Enabling the optimisation of the primary suspension with passive components for an industrial railway vehicle model

The use of inerters in the lateral suspension of railway vehicles has been proven, in recent studies using lumped mass models, to provide benefits to both track wear and passenger comfort. Validation of these enhancements using an industry standard simulation tool is essential if the railway industry is going to adopt this new piece of technology. The problems associated with this, however, come in the form of large numerical matrices, slow inversion times, and the inability to perform systematic investigations of candidate vibration absorber configurations. This paper proposes a Location Matrix method of simulation which enables the optimisation of interchangeable suspension networks within large dynamic systems. This method, which requires only the base M, C and K matrices, is validated on a simple system, and it is found that for railway vehicles, optimisations on semi-linearised models can be performed. Nonlinearities arising from the varying contact patch normal force mean that further research is needed before a full analysis can take place.