ABSTRACT
Freight cars comprising three-piece bogies are widely used in Australia as they can traverse tracks that are in poor condition, whilst boasting a simplistic construction and subsequent low cost (Hawthorne 1996). The behaviour of these freight cars can be simulated using multibody dynamics, providing a valid alternative to costly and labour intensive physical testing. Simpack is a general, multibody dynamics simulation software that can determine the non-linear motion of any mechanical system. Simpack’s general functionality can be extended with the Simpack Rail module which includes dedicated rail modelling elements that are required for the design of railway vehicles. This paper details a workflow specific to the analysis of freight cars in the rail industry using Simpack. The freight car model developed in this paper includes various friction wedges, secondary spring suspension systems and wheel-track interaction.
