<p>The link suspension is the most prevailing suspension system for freight wagons in central and western Europe. The system design is simple and has existed for more than 100 years. However, still its characteristics are not fully understood. This thesis emphasizes freight wagon dynamics and comprises three parts:</p><p>In the first part a review of freight wagon running gear is made. The different suspension systems are described and their advantages and disadvantages are discussed. The review covers the running gear standardized by UIC and the conventional so-called three-piece bogie. Additionally five improved three-piece bogies and twelve novel running gear designs are presented.</p><p>The second part focuses on the lateral force-displacement characteristics in the link suspension. Results from stationary measurements on freight wagons and laboratory tests of the link suspension characteristics are presented. To improve understanding of the various mechanisms and phenomena in link suspension systems a simulation model is developed. Link suspension systems have strongly nonlinear characteristics including a hysteresis loop. The loop exhibits usually three characteristic sections with different tangential stiffnesses. The actual contact geometry of the links and end bearings has a significant influence on the characteristics. By wear in ordinary service - as well as by geometric tolerances on new components - the contact geometry may deviate considerably from nominal geometry. Further, it seems that elastic deformation in the contact surfaces has considerable effects on the suspension characteristics, in particular on the initial rolling stiffness for small displacements. Also, flexibilities in links and end bearings influence the characteristics. It is also observed that new components after a short period of dynamic testing can exhibit a very low amount of energy dissipation, a phenomenon that is also indicated in some stationary measurements on wagons.</p><p>To summarize the second part, it appears that the link suspension characteristics are very sensitive to several factors being hard to control in the real world of freight wagon operations. The various stiffnesses and hysteresis loops have a considerable variation and may have a strong influence on the ride qualities of vehicles. As long as the characteristics can not be controlled within closer limits than found in this study, there is a strong need for sensitivity analysis to be made, both in predictive multibody simulations of vehicle dynamics, as well as in verification and acceptance tests.</p><p>In the third part a study on the possibility to improve ride qualities of freight wagons with link suspensions is presented. Parametric studies with multibody dynamic simulations on freight wagons equipped with link-suspension bogies are performed. The effect of supplementary friction and hydraulic damping is investigated under various running conditions: speed, loading, tangent and curved track, wheel-rail contact geometry, track gauge and track irregularities. Substantial improvements of the lateral running behaviour of wagons with link suspension bogies can be achieved - both at ordinary speeds and at increased speeds - by using a proper combination of supplementary hydraulic dampers. Speeds up to 160 km/h could be realistic.</p>

The link suspension is the most prevailing suspension system for freight wagons in central and western Europe. The system design is simple and has existed for more than 100 years. However, still its characteristics are not fully understood. This thesis emphasizes freight wagon dynamics and comprises three parts: In the first part a review of freight wagon running gear is made. The different suspension systems are described and their advantages and disadvantages are discussed. The review covers the running gear standardized by UIC and the conventional so-called three-piece bogie. Additionally five improved three-piece bogies and twelve novel running gear designs are presented. The second part focuses on the lateral force-displacement characteristics in the link suspension. Results from stationary measurements on freight wagons and laboratory tests of the link suspension characteristics are presented. To improve understanding of the various mechanisms and phenomena in link suspension systems a simulation model is developed. Link suspension systems have strongly nonlinear characteristics including a hysteresis loop. The loop exhibits usually three characteristic sections with different tangential stiffnesses. The actual contact geometry of the links and end bearings has a significant influence on the characteristics. By wear in ordinary service - as well as by geometric tolerances on new components - the contact geometry may deviate considerably from nominal geometry. Further, it seems that elastic deformation in the contact surfaces has considerable effects on the suspension characteristics, in particular on the initial rolling stiffness for small displacements. Also, flexibilities in links and end bearings influence the characteristics. It is also observed that new components after a short period of dynamic testing can exhibit a very low amount of energy dissipation, a phenomenon that is also indicated in some stationary measurements on wagons. To summarize the second part, it appears that the link suspension characteristics are very sensitive to several factors being hard to control in the real world of freight wagon operations. The various stiffnesses and hysteresis loops have a considerable variation and may have a strong influence on the ride qualities of vehicles. As long as the characteristics can not be controlled within closer limits than found in this study, there is a strong need for sensitivity analysis to be made, both in predictive multibody simulations of vehicle dynamics, as well as in verification and acceptance tests. In the third part a study on the possibility to improve ride qualities of freight wagons with link suspensions is presented. Parametric studies with multibody dynamic simulations on freight wagons equipped with link-suspension bogies are performed. The effect of supplementary friction and hydraulic damping is investigated under various running conditions: speed, loading, tangent and curved track, wheel-rail contact geometry, track gauge and track irregularities. Substantial improvements of the lateral running behaviour of wagons with link suspension bogies can be achieved - both at ordinary speeds and at increased speeds - by using a proper combination of supplementary hydraulic dampers. Speeds up to 160 km/h could be realistic.

The link suspension is the most prevailing suspension system for freight wagons in Central and Western Europe. The system design is simple and has existed for more than 100 years. However, still its characteristics are not fully understood. This thesis investigates the dynamic performance of freight wagons and comprises five parts: In the first part a review of freight wagon running gear is made. The different suspension systems are described and their advantages and disadvantages are discussed. The second part focuses on the lateral force-displacement characteristics of the link suspension. Results from stationary measurements on freight wagons and laboratory tests of the link suspension characteristics are presented. To improve the understanding of various mechanisms and phenomena in link suspension systems, a simulation model is developed. In the third part the multibody dynamic simulation model is discussed. The previous freight wagon model developed at KTH is able to explain many of the phenomena observed in tests. In some cases, however, simulated and measured running behaviour differ. Therefore, a new simulation model is presented and validated against on-track test results. The performance of standard two-axle freight wagons is investigated. The most important parameters for the running behaviour of the vehicle are the suspension characteristics. The variation in characteristics between different wagons is large due to geometrical tolerances of the components, wear, corrosion, moisture or other lubrication. The influence of the variation in suspension characteristics and other parameters on the behaviour of the wagon, on tangent track and in curves, is discussed. Finally, suggestions for improvements of the system are made. A majority of the traffic related track deterioration cost originates from freight traffic. With heavier and faster freight trains the maintenance cost is likely to increase. In the fourth part the possibility to improve ride comfort and reduce track forces on standard freight wagons with link suspension is discussed. The variation of characteristics in link suspension running gear is considerable and unfavourable conditions leading to hunting are likely to occur. Supported by on-track tests and multibody dynamic simulations, it is concluded that the running behaviour of two-axled wagons with UIC double-link suspension as well as wagons with link suspension bogies (G-type) can be improved when the running gear are equipped with supplementary hydraulic dampers. Finally in the fifth part the effects of different types of running gear and operational conditions on the track deterioration marginal cost — in terms of settlement in the ballast, component fatigue, wear and RCF — is investigated. Considerable differences in track deterioration cost per produced ton-km for the different types of running gear are observed. Axle load is an important parameter for settlement and component fatigue. Also the height of centre of gravity has significant influence on track deterioration, especially on track sections with high cant deficiency or cant excess. / QC 20100802