on the
calculated displacements and velocities of wheels and rails. With these known results, the
accelerations of the vehicle and the track subsystems are finally calculated from the equations
of motion of each subsystem. Therefore, the main solution procedure for the vehicletrack
coupled dynamics consists of the following six steps:
(a) calculate the displacement XV,n+1 and the velocity VV,n+1 of the vehicle subsystem at the
time (n + 1)t by using Equation (21) based on the states of the system at time nt and
time (n 1)t;
(b) calculate the displacement XT,n+1 and the velocity VT,n+1 of the track subsystem at time
(n + 1)t using Equation (21) based on the states of the system at time nt and time
(n 1)t;
(c) estimate the wheelrail normal contact forces and creep forces with the wheelrail coupling model based on the calculated displacements and velocities of wheels and rails from
steps (a) and (b);
(d) calculate the load vectors FV,n+1 ,FEXT,n+1 and FT,n+1 at time (n + 1)t from the wheel
rail contact forces and from the external forces due to the curvature, superelevation, etc.
for the current position of each body of the vehicle;
(e) compute the acceleration AV,n+1 of the vehicle subsystem from Equation (1) at time
(n + 1)t:
AV,n+1 = MV1 [FV,n+1 + FEXT,n+1 CV (VV,n+1 )VV,n+1 KV (XV,n+1 )XV,n+1 ]; (22)
(f) compute the acceleration AT,n+1 of the track subsystem from Equation (18) at time
(n + 1)t:
AT,n+1 = MT1 [FT,n+1 CT VT,n+1 KT XT,n+1 ].
(23)
Because the mass matrices MV of the vehicle subsystem and MT of the track subsystems are
diagonal matrices, no algebraic equations have to be solved to obtain the inverse mass matrices
1
M1
V and MT required in Equations (22) and (23). Thus the computational efficiency is greatly
enhanced.
1364
W.M. Zhai et al.
Figure 14. Stability of the integration method for vehicletrack coupled dynamics: variation of the calculated
wheelrail forces P1 and P2 with the time step t.
Numerical trial results show that the critical time step of the integration method is
t cr = 1.5 104 s when used for the solution of the present vehicletrack dynamic system, as shown in Figure 14. In order to get a high calculation accuracy, however, the actually
adopted effective time step is suggested to be t e = 1.0 104 s.
5.
Computer simulation
Computer simulation is a key technique to obtain the detailed responses of such a large
dynamic system. Two computer simulation programs were developed using the above fast
integration method to analyse the vehicletrack coupled dynamics. One is named VICT, which
was developed in the early 1990s and is used for analysing the vertical dynamic interactions
between vehicles and tracks. The basic features and applications of the VICT program could
be found in previously published articles; see, for example, [6].
Another program, named TTISIM (Train-Track Interaction SIMulation), was developed
by the authors in recent years at Southwest Jiaotong University. It is based on the threedimensional vehicletrack coupled model involving the new wheelrail coupling model. The
flow chart of the complete simulation process is illustrated in Figure 15.
Unlike the VICT, which is mainly used to analyse vertical dynamic effects of vehicles
on tracks, TTISIM can be used to investigate the dynamic behaviour of vehicles running on
flexible track structures, including the lateral stability, ride comfort, curving performance, etc.
The major difference between TTISIM and other popularly used vehicle system dynamics
software might be that the track structure components are modelled in detail in TTISIM.
Actual profiles of wheels and rails measured, for example, by the MiniProf device, from
existing railways can be directly input to TTISIM as initial data. TTISIM can produce complete
responses of the vehicletrack system including the vertical and lateral wheelrail forces, rail
sleeper forces, vertical and lateral accelerations of car body, bogies and wheelsets, vertical
and lateral displacements and accelerations of rails, sleepers and ballasts, etc.
6.
Field experimental validation
The three-dimensional vehicletrack coupled models and the simulation program TTISIM
have been validated by a lot of field measurements conducted with a variety of vehicles and
track conditions representing those of Chinese main trains and mainline tracks. Full-scale field
1365
Figure 15.
Flow chart of the TTISIM simulation system.
tests include the speed-up test on the BeijingQinhuangdao line, the high-speed running test
on the QinhuangdaoShenyang line and the wheelrail dynamic interaction experiment on
curved tracks of the ChengduChongqing line, etc. In this paper, the main results from the
first two tests will be reported and compared with the calculated results obtained from the
three-dimensional vehicletrack coupled model.
The speed-up test on the BeijingQinhuangdao line was carried out by China Academy
of Railway Sciences and Beijing Railway Bureau in December 2000. The tested vehicle is a
double-deck passenger coach with two double-axle bogies. The track structure on the tested
section is a typical ballasted track used in CR with 60 kg/m rails and general concrete sleepers.
The main parameters of the tested vehicle and the track used in the simulation are listed in
Tables 2 and 3, respectively.
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Table 2.
Notation
W.M. Zhai et al.

