In-situ assessment of the sound and vibration reduction performance of a new type of resilient wheel installed on a metro train

Abstract

Based on a new type of resilient wheel installed on a linear motor subway train, a measurement campaign is devised to evaluate the effectiveness of the resilient wheel in reducing vibration and noise. For reference, the same series of tests are carried out on another train of the same type but fitted with conventional wheels. The measurements consist of the vibration and noise of various parts of the vehicle-track system which are used to investigate the sources of wheel-rail rolling noise, the acceleration of the axle boxes and the rail head, the noise inside the vehicle, and the noise close to the wheels. It is found that the interior noise levels in the driver’s cab and passenger car even when running on a curve with corrugated rails drop below the required limits when using the new type of resilient wheels. The axle box acceleration is used as an indication of the effectiveness of the resilient wheel in reducing the vibration to guarantee the reliability of the bogie frame. The vibration in the lateral direction is reduced considerably on both straight and curved tracks, while in the curve it has a greater decrease.