ABSTRACT
ABSTRACT: Railway pneumatic suspensions must meet two opposite targets: a high roll stiffness in curves and a low resistance in twist motions. In order to meet this compromise as far as possible, the present paper investigates new pneumatic circuit topologies inspired by the principle of cross-connected suspensions. The proposed improvements are assessed on the basis of a multibody-pneumatic computer model of the train. The first solution consists in replacing the mechanical anti-roll bar of the classic 2-point configuration with double acting cylinders. It reduces the wheel unloading in track twist while keeping equivalent curving performances. Nevertheless, the regulation of the additional circuits increases the design complexity. The second solution starts from the classic 4-point topology and add pneumatic muscles which, combined to classical air cushions, produces a similar effect as double acting cylinders. Though the benefits are less significant than for the first approach, the main advantage is that muscles are connected to the existing pneumatic circuit.
