Title page for ETD etd-402515359721531


Type of Document Master's Thesis
Author DeLorenzo, Michael
Author's Email Address mdeloren@vt.edu
URN etd-402515359721531
Title NUCARS Modeling of a Freight Locomotive with Steerable Trucks
Degree Master of Science
Department Mechanical Engineering
Advisory Committee
Advisor Name Title
Mehdi Ahmadian Committee Chair
Harry H. Robertshaw none
Norman S. Eiss none
Keywords
  • NUCARS
  • locomotive
  • steerable
  • trucks
  • bogies
  • parametric
Date of Defense 1997-05-20
Availability unrestricted
Abstract
The rail dynamics modeling package

NUCARS has been used extensively to model

freight cars. We have found that it can also be

used effectively to model freight locomotives.

This thesis discusses the development of a

NUCARS model to represent a six-axle freight

locomotive equipped with steerable trucks.

This includes separating it into a set of

individual bodies, representing the suspension

components as inter-body connections, and

validation of the computer model. This model is

then used to conduct a study of the impact on

tangent track stability and curving performance

of varying suspension parameters. It is found

that the presence of damping in the system

improves hunting stability, while increasing

wheel conicity is harmful to stability and varying

the flexicoiling stiffness has little effect. In

curving, the clearances between the axles and

truck frame are very important. Limiting these

clearances in the steerable truck causes it to

curve similar to a conventional straight

locomotive truck and increases both the track

force ratios and angles of attack. Increasing the

wheel conicity increases an axle's tendency to

align with the track and improves the

locomotive's curving performance. The lateral

stiffness of the inter-axle links and inter-motor

links has little effect on the curving of the

locomotive.

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