Numerical study on the effect of side structure on elastic vibration characteristics of railway vehicle carbodies

Abstract

Three-dimensional (3D) elastic vibrations that occur in railway vehicle carbodies can have negative impacts on ride quality, and efficient numerical analysis methods are required to study effective counter measure. The authors have proposed a method using a new vibration analysis model in which the railway vehicle carbody is modeled as a box-like structure composed of elastic plates, straight beams, and curved beams. This model can easily express complex 3D vibration shapes observed in actual carbody such as the interaction between the roof, floor, and side structures. This article reports the results of an improvement of this model and a series of studies of the effects of curveture and rigidity changes in the side structures on the natural modal characteristics of the elastic vibrations.