Main parameters of railway vehicles used in the simulation.
Parameter
Mc
Mt
Mw
I cx
I cy
I cz
I tx
I ty
I tz
I wx
I wy
I wz
K px
K py
K pz
K sx
K sy
K sz
C pz
C sy
C sz
lc
lt
R0
Car body mass (kg)

Bogie mass (kg)
Wheelset mass (kg)
Mass moment of inertia of car body about X axis (kg m2 )
Mass moment of inertia of car body about Y axis (kg m2 )
Mass moment of inertia of car body about Z axis (kg m2 )
Mass moment of inertia of bogie about X axis (kg m2 )
Mass moment of inertia of bogie about Y axis (kg m2 )
Mass moment of inertia of bogie about Z axis (kg m2 )
Mass moment of inertia of wheelset about X axis (kg m2 )
Mass moment of inertia of wheelset about Y axis (kg m2 )
Mass moment of inertia of wheelset about Z axis (kg m2 )
Stiffness coefficient of primary suspension along X axis (MN/m)
Stiffness coefficient of primary suspension along Y axis (MN/m)
Stiffness coefficient of primary suspension along Z axis (MN/m)
Stiffness coefficient of secondary suspension along X axis (MN/m)
Stiffness coefficient of secondary suspension along Y axis (MN/m)
Stiffness coefficient of secondary suspension along Z axis (MN/m)
Damping coefficient of primary suspension along Z axis (kN s/m)
Damping coefficient of secondary suspension along Y axis (kN s/m)
Damping coefficient of secondary suspension along Z axis (kN s/m)
Semi-longitudinal distance between bogies (m)
Semi-longitudinal distance between wheelsets in bogie (m)
Wheel radius (m)
Table 3.
Main parameters of the ballasted track used in the simulation.
Notation
E
I0
Iy
Iz
GK
mr
Ms
K pv
K ph
C pv
C ph
ls
le
lb
b
Eb
Cb
Kw
Cw
hb
Ef
Cf
Double-deck
Chinese Star
passenger coach
power car
29,600
1700
1900
5.802 104
2.139 106
2.139 106
1600
1700
1700
1067
140
1067
24
5.1
0.873
1.2
0.3
0.41
30
25
108.7
9.0
1.2
0.4575
59,364.2
5630.8
1843.5
1.305 105
1.723 106
1.796 106
2202
9487
11,233
1263
219
1285
30.8
4.878
2.399 6
0.315 6
0.315 6
0.885 8
30
50
45
5.73
1.5
0.525
Parameter
Value (per rail seat)
Elastic modulus of rail (N/m2 )

