ABSTRACT
There has been an increasing interest in the computer modeling of vehicle-track structure dynamic interactions. This chapter reviews several approaches to vehicle-track dynamic modeling. Hierarchies of models are defined based on frequency bandwidth of interest. Problems related to vehicle-track interactions on both railroad and rail transit properties have ranged from the annoying to the catastrophic: events such as rail failures, track panel shift, and track dynamic buckling. Traditionally, railroad operating authorities have considered the wheel-rail contact patch as the limit of their interests. The structure below the contact patch was of concern only to the track maintenance department, civil engineers, and the "dirt and rock" modelers. Vehicle-guideway modeling is by its very nature an abstraction of the infinitely more complex real-world physical problem. The technical issues involved in the modeling of vehicle and track dynamic interactions are multi-faceted.
