Considering flexible wheel-rail coupling effects: An analysis of the vibration and transmission characteristics of damped track

Abstract

The vibration and transmission characteristics of track components during vehicle operation is a complex issue. To address this issue, this paper proposes a flexible wheelset-damped track-tunnel-soil model that considers the interaction between the flexible wheelset and the rail. Using field measurements and the developed model, this study investigates the vibration characteristics of track components and explores the influence of fastener stiffness and damping pad stiffness on track vibration and vibration transfer characteristics between components from an energy perspective, using track spectrum power flow as the evaluation index. The results demonstrate that the model considering wheel-rail coupling can more comprehensively reflect the vibration characteristics of the track during train operation. Compared to fasteners with lower stiffness, damping pads with lower stiffness can reduce track vibration in a wider frequency range. Lower fastener stiffness reduces the transmission of vibration in 50∼2000 Hz, while lower damping pad stiffness reduces the transmission of vibrations in 1∼2000 Hz.