Abstract
The suspension system of a subway vehicle is composed of $1^{st}$ and $2^{nd}$ springs. The suspension system is the most important parameter in determining the vibration ride comfort. If the $1^{st}$ suspension spring is designed as a spring with strong stiffness to improve the running stability at high speed, it causes vehicle vibrations. In this paper, by testing and analyzing changes of the characteristics of Chevron springs, which have been the primary suspension springs used for about 20 years, we study how changing the characteristics affects vehicle acceleration and ride comfort. The lateral and longitudinal vibrational ride comfort index levels were lower than the vertical ones. Therefore, as increasing the stiffness of Chevron springs has the greatest effect on the vertical vibrational ride comfort index level, a countermeasure for vertical vibration reduction is needed when the stiffness increases owing to aging. Finally, maintenance guidelines, including the replacement time for the Chevron rubber, were proposed based on these findings.
