THE INFLUENCE OF THE SUSPENSION ON THE HUNTING STABILITY OF RAILWAYS

On the basis of the linearized creep theory, a comprehensive analysis of the hunting stability of railway vehicles is given. The analysis includes the rigorous solutions of the relevant differential equations for a wheelset suspended in a roller rig; and two wheelsets acting against each other. It is shown that in a vehicle, wheelsets obtain their hunting stability from the combined (in series) action of the lateral and longitudinal suspension constraints. The derivations show that the hunting stability is dependent on the creep coefficient and a method is derived for the optimization of the suspension parameters in relation to the available creep.