Simulation of a Shinkansen train on the railway structure during an earthquake

An efficient computational method to solve combined motion of a Shinkansen train (bullet train in Japan) and the railway structure during an earthquake is given. The motion of the train is expressed in multibody dynamics. A simple mechanical model to express the interaction between wheel and rail during an earthquake is described. A rail element has been developed, where the motion in the plane of the cross-section of rail is expressed by multibody dynamics and the motion in the out-of-plane is expressed by FEM. A three-dimensional nonlinear spring element has been developed to express the elastic-plastic behavior in a concrete railway structure under cyclic loads during an earthquake effectively. The railway structure is modeled with various finite elements and also with rail elements. A modal method has been employed to solve large-scale nonlinear equations of motion of the train and railway structure during an earthquake effectively. Based on the present method a computer program for the simulation of a Shinkansen train running on the railway structure during an earthquake has been developed. Numerical examples are demonstrated.