Mass splitting of train wheels in the numerical analysis of high speed train-track interactions

We demonstrate that the dynamic simulation of a vehicle moving on a track requires the correct mass distribution in the wheel-rail system. A wheel travelling on a rail should be modelled as a pair of masses coupled as a double mass oscillator. One of the masses is attached to the rail and carries the moving inertial load, while the second one is treated classically, being connected to the rail only through an elastic spring. This model is called the 'mass splitting model'. The classical approach overestimates the accelerations by a factor of 10. The presented method produces displacements and velocities which agree well with the results of a precise finite element method and with measurements. Some real-life problems of a vehicle moving on a track at high speed are solved numerically by own computer program and the results are compared with measurements and with the solutions obtained using other codes.