A new shock absorber model for use in vehicle dynamics studies

摘要

The design of modern railway shock absorbers can be separated into several aspects. The most important of which are geometry, functionality, durability and strength. The functional aspect stands for valve tuning, which nowadays is still laboriously carried out by comparison of measurements on a hydraulic test rig with the requirement of the railway vehicle manufacturer. The requirements of the railway vehicle manufacturer is often different to what can be achieved by the railway shock absorber manufacturers' engineer. Following these measurements, the railway manufacturer has done simulations based on the proposal of the damper manufacturer. Consequently the requirements of the railway manufacturer have been adapted. After changing the requirements of the railway shock absorber, the railway shock absorber manufacturers' engineer will tune the valves again by comparing the measurements on a hydraulic test rig with the changed requirements of the railway manufacturer. As can be seen, the whole tuning process is very time consuming. Furthermore the railway shock absorbers engineers' training is very long and complex, which can be seen as a second disadvantage.