Improving the critical speeds of high-speed trains using magnetorheological technology

Abstract

With the rapid development of high-speed railways, vibration control for maintaining stability, passenger comfort, and safety has become an important area of research. In order to investigate the mechanism of train vibration, the critical speeds of various DOFs with respect to suspension stiffness and damping are first calculated and analyzed based on its dynamic equations. Then, the sensitivity of the critical speed is studied by analyzing the influence of different suspension parameters. On the basis of these analyses, a conclusion is drawn that secondary lateral damping is the most sensitive suspension damper. Subsequently, the secondary lateral dampers are replaced with magnetorheological fluid (MRF) dampers. Finally, a high-speed train model with MRF dampers is simulated by a combined ADAMS and MATLAB simulation and tested in a roller rig test platform to investigate the mechanism of how the MRF damper affects the train's stability and critical speed. The results show that the semi-active suspension installed with MRF dampers substantially improves the stability and critical speed of the train. AbstractWith the rapid development of high-speed railways, vibration control for maintaining stability, passenger comfort, and safety has become an important area of research. In order to investigate the mechanism of train vibration, the critical speeds of various DOF with respect to suspension stiffness and damping are first calculated and analyzed based on its dynamics equations. Then, the sensitivity of critical speed is studied by analyzing the influence of different suspension parameters. Upon on these analyses, conclusion is drawn that secondary lateral damping is the most sensitive suspension damper. Subsequently, the secondary lateral dampers are replaced with magnetorheological fluid (MRF) dampers. At last, a high-speed train model with MRF dampers is simulated by a combination simulation of ADAMS and MATLAB and tested in a roller rig test platform to investigate the mechanism of how the MRF damper affects the train's stability and critical speed. The results show that the semi-active suspension installed with MRF damper substantially improves the stability and critical speed of the train.

Improvement of Ride Quality of Railway Vehicle by Semiactive Secondary Suspension System on Roller Rig Using Magnetorheological Damper

“…Semiactive suspension using MR dampers have a comparatively simple system and easy repair and maintenance system compared to the previous semiactive suspension [6]. Sun et al [7] performed tests on a roller rig and interpreted numerical values of the researches on the sensitivity of critical speed by applying the MR damper on railway vehicles. Lau and Liao [8] performed performance tests on the unit component by designing and developing MR dampers for railway vehicles.…”

Performance Analysis of a Magnetorheological Damper with Energy Harvesting Ability

“…Till now, the MR dampers have wide applications in automotive industry including off-road vehicles [3,4], and they are also used in naval gun controlling [5], field of landing gear [6], prosthetic knees [7], washing machines [8], high speed train suspension [9,10], seismic vibration control of different civil structures [11,12], and so forth. However, a significant drawback of traditional MR damper is witnessed; that is, the kinetic energy from the vibration is wasted in heating rather than harvested as a reusable power resource due to lack of energy harvesting device.…”

Development of a novel variable stiffness and damping magnetorheological fluid damper

“…And a popular and feasible way of implementing the variable stiffness or damping, currently, is based on the magnetorheological and electrorheological materials based devices [5,6]. Magnetorheological fluid (MRF) dampers are typical semi-active dampers with variable damping capability and have been widely used for vibration attenuation due to their reliability and fast response [7][8][9]. Yu's group has mounted four MR dampers to a full car and tested the system on different types of roads [10].…”