31. Snowplowing simulator coupled with vehicle dynamics simulator

Speed controls are sometimes imposed on Shinkansen (bullet train) services at high snow depths on the tracks, based on snowplowing tests performed on actual vehicle. Actual vehicle tests are costly and time-consuming, and are also hampered by availability constraints. We have developed a snowplowing simulator as an analytical tool to supplement actual vehicle tests. The simulator is a modified version of the particle simulator currently under development at the Railway Technical Research Institute (RTRI).

The snowplowing simulator was developed in parallel with a series of snowplowing tests performed on a scale model vehicle. The tests were conducted at the RTRI snow testing station in Shiozawa. A 1/10 scale model vehicle fitted with a snowplow was mounted on a truck and driven along a 60-m guide rail track into a snow bed (see Figure 1). The snowplowing simulator successfully modeled the properties of snow and demonstrated resistance to deformation up to the point where fluidity begins to occur. Figure 2 shows the force acting on the snowplow when it hits the snow bed, as observed in the 1/10 scale model tests and as predicted by the simulator. It can be seen that the simulator accurately reproduces the Shiozawa test results (see Figure 3). We also developed a coupling methodology that inputs the snowplowing force estimated by the simulator into the vehicle dynamics simulator in order to derive the car attitude and movement amount (see Figure 4). The coupling methodology is useful in several scenarios: preliminary analysis of snowplowing conditions for tests on actual vehicle; assessing the safety of self-snowplowing running; and in new snowplow designs.