• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.21 no.5
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• pp.677-686
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• 2018

The structural responses are often used to identify the structural local damages. However, it is usually difficult to gain the responses of the track, as the sensors cannot be installed on the track directly. The vehicles running on a track excite track vibration and can also serve as response receivers because the vehicle dynamic response contains the vibration information of the track. A damage identification method using the vehicle responses and sensitivity analysis is proposed for the vehicle-track coupling system in this paper. Different from most damage identification methods of vehicle-track coupling system, which require the structural responses, only the vehicle responses are required in the proposed method. The local damages are identified by a sensitivity-based model updating process. In the vehicle-track coupling system, the track is modeled as a discrete point supported Euler-Bernoulli beam, and two vehicle models are proposed to investigate the accuracy and efficiency of damage identification. The measured track irregularity is considered in the calculation of vehicle dynamic responses. The measurement noises are also considered to study their effects to the damage identification results. The identified results demonstrate that the proposed method is capable to identify the local damages of the track accurately in different noise levels with only the vehicle responses.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.75 no.4
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• pp.519-527
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• 2020

Dynamic analysis of a vehicle-track coupling system is important to structural design, damage detection and condition assessment of the structural system. Deterministic analysis of the vehicle-track coupling system has been extensively studied in the past, however, the structural parameters of the coupling system have uncertainties in engineering practices. It is essential to treat the parameters of the vehicle-track coupling system with consideration of uncertainties. In this paper, a method for predicting the bounds of the vehicle-track coupling system responses with uncertain parameters is presented. The uncertain system parameters are modeled as fuzzy variables instead of conventional random variables with known probability distributions. Then, the dynamic response functions of the coupling system are transformed into a component function based on the high dimensional representation approximation. The Lagrange interpolation method is used to approximate the component function. Finally, the bounds of the system's dynamic responses can be predicted by using Monte Carlo method for the interpolation polynomials of the Lagrange interpolation function. A numerical example is introduced to illustrate the ability of the proposed method to predict the bounds of the system's dynamic responses, and the results are compared with the direct Monte Carlo method. The results show that the proposed method is effective and efficient to predict the bounds of the system's dynamic responses with fuzzy variables.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.80 no.5
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• pp.491-501
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• 2021

A difference in subgrade settlement between two rails of a track manifests as lateral differential subgrade settlement. This settlement causes unsteadiness in the motion of trains passing through the corresponding area. To illustrate the effect of lateral differential subgrade settlement on the dynamic response of a vehicle-track coupling system, a three-dimensional vehicle-track-subgrade coupling model was formulated by combining the vehicle-track dynamics theory and the finite element method. The wheel/rail force, car body acceleration, and derailment factor are chosen as evaluation indices of the system dynamic response. The effects of the amplitude and wavelength of lateral differential subgrade settlement as well as the driving speed of the vehicle are analyzed. The study reveals the following: The dynamic responses of the vehicle-track system generally increase linearly with the driving speed when the train passes through a lateral subgrade settlement area. The wheel/rail force acting on a rail with a large settlement exceeds that on a rail with a small settlement. The dynamic responses of the vehicle-track system increase with the amplitude of the lateral differential subgrade settlement. For a 250-km/h train speed, the proposed maximum amplitude for a lateral differential settlement with a wavelength of 20 m is 10 mm. The dynamic responses of the vehicle-track system decrease with an increase in the wavelength of the lateral differential subgrade settlement. To achieve a good operation quality of a train at a 250-km/h driving speed, the wavelength of a lateral differential subgrade settlement with an amplitude of 20 mm should not be less than 15 m. Monitoring lateral differential settlements should be given more emphasis in routine high-speed railway maintenance and repairs.

