Quantification of Riding Comfort for High-speed Trains on Curved Track Based on Experiments Using Vehicle Dynamic Simulator

Abstract

Riding comfort of a train on curved track is generally evaluated with an index on stationary lateral acceleration of vehicle body. However, it does not consider the influence of running vibration throughout the curve and also it can not be applied on transition curve. This paper suggests a new method that quantifies riding comfort on whole curved section including transition curves. Experiments with subject passengers are carried out using a simulator to estimate the correlation between the riding comfort and combinations of related three parameters on vehicle body, the conditions of which are made based on lateral accelerations measured on a vehicle body. The parameters are as follows : riding quality level calculated from the running vibration, stationary lateral acceleration due to a centrifugal force and lateral jerk on a transition curve. As a result, the following matters are clarified. (1) Riding comfort on whole curved section including transition curves can be quantified by the index combined with above mentioned three parameters. (2) The influence of each parameter on riding comfort is estimated quantitatively. (3) The deterioration of riding comfort due to the increase of stationary lateral acceleration caused by speed-up can be compensated by decreasing the vibration level of vehicle body.