Numerical Dynamics Study of a Rail Vehicle with Differential Gears

The rail vehicles' wheels (such as of the metro cars' and the trams') negotiating tight radius curves are prone to premature wear of tread profiles and flanges. Conventional solutions of the running gear may not provide smooth tight curve negotiation in all cases. The improvement of wheel and rail interaction on the low-radius curves is difficult to achieve by means of conventional running gear design and transmission of tractive moment. In search for the solutions to improve interaction of wheel and rail on small radii curves, the numerical study on a tractive rail car equipped with differential gears was carried out. The aim of the study is to investigate dynamic behavior of a rail vehicle with implementation of such a solution and compare it with conventional one.