Density of rail (kg/m3 )
Torsional inertia of rail (m4 )
Rail second moment of area about Y axis (m4 )
Rail second moment of area about Z axis (m4 )
Rail torsional stiffness (N m/rad)
Rail mass per unit length (kg/m)
Sleeper mass (half) (kg)
Fastener stiffness in vertical direction (N/m)
Fastener stiffness in lateral direction (N/m)
Fastener damping in vertical direction (N s/m)
Fastener damping in lateral direction (N s/m)
Sleeper spacing (m)
Effective support length of half sleeper (m)
Sleeper width (m)
Ballast density (kg/m3 )
Elastic modulus of ballast (Pa)
Ballast damping (N s/m)
Ballast shear stiffness (N/m)
Ballast shear damping (N s/m)
Ballast stress distribution angle ( )
Ballast thickness (m)
Subgrade K 30 modulus (Pa/m)
Subgrade damping (N s/m)
2.059 1011
7.86 103
3.741 105
3.217 105
5.24 106
1.9587 105
60.64
125.5
6.5 107
2.0 107
7.5 104
5.0 104
0.545
0.95
0.273
1.8 103
1.1 108
5.88 104
7.84 107
8.0 104
35
0.45
9.0 107
3.115 104
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In the high-speed running test on the QinhuangdaoShenyang line, dynamic responses of

a vehicle running on a slab track was measured in 2002. The tested vehicle is a high-speed
power car, named Chinese Star, whose parameters are also given in Table 2. The tested track
is a non-ballasted slab track on a curve with a radius of 4000 m and with a superelevation of
115 mm. The length, width and thickness of the slab are 4.93, 2.4 and 0.19 m, respectively.
The slab mass per unit length is 1115.62 kg/m. The elastic modulus of the CA layer under the
slab is 300 MPa.
6.1. Comparison of dynamic wheelrail forces

In the speed-up test on the BeijingQinhuangdao line, the instrumented wheelsets were
installed in the tested vehicle to measure the wheelrail forces, which provided a possibility
for the comparison of time histories of the vertical and lateral wheelrail forces during
vehicle movement.
Figures 16a and 17a give the measured lateral and vertical wheelrail forces, respectively,
when the tested vehicle is running with a velocity of 160 km/h through a curve section with
a radius of 1200 m and with a superelevation of 100 mm. The lengths of the circular curve
and the transition curve are 142.25 and 100 m, respectively. Figures 16b and 17b show the
Figure 16.
Comparison of measured and calculated lateral wheelrail forces on a curved track.
1368
Figure 17.
W.M. Zhai et al.
Comparison of measured and calculated vertical wheelrail forces on a curved track.
calculated time responses of the lateral and vertical wheelrail forces (data given with the same
time interval as the measured one). It can be seen from these figures that the time responses of
both the lateral and vertical wheelrail forces predicted by the current vehicletrack coupled
model are in reasonable agreement with the field measured responses.
6.2. Comparison of dynamic responses of vehicle system

