Application of elastic torus as a vibration absorber for flexural vibration of railway vehicle carbody and numerical estimation of its vibration characteristics

Abstract

This paper presents a basic study to develop a new damping device against flexural vibration of railway vehicle carbody utilizing elastic deformation of an elastic body as a dynamic vibration absorber (DVA). A donut-shaped elastic body (called ”elastic torus” in this study) is proposed considering practical application to rail vehicles. Vibration measurement tests using some existing elastic tori are carried out to examine the effect by their size and infill upon natural frequency. In addition, excitation tests for a 1:5 scale model of a Shinkansen vehicle carbody are conducted, and the DVA effect by applying such elastic torus against the first mode of flexural vibration of the carbody is demonstrated. Then, numerical studies using finite element (FE) analysis are carried out and it has been found that the shape and the size of an elastic torus having desired natural frequency can be determined by the numerical model. Finally, an elastic torus dedicated as a DVA for rail vehicles made of rubber filled with water is designed using the FE model and manufactured actually.