Evaluation of Ride Comfort in Railway Vehicle Due to Vibration Exposure

Abstract

Air spring is one of the important components in the modern railway vehicle, which affects passenger comfort. It comprises both stiffness and damping and placed between the bogie and car body. The main function of air spring is to isolate vibration, which transmits from bogie frame to car body. Deep knowledge is essential in order to study the influence of the parameters on the comfort. The vertical stiffness of air spring is calculated from force–displacement hysteresis loop, and the influences of stiffness at different frequencies are estimated for different preloada. Finally, comfort felt by the passengers is calculated by Sperling’s ride comfort for both straight and curved tracks. For better performance, optimization of preload along with the effective area of air spring is necessary.