An Inertial Reference Frame Method for the Simulation of the Effect of Longitudinal Force to the Dynamics of Railway Wheelsets

In the current practice of wagon dynamics simulation, traction and braking forces are seldom considered although such forces modify the wheel-rail contact parameters and hence the wheelset dynamics. On the other hand, whilst the traction and braking forces are considered in the simulation of train and locomotive systems, their lateral dynamics is predominantly disregarded. Therefore, there exists a gap in the knowledge of the effect of the application of the longitudinal forces to the lateral dynamics of wagons; this paper aims at bridging this gap. An inertia reference frame method available in the literature has been extended for the purpose. This paper reports the formulation and presents numerical examples of a single wheelset contained within a bogie frame subjected to longitudinal forces of varying severity. The results have been validated where possible.