Abstract
We have applied the transfer matrix method (TMM) to the analysis of three-dimensional elastic vibration problems on a railway carbody. The carbody is modeled as a simply-supported non-circular cylindrical shell without end plates. We also made a 1/12 size carbody model for experimental studies to verify the validity of the numerical simulation. The modal analysis was applied to the experimental model. Comparing the results by TMM and the experiment, natural frequencies and mode shapes of vibration for lower modes show good agreement each other. Furthermore, we investigated effects of length and curvature of the shell.
