The effect of yaw damper performance degradation on carbody hunting of high-speed trains

Abstract

The yaw damper is an integral and pivotal component in guaranteeing the carbody hunting stability of high-speed trains (HSTs). However, it is reported that the occurring incidences of low-frequency carbody hunting frequently have been observed in HSTs, a predicament attributed to the degradation of yaw damper performance resulting from the obstruction of the damping valve by foreign particulates. Given these circumstances, the objective of this study is to investigate the impact of yaw damper performance degradation on the intricate phenomenon of carbody hunting motion. A HST dynamic model is developed, incorporating a detailed physical parameter model of the yaw damper, which enables the reproduction of abnormal low-frequency swaying arising from the deterioration in yaw damper performance. The findings of this study demonstrate that the obstruction of the damping valve significantly augments the damping force and dynamic stiffness of the yaw damper, thereby potentially instigating the occurrence of severe low-frequency hunting motion and consequent deterioration in the ride comfort of HSTs.

KEYWORDS:

• High-speed train
• hunting stability
• yaw damper
• nonlinear modelling
• performance degradation

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank all the staff members and students involved in the experimental tests of this study from the CRRC Changchun Railway Car Co., Ltd., and State Key Laboratory of Rail Transit Vehicle System at Southwest Jiaotong University, China.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship and/or publication of this article: the National Natural Science Foundation of China [grant number 52388102, U2268210, 52072317], and the State Key Laboratory of Rail Transit Vehicle System [Grant number 2024RVL-T12].