Investigation to suppress bending vibration of railway vehicle carbodies using piezoelectric elements

Abstract

The goal of this study is to reduce the bending vibration of railway vehicles by applying a vibration suppression technique that utilizes piezoelectric elements electrically shunted by an external circuit. This paper presents an investigation that uses a scale model of a Shinkansen vehicle about 5m long. Small pieces of piezoelectric elements are bonded to its floor structure and electrically connected to a shunt circuit featuring a design based on a newly proposed method. The results of excitation tests show that the bending vibration of the carbody can be reduced successfully.