ABSTRACT
This paper aims to investigate how uncertainty in railway vehicle suspension components can be treated in the framework of vehicle performance assessment with respect to vehicle dynamics. An approach proposed is to use the stochastic collocation method to analyse the propagation of uncertainty from the parameters input in the vehicle mathematical model to the results of running dynamics. A stochastic vehicle–track coupled dynamics model is developed, in which a typical freight vehicle with three-piece bogies is modelled as a 47-degree-of-freedom multi-body system. By means of the assessment criteria of Sperling index, the effect of single and multiple factors on the running quality of the vehicle–track coupled system is investigated. Results indicate that the possibility of the acceleration over-limit exists, and the synergistic effect and the larger CV will lead to higher probabilities of running quality deterioration.
