Adaptability Analysis of Composite Radial Mechanisms in Metro Vehicles

Setting up radial mechanisms was the main measure to solve the contradiction between serpentine stability and curve passing performance of railway vehicles. However, the conventional lever-type forced-guided steering rack operated in a low-equivalent taper state, where the presence of the linkage exacerbated the vehicle's primary-hunting, which in turn led to a decrease in vehicle stability. Aiming at the above-mentioned defects of the traditional lever-type forced-guided bogie, a com posite radial mechanism was proposed. This radial mechanism enabled the vehicle to operate in small radius curves with the function of forced guidance, and the vehicle operated in large radius curves or straight lines so that the function of forced guidance was invalidated, thus the shortcomings of the traditional forced-guided bogies were overcome. Based on the working principle of the composite radial mechanisms, the numerical simulation model and control module of the mechanisms were established. Then MATLAB/Simulink was used to jointly simulate the numerical models of the composite radial mechanisms and the dynamics models of the subway vehicles to study the effects on the dynamics performance of the vehicle systems. Then the results were verified by bench testing. The results show that the composite hydraulic radial mechanisms ensure the vehicle has good curve passing performance, and greatly improves the stability of the vehicles. © 2024 Chinese Mechanical Engineering Society. All rights reserved.