Dynamic simulation of friction-induced vibrations in a light railway bogie while curving compared with measurement results

It is a frequently observed phenomenon that curving of railway vehicles can involve friction-induced oscillations. The study presented in this paper investigates vibrations with a frequency of 80Hz occurring at a light rail vehicle in Stuttgart in curves with radii between 50 and 200m. The aim of the investigation was to identify the oscillation and transmission mechanism, and the dominant parameters within this. As the cause could not be clearly identified from the measurements, a multi-body simulation in the time domain was used. The model consisted of both vehicle and track and considered the structural dynamics of the wheelset and bogie frame up to 200Hz. The system was modelled using the commercial MBS software SIMPACK. The identified model describes the oscillations observed at the real vehicle. The results proved to be useful in minimising the vibrations at the real vehicles.