Crosswind impacts on comfort of straddle monorail vehicle running on flexible track beam

Abstract

Crosswind is the primary external excitation source of the straddle monorail system. To ensure the ride quality of the monorail system under crosswind, based on multi-rigid body dynamics and finite element method, the coupling model of the monorail vehicle-beam is established, in which the track beam is considered as a flexible sub-model; the vehicle includes traveling/steering/stabilizing wheels and evaluate the characteristics of tire sideways and slip. Crosswind was obtained by the Davenport spectrum and loaded on the vehicle. Dynamic responses of the vehicle-beam system and the safe running/wind speed were studied. The study shows that, for a car, the wind loaded outside balances part of the centrifugal action and eliminates part of the overturning trend of the vehicle when it turns but makes the lateral ride comfort deteriorate in the straight line section. For the beam, the wind loads help reduce the track beam's transverse deformation when cars pass, and the vertical deformation is slightly improved. For operation, when the running speed is less than 50 km/h and the wind speed is less than 15 m/s, the monorail vehicle can operate safely. The straddle monorail wind-vehicle-beam model can conveniently update the design parameters for dynamic calculation and comfort evaluation. It can provide a specific theoretical basis or guiding principles for the safe operation of straddle monorail vehicles under wind loads.