The application of a wheelset active steering systems for modern design tramcars

Abstract

The issue of mutual wear between railway wheels and rails has long been under discussion, as it has a significant impact on the maintenance costs of both railway vehicles and infrastructure. This issue and its technical solutions can be studied from different perspectives. The approach presented in this paper focuses on the application of active wheelset steering for tramcars. In principle, this method leads to a reduction in mutual force interaction between wheels and rails when a vehicle passes through a curve. Research and practical implementation of this technology in tramcar applications are very rare. However, there is significant potential for wheel wear reduction, as demonstrated by the simulation results presented in this article. The other aspect, which is much more complex due to the lack of development by tramcar manufacturers, is the technical solution itself, which is currently limited mainly to design studies. Therefore, this paper also describes efforts to assess the technical difficulties and possibilities of implementing such a system in a modern tramcar bogie.