When the speed of a rail vehicle is increased, ride comfort is normally negatively affected. The suspensions of the vehicle have to be modified in order to compensate for the amplified vibrations in the carbody. However, the possibilities of improvement by means of conventional passive damping will eventually reach a limit. Therefore, active suspension technology in rail vehicles is considered to be an alternative solution, since it offers better options of improving the vehicle’s dynamic performance compared to conventional passive solutions.
Although previous research has been performed concerning concepts of combined active lateral and vertical secondary suspension – by replacing the lateral and vertical dampers with actuators – no such concept known to the authors has been introduced for service implementation.
This paper presents an active secondary suspension concept used to simultaneously improve lateral and vertical ride comfort. In the first phase of the research project, focus was on an active secondary suspension concept in the lateral direction (ALS), including dynamic and quasi-static lateral control of the carbody. Simulations were validated against running tests, showing significant ride comfort improvements. The ALS system will soon be taken into service operation.
In the next phase of the project, simulations were performed with the active suspension device in the vertical direction (AVS), including dynamic vertical and quasi-static roll control of the carbody. The simulations performed with the AVS system indicated significant ride comfort improvements compared to the passive system.
In the final phase of the project, the ALS and AVS systems are combined. Simulation results show that the active system significantly improves lateral and vertical ride comfort compared to a passive system. Further, by means of the quasi-static roll control of the carbody, higher speeds in curves can be allowed without negatively affecting ride comfort. Moreover, the active suspension concept reduces the influence on ride comfort caused by the air spring stiffness. This means that the total air spring volume can be reduced.