Abstract: The study of nonlinear oscillations and chaos of a railway
freight car is undertaken. The vehicle is considered as a
multiple rigid-body system with 9 degrees of freedom. The
vehicle forward speed is taken as the control parameter of the
system. Hopf bifurcation point, limit cycles, quasiperiodic and
chaotic motions of the system are computed by use of numerical
methods. The identification of periodic, quasiperiodic and
chaotic motions of the system is carried out by using the
methods of phase plane protrait and Poincare map. Numerical
results show that chaotic motion appears via the route of
quasiperiodicity when the vehicle runs over a certain speed.
Key words: Railway
vehicle Vibration Bifurcation Chaos
Manuscript received on
July 11, 1997; revised manuscript October 29, 1997
|