Rubber suspensions’ lateral vibration reduction of under-vehicle masses and some influential factors

For high-speed rail vehicles, the under-vehicle mass rubber suspension is crucial for lateral vibration damping, primarily influenced by the equivalent vibrating mass and lateral resonance. In advanced bogie designs, such as the ICE3 series, the high-frequency anti-hunting impedance between the vehicle body and running gear has become a significant factor, exacerbating the first-order lateral bending mode of the lower vehicle body. This mode negatively affects the vehicle’s 30-year service life. During a 300 km/h summer operation test of a high-cold train, the three-directional dynamic stiffness of the rubber suspension was determined via inverse deduction from acceleration measurements. However, dynamic deflection derived from double integration of relative acceleration showed cumulative errors, leading to inconsistent low-frequency stiffness. To address these issues, optimizing both the bogie configuration and the rubber suspension parameters is essential.