ANALYSIS AND MODIFICATION OF RAILWAY SUSPENSION SYSTEM

OBJECTIVE: To reduce the lateral as well as vertical vibration caused in the suspension system of central railways.

SYNOPSIS: There are two important functions of a suspension system. 1. To prevent the road track) vibrations from reaching the passengers. 2. To keep the wheel on track and prevent it from derailing. To perform these functions there are two suspension suspensions namely primary and secondary. The bogie is lowered onto the secondary suspension mounted onto the trolley. The secondary suspension can be of air type or coil spring type. The former is used on local trains while the later is used in express trains. The load on the secondary suspension is transferred to the trolley frame from where it is transferred to the primary suspension and then to wheels on the track. Similarly whenever there is vibration or vertical acceleration, the vibration from the wheels is transferred o the primary suspension, then to the trolley frame, then to the secondary suspension and finally to the bogie. The vibration is damped at every stage of its transfer. In addition to this the trolley also contains lateral damper to reduce the lateral vibrations. The current problem by the railways is that as the speed increases the vibration, both lateral and vertical increases and beyond certain speed which is as low as 60 kmph the vibrations become intense and the passengers begin to experience jerk causing uneasiness. Sometimes sudden jerk may cause the passenger to lose balance and get injured. In order to reduce this tendency we will analyze the existing design and make some modifications to reduce the weight without compromising strength and also increase the amount of energy dissipated the damper to reduce the energy transferred to the bogie.

FEATURES: Reduce the overall vibration thus improving the ride quality and passenger comfort.