Validation of three-dimensional multi-body system approach for modelling track flexibility

Abstract The objective of this investigation is to examine the results and demonstrate the validity of a proposed multi-body railroad vehicle system formulation that accounts for the dynamic coupling between three-dimensional (3D) contact parameters and the rail structural flexibility. This formulation allows building complex track models that include significant details at a finite-element preprocessing stage. The data of the detailed track model can be used as an input to a general purpose flexible multi-body computer program for a non-linear analysis that accounts for the dynamic coupling between the track flexibility, 3D wheel—rail contact, and the vehicle dynamics. The simulations are performed using the methods of multi-body system dynamics that employ 3D wheel—rail contact methodology capable of finding the wheel—rail contact points online. The effect of the structural flexibility of the rails is included in the equations of motion using the finite-element floating frame of reference formulation. While this formulation allows for an arbitrary reference displacement for the track, this reference displacement is constrained in order to be able to compare the results with those results obtained using simplified approaches. The results obtained by applying the proposed multi-body system/finite-element formulation to a simple railroad vehicle travelling on a deformable tangent track are compared with the results of a moving load on a Winkler foundation. In addition to the simple moving load model used, a second model that accounts for the effect of the vehicle inertia is also used in this study. The comparative study presented in this article shows a good agreement between the results obtained using the two different methods. Furthermore, the results obtained in the case of a flexible track are compared with the results obtained using a rigid track in order to examine the effect of the track structural flexibility on the non-linear dynamics of the rail system.

[1]  Klaus Knothe,et al.  Review on rail corrugation studies , 2002 .

[2]  Wanming Zhai,et al.  Dynamic interaction between a lumped mass vehicle and a discretely supported continuous rail track , 1997 .

[3]  S L Grassie,et al.  The Dynamic Response of Railway Track With Flexible Sleepers to High Frequency Vertical Excitation , 1984 .

[4]  R. Y. Yakoub,et al.  Three Dimensional Absolute Nodal Coordinate Formulation for Beam Elements: Implementation and Applications , 2001 .

[5]  Z. Cai,et al.  Modelling the dynamic response of railway track to wheel/rail impact loading , 1994 .

[6]  A. A. Shabana.  Automated Analysis of Constrained Systems of Rigid and Flexible Bodies , 1985 .

[7]  Ahmed A. Shabana.  RESONANCE CONDITIONS AND DEFORMABLE BODY CO-ORDINATE SYSTEMS , 1996 .

[8]  M Ishida,et al.  THE INFLUENCE OF TRACK STIFFNESS ON TRACK DYNAMIC BEHAVIOUR , 1997 .

[9]  Rosario Chamorro,et al.  A multi-body system approach for finite-element modelling of rail flexibility in railroad vehicle applications , 2008 .

[10]  Y Luo,et al.  The Dynamic Response of Railway Ballast to the Action of Trains Moving at Different Speeds , 1996 .

[11]  David Thompson.  Theoretical Modelling of Wheel-Rail Noise Generation , 1991 .

[12]  Simon Iwnicki,et al.  Handbook of railway vehicle dynamics , 2006 .

[13]  A. Shabana.  Computational Continuum Mechanics: Computational Geometry and Finite Element Analysis , 2008 .

[14]  K. L. Johnson,et al.  The Dynamic Response of Railway Track to High Frequency Vertical Excitation , 1982 .

[15]  Yih-Hwang Lin,et al.  Finite element analysis of elastic beams subjected to moving dynamic loads , 1990 .

[16]  Karl Popp,et al.  Vehicle-Track Dynamics in the Mid-Frequency Range , 1999 .

[17]  S Sankar,et al.  A Finite Element Model of Railway Track and its Application to the Wheel Flat Problem , 1994 .

[18]  Dean G. Duffy,et al.  The Response of an Infinite Railroad Track to a Moving, Vibrating Mass , 1990 .

[19]  A. Mallik,et al.  Steady-state response of an elastically supported infinite beam to a moving load , 2006 .

[20]  Klaus Knothe,et al.  Modelling of Railway Track and Vehicle/Track Interaction at High Frequencies , 1993 .

[21]  R. V. Dukkipati,et al.  Idealized steady state interaction between railway vehicle and track , 1999 .