• Wind and Structures
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• v.27 no.6
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• pp.399-416
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• 2018

In order to reveal the independent relationship between track irregularity and wind loads, the stochastic characteristics of train-bridge coupling systems subjected to wind loads were investigated by the multi-sample calculation. The vehicle was selected as 23 degrees of freedom dynamical model, and the bridge was described by three-dimensional finite element model. It was assumed that the wind loads were random processes with strong spatial correlation, while the track irregularities were stationary random ones. As a case study, a high-speed train running on a cable-stayed bridge subjected to wind loads was studied. The effect of rail irregularities was deemed to be independent of the effect of wind excitations on the coupling system in the same wind circumstance for the same project, leading to the conclusion that the effect of wind loads and moving vehicle could be calculated separately. The variance results of the stochastic responses of vehicle-bridge coupling system under the action of wind loads and rail irregularities together were equivalent to the sum of the variance of the responses induced by each excitation. Therefore, when one of the input excitations is different, only the effect of changed loads needs to be assessed. Moreover, the new calculated results were combined with the effect of unchanged loads to present the stochastic response of coupling system subjected to the different excitations, reducing the cost of computations. The stochastic characteristics, the CFD (cumulative distribution function) of the coupling system with different wind velocities, vehicle speed, and vehicle marshalling were studied likewise.

• Advances in aircraft and spacecraft science
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.1-18
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• 2023

This paper investigates the integrated control of an air-breathing hypersonic vehicle considering the safety of propulsion system under acceleration. First, the vehicle/engine coupling model that contains a control-oriented vehicle model and a quasi-one-dimensional dual-mode scramjet model is established. Next, the coupling process of the integrated control system is introduced in detail. Based on the coupling model, the integrated control framework is studied and an integrated control system including acceleration command generator, vehicle attitude control loop and engine multivariable control loop is discussed. Then, the effectiveness and superiority of the integrated control system are verified through the comparison of normal case and limiting case of an air-breathing hypersonic scramjet coupling model. Finally, the main results show that under normal acceleration case and limiting acceleration case, the integrated control system can track the altitude and speed of the vehicle extremely well and adjust the angle deflection of elevator to offset the thrust moment to maintain the attitude stability of the vehicle, while assigning the two-stage fuel equivalent ratio to meet the thrust performance and safety margin of the engine. Meanwhile, the high-acceleration requirement of the air-breathing hypersonic vehicle makes the propulsion system operating closer to the extreme dangerous conditions. The above contents demonstrate that considering the propulsion system safety will make integrated control system more real and meaningful.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Railway
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• v.10 no.2 s.39
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• pp.243-250
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• 2007

In general the Maglev vehicle is run over the elevated track called guideway. Since the guideway is elevated, the flexibility of the guideway has an effect on the dynamic responses of a vehicle such as its stability and ride quality. To improve the running performance of the Maglev vehicle and design a cost effective guideway using the dynamic analysis, the dynamic analysis of the system requires the coupling model of the Maglev vehicle and guideway. A coupling model based on multibody dynamics is proposed and programmed. With the program, the UTM01, a low speed Maglev vehicle, is analyzed and discussed.

• Interaction and multiscale mechanics
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• v.3 no.4
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• pp.333-342
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• 2010

The Pseudo-Excitation Method (PEM) is applied to study the stochastic space vibration responses of train-bridge coupling system. Each vehicle is modeled as a four-wheel mass-spring-damper system with two layers of suspension system possessing 15 degrees-of- freedom. The bridge is modeled as a spatial beam element, and the track irregularity is assumed to be a uniform random process. The motion equations of the vehicle system are established based on the d'Alembertian principle, and the motion equations of the bridge system are established based on the Hamilton variational principle. Separate iteration is applied in the solution of equations. Comparisons with the Monte Carlo simulations show the effectiveness and satisfactory accuracy of the proposed method. The PSD of the 3-span simply-supported girder bridge responses, vehicle responses and wheel/rail forces are obtained. Based on the $3{\sigma}$ rule for Gaussian stochastic processes, the maximum responses of the coupling system are suggested.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.75 no.4
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• pp.497-506
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• 2020

