Effects of wheel/rail friction coefficient on dynamic responses of trains passing through branch lines of turnouts

The turnout is a weak area for dynamic performance of vehicles. To investigate the effect of wheel/rail friction coefficient on the dynamic responses of a vehicle passing the turnout branch, a wagon-turnout coupled dynamic model was developed based on the vehicle-track coupled dynamics theory. Cases in which the wheel/rail coefficient of inner rail was equal and unequal to the outer were considered. The results show that when vehicle passes the switch, the lateral force and derailment coefficient of the wheels increases as the friction coefficient increases; the smaller the friction coefficient, the larger undulation amplitude of the car body vibration acceleration; when the friction coefficient of inner rail is smaller than the outer, the safety and stability of the vehicle can be effectively improved.