Steady-state response and riding comfort of trains moving over a series of simply supported bridges

This paper deals with the 2D steady-state response and riding comfort of a train moving over a series of simply supported railway bridges, together with the impact response of the rails and bridges. The dynamic response of the vehicle-rails-bridge interaction system is solved by a condensation technique developed previously. For the moving train to achieve the steady-state response, a bridge segment consisting of a minimal number of units should be considered. Track irregularity with random nature is considered through use of a power spectral density (PSD) function. The steady-state response of the train, rails and bridges, together with the fast Fourier transform (FFT) of the response, are computed and discussed. The impact responses of the rails and bridges under different train speeds are investigated using the impact factors. The maximum response of the train caused by the train-rail-bridge resonance is identified. Finally, the riding comfort of the trains moving over tracks of different classes of irregularities is assessed using Sperling's ride index. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.