Application of a Vehicle Dynamic Simulator to Improve Train Ride Comfort of Tokaido Shinkansen

摘要

Evaluating ride comfort using a simulator has several advantages over a running test using a test vehicle on a revenue service line. These include the ability to run a sufficient number of tests, repeating tests under the same conditions and setting severe conditions that are impractical on a revenue service line. The simulator not only reproduces the vibrations of a test vehicle, it can recreate virtual vibrations and can be used as a post-processor after the simulation. Our simulator contains a linear motion system that reproduces stationary lateral acceleration on curves, which is suited to evaluate ride comfort on curved sections. As shown, this simulator has ample merits, but few examples of applications. We look forward with anticipation to its further development. In the meanwhile, this paper will present several studies in which we used the simulator to evaluate ride comfort on curved sections. The purpose is to demonstrate the benefits of using the simulator to improve the comfort of riding on the Tokaido Shinkansen.