Track/Train Dynamics and Design: Advanced Techniques reviews the progress that has been made in the development and applications of advanced analytical techniques for improving the dynamic stability, safety, and reliability of current generation rail freight vehicle components and track structures. Topics covered range from structural mechanics and stress analysis methods to and material science techniques for the prediction of fracture and wear in railroad applications. The nature of technology transfer from other application areas, notably aerospace, is considered, along with the unique nature of some railroad problems. This book is comprised of 26 chapters and opens with an overview of Phase II of the Cooperative Track-Train Dynamics Program, including its main goals, tasks, and progress. The reader is then introduced to the state Of the art of rail analytical techniques and cost/benefit issues associated with railways and railroad transportation. The following chapters explore body centerplate fatigue cracking; mathematical models for track/train dynamics; wheel and rail wear during freight car curving; and application of advanced stress analysis techniques in the design of freight car components. The application of finite element analysis to the study of railroad wheel failure phenomena is also outlined. This monograph will be a useful resource for transportation and mechanical engineers, especially those dealing with railroads.

Dynamics of Railway Vehicle Systems offers a comprehensive and analytical treatment of the rail-wheel interaction problem and its effect on vehicle dynamics. The development of mathematical models and their applications to dynamic analyses and the design of railway vehicles are discussed. This book consists of 11 chapters and opens with an overview of the background material required to study the dynamics of railway vehicles, with emphasis on analytical techniques used to determine the dynamic response of single- and multiple-degree-of-freedom systems. Numerical solutions of linear and nonlinear dynamic systems are also given, and various problems associated with the dynamic behavior of railway vehicles are addressed. Several mathematical models are proposed to study these problems. The following chapters focus on the wheel-rail rolling contact theories being applied in railway vehicle dynamics problems; modeling of the vehicle and its components on both tangent and curved railroad tracks; and the interaction between railway vehicles and bridges. The final chapter underscores the needs for validating mathematical models that are used to study the dynamic behavior of railway vehicles and train consists. This monograph will be of value to design and research engineers, transportation officials, mathematicians, analysts, and research workers interested in the dynamics of railway vehicle systems.