CA mortar layer disengagement will give rise to the overall structural changes of the track and variation in the vibration form of the ballastless track. By establishing a vehicle-track-viaduct coupling analysis and calculation model, it is possible to analyze the CRTS-I type track structure vibration response while the track slab is disengaging with the power flow evaluation method, to compare the two disengaging types, namely partial contact loss at one edge beneath track slab and partial contact loss at midpoint beneath track slab. It can also study how the length of disengaging influences the track structures vibration power. It is showed that when the partial contact loss beneath track slab, and the relative vibration energy level between the rail and the track slab increases significantly within [10, 200]Hz with the same disengaging length, the partial contact loss at one edge beneath track slab has more prominent influence on the vibration power than the partial contact loss at midpoint beneath track slab. With the increase of disengaging length, the relative vibration energy level of the track slab grows sharply, but it will change significantly when it reaches 1.56 m. Little effect will be caused by the relative vibration energy level of the viaduct. The partial contact loss beneath the track slab will cause more power distribution and transmission between the trail and track slab, and will then affect the service life of the rail and track slab.

• International journal of steel structures
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• v.18 no.5
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• pp.1617-1630
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• 2018

The crucial differences between conventional rail with split-type connectors and continuous welded rails are axial stress in the longitudinal direction and stability, as well as other issues generated under the influence of loading effects. Longitudinal stresses generated in continuously welded rails on railway bridges are strongly influenced by the nonlinear behavior of the supporting system comprising sleepers and ballasts. Thus, the track structure interaction cannot be neglected. The rail-support system mentioned above has properties of non-uniform material distribution and uncertainty of construction quality. The linear elastic hypothesis therefore cannot correctly evaluate the stress distribution within the rails. The aim of this study is to apply the nonlinear finite element method using the nonlinear coupling interface between the track and structural model and to illustrate the welded rail behavior under the loading effect and uncertain factors of the ballast. Numerical results of nonlinear finite analysis with a three-dimensional solid and frame element model are presented for a typical track-bridge system. A composite plate girder, modeled by solid and shell elements, is also analyzed to consider the behavior of the welded rail. The analysis result showed buckling under the independent calculations of load cases, including 'temperature change', 'bending of the supporting structure', and 'braking' of the railway vehicle. A parametric study of the load combination method and the loading sequence is also included in this analysis.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.47 no.1
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• pp.91-102
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• 2023

To study the evaluation standard and control limit of mortar filling layer void length, in this paper, the train sub-model was developed by MATLAB and the track-bridge sub-model considering the mortar filling layer void was established by ANSYS. The two sub-models were assembled into a train-track-bridge coupling dynamic model through the wheel-rail contact relationship, and the validity was corroborated by the coupling dynamic model with the literature model. Considering the randomness of fastening stiffness, mortar elastic modulus, length of mortar filling layer void, and pier settlement, the test points were designed by the Box-Behnken method based on Design-Expert software. The coupled dynamic model was calculated, and the support vector regression (SVR) nonlinear mapping model of the wheel-rail system was established. The learning, prediction, and verification were carried out. Finally, the reliable probability of the amplification coefficient distribution of the response index of the train and structure in different ranges was obtained based on the SVR nonlinear mapping model and Latin hypercube sampling method. The limit of the length of the mortar filling layer void was, thus, obtained. The results show that the SVR nonlinear mapping model developed in this paper has a high fitting accuracy of 0.993, and the computational efficiency is significantly improved by 99.86%. It can be used to calculate the dynamic response of the wheel-rail system. The length of the mortar filling layer void significantly affects the wheel-rail vertical force, wheel weight load reduction ratio, rail vertical displacement, and track plate vertical displacement. The dynamic response of the track structure has a more significant effect on the limit value of the length of the mortar filling layer void than the dynamic response of the vehicle, and the rail vertical displacement is the most obvious. At 250 km/h - 350 km/h train running speed, the limit values of grade I, II, and III of the lengths of the mortar filling layer void are 3.932 m, 4.337 m, and 4.766 m, respectively. The results can provide some reference for the long-term service performance reliability of the ballastless track-bridge system of HRS.