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In view of the abnormal wear of the vibration damping track with small radius curve on the subway, the vibration and noise problems associated with it have been widely concerned by society. The dynamic model of vehicle-track system including elastic damping track is established by using simulation software. The influence of structural parameters of steel spring floating slab track (SSFST) with small radius curve on the mode and vibration frequency, as well as the resonance characteristics of elastic track structure are analyzed. The results show the following: (1) Increasing the length of floating slab can effectively reduce natural frequency, while the range of frequency variation caused by the thickness of floating slab is relatively small. The length and thickness of floating slab can be properly adjusted to avoid the track resonance. (2) It is more integrated for the rail and floating slab through increasing the vertical stiffness of fastener, which increases the vibration frequency of the track structure. There is little effect on the vibration characteristics of SSFST for changing the installation spacing of steel springs. (3) It is more obvious for resonance to occur between the inner rail and floating slab at 116 Hz, 130 Hz and 161 Hz, and the track vibration mode shows multi-step reverse vibration on both sides and overall vertical bending vibration. (4) Due to the unbalance load caused by curve superelevation, the inner wheel weight plays the restraining role, which makes the inner rail and floating slab have various forms of bending deformation in a certain frequency range, increasing the complexity of the bending deformation of the track structure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The estimation of maximum storm surges along a coast is indispensable for emergency action planning, design, and adaptation of coastal infrastructure. The existing studies on the Bay of Bengal coast have used synthetic tracks with constant track parameters such as the maximum wind speed, radius of maximum wind, and central pressure to estimate the probable maximum storm surges. However, the analysis of the best tracks from the Joint Typhoon Warning Center during 1978–2019 shows that the track parameters vary from origin to landfall locations. The reported studies along the Bay of Bengal have failed to capture such variations and overestimated probable maximum storm surges due to constant track parameters. Therefore, this study proposes a methodology for estimating wind speed of various return periods and associated track parameters that vary along a synthetic track. The wind speed of different return periods is computed at each eye location using the probabilistic approach. Thus, the calculated wind speeds vary from origin to landfall locations, and such a pattern of wind speed variation is observed to be similar to the historical cyclones. The radius of maximum wind and central pressure is calculated using the regression equations derived from historical tracks. The accuracy of the proposed methodology is investigated by simulating the cyclones Thane and Vardah that occurred along the Tamil Nadu coast. The results suggest that the varying track parameters using the proposed methodology produce realistic surge values similar to parameters from best track data, and it overcomes the overestimation of surge heights. The proposed methodology is further utilized to analyse the maximum surge scenarios along the Tamil Nadu coast resulting from various track shifts and angles of attack. The proposed methodology is expected to improve the estimation of storm surges in other basins. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Carbody hunting stability has attracted more and more attention due to its great influence on the dynamic performance of a railway vehicle. To fully understand the correlation between the wheel–rail contact relationship and the carbody hunting stability of an electric locomotive, the wheel–rail contact geometry analysis and the multi-body dynamics simulation are carried out in this work. The focus is on the influences of track parameters (including rail profile, rail cant and track gauge) on wheel–rail contact relationships and carbody hunting stability. A group of rail profiles are obtained by interpolating between the standard CHN60 profile and the worn rail profiles. The nominal equivalent conicity, the effective equivalent conicity and the wheel–rail contact bandwidth for a wheelset lateral displacement of ±6 mm are used to evaluate the wheel–rail contact relationship, while the lateral continuous comfort index is used to evaluate the carbody hunting stability. The simulation results show that keeping the rail cant at about 1/40 and reducing the track gauge and the wear depth at the gauge corner of rail can improve the carbody hunting stability of the electric locomotive. Furthermore, the effective equivalent conicity is a good choice to establish the relationship between the wheel–rail contact geometry and the carbody hunting stability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this paper is to describe a model for the simulation of the lateral dynamics of a vehicle, specifically buses, under variable trajectory conditions, such as camber and radius of curvature; in addition, a variable speed is added as a simulation parameter. The objective of this study is the prevention of vehicle rollover and sideslip. An 8 degrees of freedom model was developed, considering a front and a rear section of the bus with its respective suspension system, and both sections have been connected by a torsion spring that emulates the torsional stiffness of the vehicle chassis. A Panhard bar is also added at the rear as an additional element to the suspension and the behavior of the bus when it is added is analyzed. This model also allows the evaluation of the force on each suspension component, which allows for future controllability of the active suspension components. The results show the dynamic behavior of the vehicle, and some indicators are introduced to show the possible sideslip or rollover. As a conclusion, the influence of the road parameters on the dynamic behavior of the bus and the effect of the Panhard bar on the dynamic behavior of the bus can be pointed out. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this paper is to describe a model for the simulation of the lateral dynamics of a vehicle, specifically buses, under variable trajectory conditions, such as camber and radius of curvature; in addition, a variable speed is added as a simulation parameter. The objective of this study is the prevention of vehicle rollover and sideslip. An 8 degrees of freedom model was developed, considering a front and a rear section of the bus with its respective suspension system, and both sections have been connected by a torsion spring that emulates the torsional stiffness of the vehicle chassis. A Panhard bar is also added at the rear as an additional element to the suspension and the behavior of the bus when it is added is analyzed. This model also allows the evaluation of the force on each suspension component, which allows for future controllability of the active suspension components. The results show the dynamic behavior of the vehicle, and some indicators are introduced to show the possible sideslip or rollover. As a conclusion, the influence of the road parameters on the dynamic behavior of the bus and the effect of the Panhard bar on the dynamic behavior of the bus can be pointed out.

