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Modelling and Analysis of a Passenger Train for Enhancing the Ride Performance Using MR-Based Semi-active Suspension

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Abstract

Purpose

Track irregularities and wheel-track interaction in rail vehicles travelling at high speeds cause excessive vibrations in the train body, which affect travellers by declining ride comfort. Suspension systems play an essential role in mitigating vibration and enhancing ride comfort. In this context, secondary lateral passive dampers were replaced with magneto-rheological (MR) dampers to mitigate vibrations and enhance ride performance.

Methods

A seventeen degrees of freedom (DoF) rail vehicle model equipped with MR dampers is formulated, and a modified Bouc-Wen model is used to evaluate the functionality of the MR damper. Herein, two distinct controllers: disturbance refusal and damper force tracking control algorithms, are employed to control the entire suspension system. Afterwards, ride indices are computed using Sperling criteria to assess the ride quality and comfort at different train speeds, which are validated with experimental results.

Results

Output responses of the train body in lateral, yaw and roll directions are compared for both passive and semi-active suspension systems at speeds of 80, 120, 160, and 200 km/h. In terms of RMS acceleration, the semi-active suspension with the controllers attains better vibration reduction. Percentage reduction was found to be 23.80–27.49%, 18.75–21.23%, and 17.86–20.32% for lateral, yaw, and roll acceleration, respectively, at different train speeds. Moreover, ride quality and ride comfort were improved by 13.66–16.24% and 14.27–17.18%, respectively.

Conclusions

The findings reveal that semi-active suspension outperforms passive suspension in terms of vibration abatement and significantly enhances the ride quality and comfort.

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  1. Department of Mechanical & Industrial Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee, Roorkee, 247667, India

    Sultan Singh & Anil Kumar

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Correspondence to Anil Kumar.

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Appendix A

Appendix A

Train subsystem

Symbol

Description

Carbody

M c

Carbody mass

 

I cz

Carbody yaw moment of inertia

 

I cx

Carbody roll moment of inertia

Bogie

M b

Bogie mass

 

I bz

Bogie yaw mass moment of inertia

 

I bx

Bogie roll mass moment of inertia

Wheelset

M w

Mass per wheelset

 

I wz

Wheelset yaw moment of inertia

Primary suspension

K px

Longitudinal spring stiffness coefficient

 

K py

Lateral spring stiffness coefficient

 

K pz

Vertical spring stiffness coefficient

 

C pz

Vertical damper damping coefficient

Secondary suspension

K sx

Longitudinal spring stiffness coefficient

 

K sz

Vertical spring stiffness coefficient

 

C sx

longitudinal damper damping coefficient

 

C sy

Lateral damper damping coefficient

 

C sz

Vertical damper damping coefficient

Other parameters

l

Half distance of centre pin spacing of bogie

 

d

Half distance between wheelbase

 

g 0

Half lateral spacing of primary suspension

 

a

Half distance of wheel-gauge

 

e h

Secondary suspension lateral spacing (half)

 

P ts

Distance between bogie frame c.g to vertical secondary suspension

 

P cs

Distance between carbody c.g to vertical secondary suspension

 

P tp

Distance between bogie frame c.g to vertical primary suspension

 

P wp

Wheelset c.g to vertical secondary suspension distance

 

r 0

Rolling radius of wheel

 

V

Vehicle speed

Wheel rail parameters

f 11

Creep coefficient (longitudinal)

 

f 22

Creep coefficient (lateral)

 

λ e

Effective wheel conicity

 

σ

Roll coefficient of wheelset

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Singh, S., Kumar, A. Modelling and Analysis of a Passenger Train for Enhancing the Ride Performance Using MR-Based Semi-active Suspension. J. Vib. Eng. Technol. 10, 1737–1751 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42417-022-00479-y

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