For the comparison of vehicle dynamic responses, ride comfort indices are chosen. In consideration of the CR standards, Sperling index is adopted here to evaluate the ride comfort of
vehicles, which could be calculated with Sperlings method based on the car body accelerations
and weighted by frequencies [29].
Figures 18 and 19 compare the measured and the calculated lateral and vertical Sperling indices of the car body of the Chinese Star power car running on the tested slab
track section in the QinhuangdaoShenyang line. The measured track irregularities on this
high-speed test section are used here as the system excitation. There are good correlations
between the calculated results and the measurement data in the tested speed range, as shown
in Figures 18 and 19.
Figure 18.
Comparison of measured and calculated lateral Sperling indices of the car body.
Figure 19.
Comparison of measured and calculated vertical Sperling indices of the car body.
1369
Figure 20. Accelerometers on the rail and on the slab.
6.3.
Comparison of dynamic responses of track system
In the high-speed running test on the QinhuangdaoShenyang line, the vibrations of the slab
track structure were measured by the authors. Figure 20 shows a picture of the position of
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W.M. Zhai et al.
Figure 21.
Comparison of measured and calculated vertical rail accelerations of the slab track.
Figure 22.
Comparison of measured and calculated vertical slab accelerations of the slab track.
the accelerometers for measuring the vertical accelerations of the rail and the slab in the
experiment.
The measured results of peak values of the vertical accelerations of the rail and the slab are
given in Figures 21 and 22, respectively, in which the effective frequency band is 01500 Hz
for the measurement of track accelerations. The calculated results obtained with the current
model are also given in these figures, which are close to the measured data. It is shown from
Figure 22 that the vertical acceleration of the slab increases tardily with the addition of the
train speed in the tested speed range.
7.
Case study
In order to ascertain the difference between the computational results obtained with the
vehicletrack coupled dynamics model and those obtained with a classical vehicle dynamics
model, vehicle curving performances on an elastic track and a rigid track are analysed, respectively. Both results are compared for two cases: general vehicle curving on a very small-radius
curve with low speed (case I) and high-speed vehicle curving on a very large-radius curve
with high speed (case II).
7.1.
1371
Case I: curving on very small-radius curve with low speed
In this case, a very small-radius curve is chosen so that severe lateral dynamic interaction
may occur. The radius of the curve is 287 m. The superelevation of the outer rail is 125 mm.
The track consists of rails with a mass of 60 kg/m, concrete sleepers and ordinary macadam
ballast, which belongs to the Chinese typical ballasted track structure. The vehicle chosen is
the Chinese general passenger car, which is the same as that used in the speed-up test on the
BeijingQinhuangdao line (Section 6). The parameters of the vehicle and the track used here
are the same as those given in Tables 2 and 3, respectively. The Chinese mainline track spectra,
superposed with the rail short wavelength irregularities in form of Equation (20), are used in
the calculation. The curving speed of the vehicle is 65 km/h.
Figure 23a and b shows the calculated lateral wheelrail forces of vehicle curving on an
elastic track model (using the vehicletrack coupled dynamics) and on a rigid track model
(using the classical vehicle dynamics), respectively. It can be seen that the lateral wheelrail
forces calculated with the vehicletrack coupled dynamics are generally smaller than those
obtained with the classical vehicle dynamics. The deviation of both the maximum values is
16.3%. A comparison of the calculated vertical wheelrail forces for vehicle curving on the
elastic track model and on the rigid track model is shown in Figure 24. It can also be seen that
Figure 23. Calculated lateral wheelrail forces for vehicle curving on (a) the elastic track model and (b) the rigid
track model.
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W.M. Zhai et al.
Figure 24. Calculated vertical wheelrail forces for vehicle curving on (a) the elastic track model and (b) the rigid
track model.
modelling the track as an elastic structure leads to smaller dynamic wheelrail vertical forces
than assuming the track to be a rigid base. The maximum deviation of both results is 9.7%.
In Figures 25 and 26, the PSDs of the lateral and vertical wheelrail forces obtained with the
two models are compared. Figure 25 shows a significant difference for the lateral wheelrail
forces in the frequency range above 20 Hz, whereas little difference can be found at lower
frequencies. For the vertical wheelrail forces, a significant difference is observed for the
frequencies > 40 Hz, as shown in Figure 26. It could be concluded from this calculation that
the high-frequency vibrations of the track lead to differences in the spectral amplitudes. The
viscoelastic track structure may absorb some energy relating to the high-frequency vibrations.
Of course, the wheelset deformability also has some influence on the high-frequency wheel
rail forces, especially on the vertical force, which needs further research.
The main reason for the changes in the wheelrail forces when using the elastic track model
is the effect of the rail vibrations actually existing in the curving process. Figures 2729
depict the main results reflecting the rail lateral dynamic behaviour when the vehicle passes
through the curve. It can be seen from Figure 27 that the outer rail is shoved outwards by the
lateral wheelrail forces in the process of curving and the maximum lateral displacement of
the rail reaches 1.9 mm. The outer rail rolls over with a maximum rolling angle of 0.38 , as
