Simulation of the Riding Comfort of Railway Coaches

Abstract

SUMMARYThe dynamic behaviour of complex mechanical systems such as railroad cars is usually simulated with multibody-simulation-programs. The elastic behaviour of the car body is mostly neglected. In this case the riding comfort cannot be predicted accurately. This paper discusses two alternative methods to estimate the behaviour of elastic multibody-systems which should deliver accurate results. The first method uses free- body vibration modes of the elastic structure and is widely used in programs including coupling between multibody-system and elastic structures. The second one refers more directly to the classical Rayleigh/Ritz minimum theorem [4] for linear vibrations of elastic systems with a local displacement approach that was first proposed in [1]. The simulation of the riding comfort of a railway coach and the comparison to measurements will demonstrate the strength of this method.