A Simulation Study of Some Starting Behaviour Problems of Diesel Hydraulic Locomotives

Abstract

An analytical investigation of the starting behaviour of a diesel hydraulic locomotive having coupled axle drive is carried out. A transmission system model with 13 degrees-of-freedom is developed. Calculated results show the starting behaviour of the system with coupled axle drive to be inferior to that of a system with individual axle drive, which is consistent with practical experience. The effects of the branch stiffnesses of the transmission system, the backlashes and the stiffness of the torque arm support on the starting behaviour are discussed. Further, a new equivalent transmission chain is developed to get a simple and easy access to improve the starting behaviour in practice. It is believed that this study contributes toward understanding of the starting behaviour of diesel hydraulic locomotives with coupled axle drive.