Tracked mining vehicles (TMVs) are key equipment in deep-sea mining systems and can easily slip when walking on soft sediments on the seabed. Thus, it is important to investigate the effect of track parameters and grounding-specific pressure on the shear interaction between mining vehicles and sediment. The sediment was simulated using a mixture of bentonite and water, and a shear test of the track with a single grouser and sediment was conducted. A numerical model of the track–sediment shear test was established, and the shear strength and failure mode of the sediment soil under the track action were examined. The results demonstrate that the peak shear strength of the track–sediment interface increases with an increase in the grounding-specific pressure, gradually increases with an increase in grouser height, and tends to stabilize at a given level of grouser height. Owing to the presence of the grouser, the deep-sea sediment transitions from the elastic state to the plastic state faster than the typical clay during the shear test. The variation law of peak shear strength at the track-sediment interface with the height of track grouser under different grounding-specific pressures was analyzed, and a modified shear stress-displacement relationship model was proposed. Wedge failure is the predominant method of failure for a single-grouser shear sediment soil at various heights. The primary factor affecting the horizontal disturbance range is the grouser height, and the range increases as the grouser height increases; the primary element affecting the vertical disturbance range is the grounding-specific pressure, and the range increases as the grounding-specific pressure increases. The relationship of the grouser height and cohesiveness with the interfacial shear strength was examined and a new shear stress–displacement relationship model that can accurately capture the shear mechanical behavior between the track and sediment under various grouser heights was proposed. In conclusion, the study findings could serve as a guide for the engineering design of a TMV walking system. • Explored the characteristics of the shear stress-displacement curves, and analyzed the effects of the grouser height and the grounding specific pressure on the peak shear strength of the interface. • Proposed a shear stress-displacement relationship model considering the grouser parameters. • Analyzed the failure process and final failure mode of sediment from the mesoscopic perspective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In response to the global demand for commercial mining of deep-sea manganese nodules, the four-tracked mining vehicle (FTMV) with excellent tractive and travelling performance is crucial for constructing the entire commercial system. In order to better evaluate the tractive and travelling performance of the FTMV, the dynamic sinkage phenomenon concerning soft seabed and front-rear track effect are proposed. Meanwhile, the pressure-sinkage and traction force-slip rate mathematical models are established based on terramechanics theory. The quantitative calculation was carried out based on the model and found that the grouser's parameters affect the sinkage depth of the FTMV. In the range of 10 ~ 20 cm, the height of the rectangular grouser increases by 1 cm, which will lead to a 0.15 cm of sinkage depth decreased. When the ratio of rectangular grouser thickness to track shoe length is between 0.1 and 0.3, every 1% increase in this ratio will decrease a 0.13 cm of sinkage depth. The maximum traction force obtained by the FTMV from the soft seabed sediment was 54.5 kN, which occurred when the slip rate of the track was 16%. Moreover, due to the front-rear track effect, the traction force of the front and rear tracks showed a significant difference, the front track contributed 32.4 kN, and the rear track contributed 22.1 kN when the traction force reached the peak. Furthermore, the optimization directions for track parameters were suggested according to the relationship surface of the track dimensional parameters-slip-traction. It was found that each track was 4.2 ~ 6 m long, with a length-width ratio of 3.2, which was conducive to the reduction of track slip and got relatively much traction force from soft seabed sediment. The simulation results confirm dynamic sinkage and front-rear track effect and verify the accuracy of the new traction force-slip rate model, providing a valuable reference for the development of commercial deep-sea mining vehicles. • The dynamic sinkage phenomenon and the front-rear track effects of the four-tracked vehicle are proposed. • The track traction force-slip rate model of the four-tracked seabed mining vehicle was derived. • Quantitative calculations and three groups of computer simulations were conducted to verify the accuracy of the new traction force-slip rate model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]