Wagon dynamics from a combination of faults and external forces

The combination of defects and external forces influencing and acting on a running wagon raises a significant issue regarding the safety of operation. The studies performed in this area are commonly limited to one or two factors, and often present results taking these factors into account separately. This does not provide a comprehensive understanding of the response of the dynamic systems and it may be nonconservative to describe wagon dynamics by analysing results without the consideration of combined effects of wind, lateral coupler force, curving and track irregularities. The wagon dynamics behaviour assessment is generally relied on for the estimation of the fundamental parameters required for making a conclusion onsafety acceptance. Due to the presence of a great number of input parameters, a special methodology has been developed for the study of wagon behaviour using appropriate multibody simulation packages. This paper proposes a methodology generally based on the existing Australian Standard (AS7509) safety limits to find the acceptable operational range of rail vehicle reaction. A worked example of the application of the developed methodology has been presented to analyse mineral wagon behaviour during heavy haul train operations.