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Stabilizing mechanism and running behavior of couplers on heavy haul trains

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Abstract

Published studies in regard to coupler systems have been mainly focused on the manufacturing process or coupler strength issues. With the ever increasing of tonnage and length of heavy haul trains, lateral in-train forces generated by longitudinal in-train forces and coupler rotations have become a more and more significant safety issue for heavy haul train operations. Derailments caused by excessive lateral in-train forces are frequently reported. This article studies two typical coupler systems used on heavy haul locomotives. Their structures and stabilizing mechanism are analyzed before the corresponding models are developed. Coupler systems models are featured by two distinct stabilizing mechanism models and draft gear models with hysteresis considered. A model set which consists of four locomotives and three coupler systems is developed to study the rotational behavior of different coupler systems and their implications for locomotive dynamics. Simulated results indicate that when the locomotives are equipped with the type B coupler system, locomotives can meet the dynamics standard on tangent tracks; while the dynamics performance on curved tracks is very poor. The maximum longitudinal in-train force for locomotives equipped with the type B coupler system is 2000 kN. Simulations revealed a distinct trend for the type A coupler system. Locomotive dynamics are poorer for the type A case when locomotives are running on tangent tracks, while the dynamics are better for the type A case when locomotives are running on curved tracks. Theoretical studies and simulations carried out in this article suggest that a combination of the two types of stabilizing mechanism can result in a good design which can significantly decrease the relevant derailments.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Traction Power State Key Laboratory, Southwest Jiaotong University, Chengdu, 610031, China

    Ziqiang Xu, Qing Wu, Shihui Luo & Weihua Ma

  2. Locomotive and Car Research Institute, China Academy of Railway Sciences, Beijing, 100081, China

    Ziqiang Xu & Xiaoqing Dong

  3. Centre for Railway Engineering, Central Queensland University, Rockhampton, Queensland, QLD4701, Australia

    Qing Wu

Authors
  1. Ziqiang Xu
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  2. Qing Wu
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  3. Shihui Luo
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  4. Weihua Ma
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  5. Xiaoqing Dong
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Ziqiang Xu.

Additional information

Supported by National Basic Research Program of China (973 Program, Grant No. 2001CB711104), National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 51005190), and Fok Ying Tung Education Foundation of China (Grant No. 122014)

XU Ziqiang, born in 1984, PhD. He works at Locomotive and Car Research Institute, China Academy of Railway Sciences. He received his bachelor degree from Huazhong University of Science and Technology, China, in 2003, and his PhD degree from Traction Power State Key Laboratory, Southwest Jiaotong University, China, in 2013. His research interests include railway vehicle dynamics and safety, heavy haul train dynamics, high speed train dynamic simulation.

WU Qing, born in 1987, is currently a PhD candidate at Centre for Railway Engineering, Central Queensland University, Australia. He received his bachelor and master degree from Southwest Jiaotong University, China. His research interests include railway vehicle dynamics, train longitudinal dynamics, friction draft gear simulation.

LUO Shihui, born in 1964, is a professor and a doctoral tutor at Traction Power State Key Laboratory, Southwest Jiaotong University, China. He received his PhD degree from Shanghai Jiaotong Universtiy, China, in 1984. His research interests include railway vehicle design, railway vehicle dynamics and application.

MA Weihua, born in 1979, is an associate professor at Traction Power State Key Laboratory, Southwest Jiaotong University, China. He receive his PhD degree from Southwest Jiaotong University, China, in 2008. His research interests include railway vehicle dynamics, vibration and wheel/rail contact.

DONG Xiaoqing, born in 1975, is an associate researcher at Locomotive and Car Research Institute, China Academy of Railway Science. He received his master degree from Beijing Jiaotong University, China. His research interests include railway vehicle dynamics, vibration and wheel/rail contact.

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Xu, Z., Wu, Q., Luo, S. et al. Stabilizing mechanism and running behavior of couplers on heavy haul trains. Chin. J. Mech. Eng. 27, 1211–1218 (2014). https://doi.org/10.3901/CJME.2014.0905.146

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.3901/CJME.2014.0905.146

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