Carbody hunting investigation of a high speed passenger car

This paper describes the low frequency carbody hunting problem of a high speed passenger car emerged in the process of tests and service operations. It causes a significant deterioration of lateral comfort. First, the vehicle model is established as a multiple rigid body system. Using root locus analysis, the effect of system parameters on the carbody hunting stability has been studied. It shows that carbody hunting instability has something to do with suspension parameters and wheel/rail conditions. To find the causes of this carbody hunting problem, component tests have been carried out. Based on the theoretical hunting stability analysis and component tests, solutions are proposed and then validated in the field test.