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International Journal of Railway Technology
ISSN 2049-5358
IJRT, Volume 2, Issue 2, 2013
An Analytical Study of Derailed Vehicle Motion from Wheel-Sleeper Impacts
H. Sunami1, Y. Termichi2 and M. Adachi1

1Technology Research and Development Department (Komaki), General Technology Division, Central Japan Railway Company, Nagoya, Japan
2Department of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Faculty of Science and Technology, Sophia University, Tokyo, Japan

Full Bibliographic Reference for this paper
H. Sunami, Y. Termichi, M. Adachi, "An Analytical Study of Derailed Vehicle Motion from Wheel-Sleeper Impacts", International Journal of Railway Technology, 2(2), 35-63, 2013. doi:10.4203/ijrt.2.2.2
Keywords: railway, vehicle dynamics, running test, derailment, impact.

Abstract
In order to enhance the safety of the Tokaido Shinkansen (one of Japan's high speed trains) against earthquakes, the authors have developed the post-derailment stopper which is attached to the bogie frame and prevents deviation of a derailed vehicle. For development and evaluation of the stopper, we conducted running tests using real bogies and tracks for the Tokaido Shinkansen under derailment conditions. When conducting a theoretical evaluation of the stopper, it is necessary to analyze the motion of a derailed bogie. When taking the motion of a derailed vehicle into consideration, the impact between the wheel and sleeper is one of the most important issues. We developed a vehicle model which addresses derailment conditions, including wheel-sleeper impact. With regard to the relationship between the wheel and sleeper, we modeled three cases based on full-scale running tests under derailment conditions: (1) when the wheel damages the sleeper; (2) when the wheel runs on the sleeper surface; and (3) when the wheel jumps over the sleeper. In our model, the damage to the sleeper is represented simply by the spring and damper. The validity of this model has been evaluated by comparing the calculated results with the measured data. In this paper, we use this model to clarify the relationships between the wheel and sleeper damage which we observed during running tests, as well as to clarify the characteristics of vertical motion of a derailed bogie in regard to vehicle speed.

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