Integration of geometry and analysis for the study of liquid sloshing in railroad vehicle dynamics

A new continuum-based liquid sloshing approach that accounts for the effect of complex fluid and tank-car geometry on railroad vehicle dynamics is developed in this investigation. A unified geometry/analysis mesh is used from the outset to examine the effect of liquid sloshing on railroad vehicle dynamics during curve negotiation and during the application of electronically controlled pneumatic (ECP) brakes that produce braking forces uniformly and simultaneously across all cars. Using a non-modal approach, the geometry of the tank-car and fluid is accurately defined, a continuum-based fluid constitutive model is employed, and a fluid-tank contact algorithm is developed. The liquid sloshing model is integrated with a three-dimensional multibody system (MBS) railroad vehicle algorithm which accounts for the nonlinear wheel/rail contact. The three-dimensional wheel/rail contact force formulation used in this study accounts for the longitudinal, lateral, and spin creep forces that influence the vehicle stability. In order to examine the effect of the liquid sloshing on the railroad vehicle dynamics during curve negotiation, a general and precise definition of the outward inertia force is defined, and in order to correctly capture the fluid and tank-car geometry, the absolute nodal coordinate formulation (ANCF) is used. The balance speed and centrifugal effects in the case of tank-car partially filled with liquid are studied and compared with the equivalent rigid body model in curve negotiation and braking scenarios. In particular, the results obtained in the case of the ECP brake application of two freight car model are compared with the results obtained when using conventional braking. The traction analysis shows that liquid sloshing has a significant effect on the load distribution between the front and rear trucks. A larger coupler force develops when using conventional braking compared with ECP braking, and the liquid sloshing contributes to amplifying the coupler force in the ECP braking case compared to the equivalent rigid body model which does not capture the fluid nonlinear inertia effects. Furthermore, the results obtained in this study show that liquid sloshing can exacerbate the unbalance effects when the rail vehicle negotiates a curve at a velocity higher than the balance speed.

Modern Uncertainty Quantification Methods in Railroad Vehicle Dynamics

This paper describes the results of the application of Uncertainty Quantification methods to a simple railroad vehicle dynamical example. Uncertainty Quantification methods take the probability distribution of the system parameters that stems from the parameter tolerances into account in the result. In this paper the methods are applied to a low-dimensional vehicle dynamical model composed by a two-axle truck that is connected to a car body by a lateral spring, a lateral damper and a torsional spring, all with linear characteristics. Their characteristics are not deterministically defined, but they are defined by probability distributions. The model — but with deterministically defined parameters — was studied in [1] and [2], and this article will focus on the calculation of the critical speed of the model, when the distribution of the parameters is taken into account. Results of the application of the traditional Monte Carlo sampling method will be compared with the results of the application of advanced Uncertainty Quantification methods [3]. The computational performance and fast convergence that result from the application of advanced Uncertainty Quantification methods is highlighted. Generalized Polynomial Chaos will be presented in the Collocation form with emphasis on the pros and cons of each of those approaches.

On the Contact Search Algorithms for Wheel/Rail Contact Problems

In this investigation, contact search algorithms for the analysis of wheel/rail contact problems are discussed, and the on-line and off-line hybrid contact search method is developed for multibody railroad vehicle dynamics simulations using the elastic contact formulation. In the hybrid algorithm developed in this investigation, the off-line search that can be effectively used for the tread contact is switched to the on-line search when the contact point is jumped to the flange region. In the two-point contact scenarios encountered in curve negotiations, the on-line search is used for both tread and flange contacts to determine the two-point contact configuration. By so doing, contact points on the flange region given by the off-line tabular search are never used, but rather used as an initial estimate for the online iterative procedure for improving the numerical convergence. Furthermore, the continual on-line detection of the second point of contact is replaced with a simple table look-up. It is demonstrated by several numerical examples that include flange climb and curve negotiation scenarios that the proposed hybrid contact search algorithm can be effectively used for modeling wheel/rail contacts in the analysis of general multibody railroad vehicle dynamics.

A Study of the Effect of m and n Coefficients of the Hertzian Contact Theory on Railroad Vehicle Dynamics

For the wheel/rail contact problem, the Hertz theory for two elastic bodies in contact is commonly used to determine the shape and dimensions of the contact area and the local deformation of the wheel and rail surfaces at the contact region. The shape of the contact area is assumed to be elliptical. The ratio of the contact ellipse semi-axes is equal to the ratio of two non-dimensional contact area coefficients, known as m and n coefficients. Hertz presented a table of these two coefficients, determined as a function of an angular parameter, θ. Most railroad vehicle dynamic codes use this table with online interpolation to determine the contact ellipse semi-axes. Recently, it was found that this original table may be too coarse, and that more data points are needed within the table for solving the wheel/rail contact accurately. This paper discusses the effect of the accuracy of the m and n coefficients in solving for wheel/rail contact, and demonstrates this effect with two numerical examples that show the resulting differences in the dynamic behavior of railroad vehicles dependent on this accuracy. A new table with more data points is presented that is recommended for use in railroad vehicle dynamic codes that employ the Hertzian contact for solving the wheel/rail contact interaction. This modified table was originally derived by Jean-Pierre Pascal as a part of collaborative research between the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) and the French Ministry of Transportation.

Rail Geometry and Euler Angles

In railroad vehicle dynamics, Euler angles are often used to describe the track geometry (track centerline and rail space curves). The tangent and curvature vectors as well as local geometric properties such as the curvature and torsion can be expressed in terms of Euler angles. Some of the local geometric properties and Euler angles can be related to measured parameters that are often used to define the track geometry. The Euler angles employed, however, define a coordinate system that may differ from the Frenet frame used in the classical differential geometry. The relationship between the track frame used in railroad vehicle dynamics and the Frenet frame used in the theory of curves is developed in this paper and is used to shed light on some of the formulas and identities used in the geometric description in railroad vehicle dynamics. The conditions under which the two frames (track and Frenet) become equivalent are presented and used to obtain expressions for the curvature and torsion in terms of Euler angles and their derivatives with respect to the arc length.