Nonlinear Vibration and Comfort Analysis of High-Speed Trains Moving Over Railway Bridges

The ride comfort of high-speed trains passing over railway bridges is studied in this paper. The effects of some nonlinear parameters in a carriage-track-bridge system are investigated such as the load-stiffening characteristics of the rail-pad and the ballast, rubber elements in the primary and secondary suspensions systems. The influence of the track irregularity and train speed on two comfort indicators, namely Sperling’s comfort index and the maximum acceleration level, are also studied. Timoshenko beam theory is used for modelling the rail and bridge and two layers of parallel damped springs in conjunction with a layer of mass are used to model the rail-pads, sleepers and ballast. A randomly irregular vertical track profile is modelled, characterised by a power spectral density (PSD). The ‘roughness’ is generated for three classes of tracks. Nonlinear Hertz theory is used for modelling the wheel-rail contact.