RTRI REPORT Sep. 2003
PAPERS

Vibration of Rail with Surface Irregularity Excited by Multiple Wheels

Katsushi MANABE


  A mathematical model that predicts the vibration of wheel/rail system excited by multiple wheels has been developed. The rail is modeled as an infinite Euler's beam periodically supported by a system which consists of two springs and a mass. In this system the components represent the following: one of the springs a rail pad, the mass a sleeper, and the other spring ballast stiffness. The wheel is replaced with a mass. Two sources of vibration are considered in the model. One is the varying stiffness of rail between sleepers, and the other is an irregularity on the railhead. On the assumption that response is repeated at sleeper intervals, a solution is led by equating the values of Fourier coefficient of wheel locus and that of rail displacement. The method is applied to the analysis of the vibration of rail excited by two succeeding wheels of a bogie. A sinusoidal irregularity with a wave length of sleeper spacing or a higher order is supposed to exist on the railhead. The results show the basic characteristics of rail vibration such as Doppler's shift due to wheel movement, response variation with the irregularity wave length and the distribution of vibration amplitudes that are strongly affected by the interference of two wheels.


* Full papers of RTRI Report are written in Japanese.

Copyright (c) 2003 Railway Technical Research Institute