Parameter Study of Hunting and Chaos in Railway Vehicle Dynamics

SUMMARY We investigate the dynamics of Cooperrider's bogie model with realistic wheel and rail profiles. The results are presented mainly as bifurcation diagrams We find speed ranges with asymptotically stable forward motion along the track centre line, coexisting attractors, symmetric and asymmetric oscillations and chaos. In contrast to earlier investigations, we also find chaotic transients, which lead to derailment, before the motion might have settled down to stable motion The influence of a change in the coefficient of adhesion, the wheel base, the gauge and the cant of the rails on the bifurcation points is discussed.