Target-band parameter selection for rail vibration absorbers in short-pitch rail corrugation suppression

Short-pitch rail corrugation in small-radius metro curves is governed by a frequency-dependent feedback process involving wheel–rail dynamic force, creep fluctuation and non-uniform wear. Rail vibration absorbers (RVAs) are commonly designed according to nominal track resonances, but these resonances do not necessarily coincide with the frequency band responsible for corrugation growth. This study proposes a target-band parameter-selection framework for RVAs, in which the absorber parameters are determined according to the local corrugation-development band rather than a single structural resonance. A periodic track model with installed RVAs is coupled with a frequency-domain wheel–rail interaction and wear-evolution model, enabling rail receptance, track decay rate, wheel–rail force fluctuation and roughness growth to be evaluated within a unified analytical framework. The effects of tuning frequency, participating mass and damping loss factor are systematically investigated for 20–50 mm short-pitch corrugation. For a representative 40 mm corrugation case at 60 km/h, the dominant development frequency is approximately 417 Hz. RVA schemes acting around 380–400 Hz provide much stronger suppression than tuning near the pinned–pinned resonance at about 1000 Hz, which produces almost no mitigation effect. Increasing the participating mass from 5 to 14 kg reduces the final target-wavelength roughness level from approximately 4.8 to 3.6 dB, whereas excessively low damping may increase the risk of off-target wavelength growth. A tunable cantilever-type RVA is further designed and tested on a 12.5 m track. Swept-frequency and impact-hammer measurements confirm controllable frequency adjustment and demonstrate receptance reshaping together with enhanced track decay rate within an effective band of about 350–390 Hz. The results provide a mechanism-based guideline for selecting RVA parameters according to local corrugation-development bands and offer a practical route for target-consistent suppression of short-pitch rail corrugation.