Improved nonlinear model of a yaw damper for simulating the dynamics of a high-speed train

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to establish a simple and accurate nonlinear model of a yaw damper for the dynamic numerical simulation of high-speed trains. An improved nonlinear yaw damper model is proposed based on the traditional Maxwell model. It comprises a piecewise linear force–displacement spring and a piecewise linear force–velocity damper in series. These nonlinear inputs for the model are retrieved from the dynamic performance tests of the damper, and the force–displacement and force–velocity curves are further modified to improve the modelling accuracy according to the test results. The proposed model can accurately simulate the damper's dynamic stiffness and dynamic damping characteristics with respect to the excitation frequency or displacement, which cannot be reproduced when using the traditional Maxwell model. Both the traditional Maxwell model and the improved nonlinear model presented in this work are integrated into a multibody dynamics railway vehicle model to simulate the typical dynamic problems of a high-speed train operating at 250 km/h in northeast China. Through comparative analysis, it was found that the numerical simulations are consistent with the field measurements. It can be concluded that the proposed nonlinear damper model is more suitable for studying railway vehicle system dynamics under various operating cases. By contrast, the input parameters of the traditional Maxwell model must be modified artificially according to the vehicle responses and the dynamic characteristics of the yaw damper.

Impact of rail infrastructure maintenance conditions on the vehicle-track interaction loads

“…Such studies require the use of advanced computational tools and experiments to validate models and de-risk the development of new technology. This involves using Multi-Body (MB) systems methodologies for railway vehicle dynamics to study different type of problems [2][3][4][5], including virtual homologation [6,7], study of the vehicle performance for selected tracks [8,9], derailments prevention [10][11][12][13][14][15], design of suspensions [16][17][18], tracks with complex geometries [19][20][21][22], traction or braking systems [23,24], pantograph-catenary interaction [25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35], just to mention a few.…”

Comparison of the Maxwell model and a simplified physical model for a railway yaw damper in damping characteristics and vehicle stability assessment

“…8 The Maxell model is one of the representatives for this kind of method. 9–11 The third approach is referred to black-box models. The parameters in a black-box model have no physical implication and are generally determined by a best fit of the test data.…”

“…The traditional Maxwell model has found wide use in the simulation of vehicle dynamics for a HST. 8–11 However, the numerical simulation accuracy is rarely reported. This model introduces a force-velocity relationship with a spring in series.…”

A three-dimensional approach for contact detection between realistic wheel and rail surfaces for improved railway dynamic analysis

“…The study of railway vehicle dynamics by using multibody systems methodologies has been increasing its popularity in the past years, due to its efficiency and reliability to formulate and solve different type of problems [1][2][3][4], namely virtual homologation of vehicles [5,6], study of the vehicle performance for selected tracks [7,8], derailments prevention [9][10][11][12], design of suspension, traction or braking systems [13][14][15], just to mention a few. One of the major issues concerning the dynamic modelling and simulation of railway vehicles deals with the evaluation of the vehicle-track interaction, which consists of the solution of the contact between the wheels and the rails.…”