shown in Figure 28. The combination of lateral displacements and rolling of the outer and the
inner rails results in a dynamic enlargement of the gauge (Figure 29). The maximum dynamic
enlargement of this gauge in the case is 2.1 mm.
1373
Figure 25. Comparison of power spectrum densities of lateral wheelrail forces obtained from vehicletrack
coupled dynamics (elastic track model) and from classical vehicle dynamics (rigid track model).
Figure 26. Comparison of power spectrum densities of vertical wheelrail forces obtained from vehicletrack
coupled dynamics (elastic track model) and from classical vehicle dynamics (rigid track model).
Figure 27. Time history of rail lateral displacement during curving.
Compared with the case of fixed rigid rails assumed in the classical theory of vehicle
dynamics, where the rail lateral displacement and the rail rolling angle are all equal to zero,
the elastic track modelling shows remarkable rail lateral motions during the vehicle curving.
This rail lateral motion causes obvious change in positions of the wheelrail contact points
and definitely results in the change of the lateral and vertical wheelrail dynamic forces.
1374
W.M. Zhai et al.
Figure 28. Time history of rail rolling angle during curving.
Figure 29.
Dynamic gauge enlargement during curving.
Table 4. Comparison of high-speed curving performance indices calculated with the classical vehicle
dynamics and the vehicletrack coupled dynamics.
Dynamic index
Wheelrail lateral force (kN)
Wheelrail vertical force (kN)
Wheelset lateral force (kN)
Derailment coefficient
Reduction ratio of wheel-load
Dynamic gauge enlargement (mm)
Classical
vehicle dynamics
Vehicletrack
coupled dynamics
Relative
deviation (%)
28.03
180.79
18.18
0.36
0.46
0
24.38
140.89
15.77
0.29
0.31
0.51
13.02
22.06
13.26
19.44
32.61
7.2. Case II: curving on very large-radius curve with high speed
The Chinese Star high-speed power car is chosen as an example in this calculation, whose
parameters are given in Table 2. The curve has a radius of 6000 m and a maximum superelevation of 70 mm. The length of the transition curve is 180 m. The curving speed of the vehicle
is 250 km/h.
Table 4 summarises the main results representing the curving performances calculated with
the classical vehicle dynamics model assuming a rigid track and with the vehicletrack coupled
dynamics model using an elastic track model. The relative deviations between both results are
also given for each dynamic index in Table 4. It is clear from Table 4 that the elastic track
model produces much smaller values of dynamic indices than the rigid track model does. The
1375
reduction ratios are different for different indices. For example, the reduction ratios of the
lateral wheelrail dynamic force, the vertical wheelrail dynamic force and the derailment
coefficient are 13.02%, 22.06% and 19.44%, respectively.
8.
Conclusions
A framework has been systematically presented in this paper for investigating the overall
dynamics of the vehicletrack system. A three-dimensional vehicletrack coupled model has
been established in which the vehicle subsystem and the track subsystem are coupled through
a spatial wheelrail coupling model that considers the rail vibrations in vertical, lateral and
torsional directions. Random track irregularities varying with the rails longitudinal direction
have been simulated based on track spectra to excite vibrations of the vehicletrack system.
Rail irregularities with short wavelengths are also considered in order to be able to excite
the high-frequency wheelrail interactions. The dynamic responses are solved numerically
with a fast integration method in the time domain. The vehicletrack coupled model has been
validated by full-scale field experiments, showing good correlation between theoretical and
experimental results.
Significant differences between the curving performances obtained from the vehicletrack
coupled dynamics and from the classical vehicle dynamics have been found for the cases
of a general vehicle curving on a very small-radius curve and a high-speed vehicle curving
on a large-radius curve. The deviation is usually located within the range of 1020%. The
vehicletrack coupled dynamics gives smaller values of the curving performance indices than
the classical vehicle dynamics modelling does.
It is found that vehicle curving can cause obvious lateral vibrations of rails and can make the
rails roll over under the action of lateral wheelrail forces, resulting in dynamic enlargement of
the gauge. The rails lateral motion can lead to changes in the position of the wheelrail contact
points, which influences the wheelrail forces and thereby eventually the curving performance
of the vehicle. Therefore, it is necessary to consider the vibration of the track structure when
evaluating the curving performance.
The vehicletrack coupled dynamics, including the validated models and the simulation
software reported in this paper, provides a method to investigate the dynamic behaviour of
the entire vehicletrack system, including the wheelrail interfaces, and also provides an
efficient way to systematically optimise the design parameters of both the vehicle and the
track components. A lot of future investigation is possible, for example on dynamic interactions
between vehicles and non-ballasted track structures, on the effect of track lateral properties
on vehicle lateral running behaviours and on the influence of curve characteristics on ride
comfort of high-speed vehicles, etc.
Acknowledgements
This research was supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) under grants 50838006,
50823004 and 50521503 and by National Basic Research Program of China (973 Program) under grant
2007CB714706. The authors would like to thank the reviewers of this paper for their valuable suggestions.
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[29] Office for Research and Experiments, Method for Assessing Riding Quality of Vehicle, Report C116/RP8,
Utrecht, The Netherlands, 1977.

