Effect of an inter-vehicle damper on the dynamics of a high-speed train

Abstract

It is meaningful to understand the effect of inter-vehicle damper and its parameters on high-speed train dynamics in the context of train inter-vehicle suspension design or optimization. In this study, Multi-body System (MBS) dynamics modelling of a high-speed CRH train with inter-vehicle damper is firstly carried out, in which a simplified-parametric model was proposed and validated to depict damping characteristics of the damper. Simulation results using the MBS model show that inter-vehicle damper devised in high-speed train can obviously reduce lateral vibrations at the connecting passage of adjacent compartments without increasing the wheelset lateral shift force and derailment coefficient, thus it can improve overal ride comfort of the CRH train. In addition, inter-vehicle damper can resist severe lateral shocks and guarantee safety when two high-speed trains pass each other. The developed MBS model of the CRH train is an accurate and useful platform, the obtained results in this study are also valuable in following vibration analysis and inter-vehicle suspension optimization of the CRH train.