Suppression of Bending Vibration of Railway Vehicle Carbody by using Carbody-Truck Interaction

This paper presents a method to suppress the vertical bending vibration of railway vehicle carbody by using carbody-truck (or bogie) interaction. It is shown from the running test result of an actual Shinkansen vehicle that the bending vibration can greatly be reduced when the rigidity of carbody-truck connecting elements in the longitudinal direction (i.e., rubber bush rigidity of traction links and anti-yaw dampers) Kx is set at the optimum value. The mechanism of the effect to reduce such vibration is analyzed theoretically. As a result, it is found that the truck frames and wheelsets act as dynamic vibration absorbers against the bending vibration of carbody. A formula to adjust Kx to its suitable value is derived. The accuracy and validity of the formula is evaluated numerically.