Dynamic 12 Exellent

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This article was downloaded by: [Addis Ababa University]

On: 20 July 2014, At: 23:20

Vehicle System Dynamics: International

Fundamentals of vehicletrack coupled

Wanming Zhai , Kaiyun Wang & Chengbiao Cai

Train and Track Research Institute, Traction Power State Key

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Vehicle System Dynamics

Fundamentals of vehicletrack coupled dynamics

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ISSN 0042-3114 print/ISSN 1744-5159 online

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W.M. Zhai et al.

Vehicle System Dynamics

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Three-dimensional vehicletrack coupled model

Figures 13 illustrate the various components of the three-dimensional vehicletrack model in

Figure 1. Three-dimensional vehicletrack coupled model (elevation).

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W.M. Zhai et al.

Figure 2. Three-dimensional vehicletrack coupled model (planform).

Figure 3. Three-dimensional vehicletrack coupled model (end view).

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Vehicle System Dynamics

Modified model of the ballast.

Figure 5. Three-dimensional slab track model (elevation).

W.M. Zhai et al.

Figure 6. Three-dimensional slab track model (end view).

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2.2. Equations of motion

Equations of motion of vehicle subsystem

Fmax sign(vxct ) if|vxct | v0 ,

Nonlinear characteristic of a yaw damper.

Vehicle System Dynamics

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Nonlinear characteristic of lateral stiffness in the secondary suspension.

W.M. Zhai et al.

Equations of motion of track subsystem

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Forces acting on the cross-section of the rail.

Vehicle System Dynamics

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Xm (x)Yn (y)Tmn (t),

W.M. Zhai et al.

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Xm (x) = cosh(m x) + cos(m x) m [sinh(m x) + sin(m x)] (m > 2),

Yn (y) = cosh(n y) + cos(n y) n [sinh(n y) + sin(n y)] (n > 2),

Substituting Equation (11) into Equation (8) yields

Xm (x)Yn (y)Tmn (t)+

Xm (x)Yn (y)Tmn (t) =

Vehicle System Dynamics

generalised coordinate T mn (t) as follows:

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B6 = 0 s Yn (y)Yn (y)dy.

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W.M. Zhai et al.

Figure 11. Wheelrail coupling model.

Vehicle System Dynamics

Table 1. Values of parameters of the CR mainline track spectrum.

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Left rail vertical

where the range of the wavelength is 0.01 m 1 m.

W.M. Zhai et al.

Xm (x)Yn (y)Tmn (t)+

B6 = 0 s Yn (y)Yn (y)dy.