The effect of gear meshing on the high-speed vehicle dynamics

Abstract

The gear transmission system is a key part to transmit power for the electrical multiple unit (EMU) and to move the train forward. Its dynamic vibrations affect the operation safety and the dynamic characteristics of the vehicle. Based on the parameters of a certain type of high-speed EMU in China, a rigid-flexible coupling dynamics model of railway vehicle is developed. A flexible gear meshing dynamics model is built and it is incorporated into the vehicle system dynamics model. With the numerical method, the effect of the gear transmission on the dynamics of the high-speed vehicle is investigated. A field experiment is carried out and the measured accelerations of the gearbox are employed to validate the simulation results. The investigation results reveal that the gear meshing forces get large as the operation speed of the vehicle increases. Gear meshing affects the operation safety indexes and the vibrations of the bogie frames, motors and gearboxes, but has negligible effect on the vibrations of the carbody. The difference between the results with the flexible gear meshing model and the results with the rigid gear meshing model is negligible. The simulation acceleration is slightly smaller than the field test result of the gearbox.