Pneumatic train brake simulation method

The design of new pneumatic brakes for rail vehicles or improvements of existing ones can be made better or more efficient by the use of a simulation method. This paper gives a general presentation of the author's modelling methods used for solving problems relating to railway pneumatic brakes. The brake models in this paper (slightly different from those of other authors) take into account air-wave phenomena including air viscosity, the influence of the brake pipe branches, heat transfer in the brake pipes and reservoirs, air flows in the brake valves and the dynamics of moving mechanical parts. For various simulation purposes, separate partial models with different levels of accuracy were created. Various verifications and identifications of the models were performed with the use of train brake testing facilities, including both in-house and other test stands. A variety of examples of simulation results are presented here.