Nonlinear Features of Railway Vehicles in Motion on a Transition Curve with Velocities Around Critical in the Context of Motion Conditions

This paper presents numerical simulation results on the nonlinear features of railway vehicles moving in transition curves at velocities close to the critical velocity​. It examines six objects representing railway vehicles: three 2-axle bogies, two 2-axle freight cars, and a 4-axle passenger car. The paper aims to show how systematic variation of motion conditions, such as initial conditions, vehicle velocity, and curve radius, influences nonlinear features of the vehicle’s dynamics. Results indicate that initial conditions do not affect stable solutions, increasing velocity leads to more systematic patterns of behaviour across straight, circular, and transition curves, while increasing curve radius leads to a partly systematised picture of solutions. The findings also emphasise certain exceptions to these general trends.