Numerical analysis of nonlinear stability for railway passenger cars

Abstract

The Newton-Raphson iteration and QR algorithm are combined to search the Hpf bifurcation point of the vehicle running on straight track and on large radius curved tracks. Limit cycles that are bifurcated from the equilibrium points and the saddle-node bifurcation point are computed through employing a variable-step Runge-Kutta method and the Poincare map. Finally, numerical simulations are carried out for the stability of a high speed passenger car operating on straight and large radius curved tracks. The influences of the radius of curvature and the superelevation of the track on the stability of the vehicle system are investigated.