Study of the active radial steering of a railway vehicle using the curvature measuring method

Abstract

This study assesses the capability of an active steering bogie to run effectively on a curved track. It presents a curvature measuring method that can be implemented in a railway vehicle system to steer a railway vehicle. This method was used to conduct a field test. The angle of attack and lateral force were reduced in a railway vehicle model on a curved track and analyzed. An active steering system was implemented to improve certain states when a railway vehicle runs on this track, such as wear and derailment index. The railway vehicle was also equipped with an active steering bogie to limit lateral contact forces and wear rates between the wheel and the rail. Finally, this paper describes the modeling of this active steering system and of a system to control the performance of a vehicle as it curves. Simulation results with this bogie were better than those obtained with a conventional railway vehicle, including in terms of lateral forces and the wear number of the wheels. Therefore, the proposed model is more effective than conventional systems with respect to operation on a curved track.