International Applied Mechanics, Vol. 44, No.

1, 2008

EVALUATION OF THE CENTRIFUGAL, CORIOLIS, AND GYROSCOPIC FORCES

ON A RAILROAD VEHICLE MOVING AT HIGH SPEED

V. V. Kravets and T. V. Kravets UDC 539.3

The dynamic load on the wheelset of a high-speed railroad vehicle on a track with local irregularities is
determined. A block-matrix formula is given to analyze the inertial forces and moments generated
during lurching along a spatial trajectory on a track with vertical and horizontal curvature. The local
irregularities of the track are measured with well-known methods and means for controlling the
geometry of railtracks such as inertial laser-gyro strapdown systems. Given a railtrack trajectory, a
hodograph of wheelset motion is plotted versus dimensionless time and the geometrical parameters are
reduced to typical dimensions. The formulas and hodograph are used to calculate the kinematical
parameters needed to evaluate the dynamic load. The results obtained allow correct quantitative
description of wheelsetrail interaction and resolution of one of the traffic safety issues for high-speed
railroads

Keywords: high-speed railroad vehicle, wheelset, local irregularities, wheelsetrail interaction,

EulerLagrange equations, quaternion matrix

Introduction. The Ukrainian high-speed rail program provides that the speed of passenger trains on the existing
Ukrainian railroads should gradually be increased to 160 km/h, followed by construction of specialized high-speed railroads [5].
This raises a number of new engineering issues associated with high-speed railroad traffic safety [6, 7, 14]. Increase in the travel
speed of trains leads to increase in the angular speed of wheels and square-law increase in the gyroscopic forces and moments.
The horizontal and vertical curvature of the track necessitates correct evaluation of centrifugal forces. Local irregularities of the
track cause vertical and lateral vibrations of a fast-rotating wheelset about the truck, which induces Coriolis, gyroscopic, and
centrifugal forces and moments.
The purpose of the present study is to evaluate the inertial forces and moments on a wheelset interacting with a rail,
depending on the speed of travel and shape of the track. The problem posed is of current importance [1519] and is directly
related to high-speed traffic safety [7].
1. Problem Formulation. The DAlembert principle [12] suggests that inertial forces are manifested in noninertial
frames of reference. Whether there are inertial frames of reference [3] that satisfy Einsteins principle of relativity [13] is an open
question [11]. Einstein stated that inertia and gravity are equivalent and are due to the field of the universe acting on a material
body [13]. Unlike the forces of interaction between bodies, inertial forces do not obey Newtons third law of motion [11]. Frames
of reference used in engineering problems are noninertial in some sense. In problems of dynamic loading on high-speed vehicles,
the traditional frame of reference fixed to the Earth surface with the origin at the point of departure cannot be considered inertial
because it rotates with an angular velocity of 7.3105 sec1. Also noninertial is any frame of reference fixed to a high-speed
railroad vehicle. Therefore, it is necessary to evaluate the inertial forces and moments acting in noninertial frames of reference on
a vehicle moving with high speed along a spatial trajectory (real rail track characterized by torsion, horizontal and vertical
curvature, and local irregularities) on the surface of the rotating Earth.

Dnepropetrovsk State University of Railroad Transport Engineers, Dnepropetrovsk, Ukraine. Translated from
Prikladnaya Mekhanika, Vol. 44, No. 1, pp. 123132, January 2008. Original article submitted March 2, 2007.

1063-7095/08/4401-0101 2008 Springer Science+Business Media, Inc. 101

 TABLE 1

City Kiev Dnepropetrovsk Simferopol

No. 1 2 3

j 5030 4820 45

Nc / m 0.0217 0.0227 0.0241

TABLE 2

V , km/h 60 300 500

N k 1, 2 , 3 / m 0.0024 0.0122 0.0204

TABLE 3

V , km/h 60 300 500

N k1 / m 0.0019 0.0094 0.0156

N k2 / m 0.0018 0.0091 0.0151

N k3 / m 0.0017 0.0086 0.0143

2. Evaluation of the Centrifugal and Coriolis Forces Caused by the Rotation of the Earth and Acting on a
Railroad Vehicle Moving with High Speed within Ukraine. The centrifugal and Coriolis forces acting on a high-speed vehicle
are known to be defined in vector form by the formulas

N c = -m w0 ( w0 R ), N C = -m2( w0 V ),

whereV is the velocity of the vehicle relative to the Earth; w0 is the Earths rotation rate; R is the position vector of the vehicle
drawn from the Earth center; and m is the mass of the vehicle.
It is convenient to represent inertial forces in terms of the gravitational force [3]:

Mm
N gr = g = g 0 m,
R2

where M is the mass of the Earth; R is the radius of the Earth; and g is the gravitational constant.
The gravitational force is quantitatively characterized by the acceleration of gravity [11]:

N gr M N gr
=g , = 9.832 m/sec2.
m R2 m

The centrifugal force on the Earth surface is dependent on the latitude and determined by acceleration too:

Nc
= w20 R cos j ,
m

where w0 = 7.3105 sec1 and R = 6.4106 m.

102
 w0 3 3 w0 3 3
w0 2 w
0 1
NC
V w0
w0 Nc V
1 V Nc N c NC NC
R 2 NC R
Nc
j V j

O 2 2 O 1
E E
EW 1 W WE W
a b

w0 w0
3 3 3 3
w0 1
w0
2 V NC
V Nc w0 Nc Nc w0
NC 2
R R NC
1 V
j NC V j Nc

O 2 2 1 O
N N
NS S 1 SN S

c d
Fig. 1

The Coriolis force for eastwest motions is determined by the acceleration

NC
= 2w0V sin 90.
m

The Coriolis force for northsouth motions is dependent on the latitude and expressed in scalar form as follows:

NC
= 2w0V sin j .
m

The latitude of Ukraine varies within 44 j 52. The latitudes of Kiev, Dnepropetrovsk, and Simferopol are 5030,
4820, and 45, respectively.
The results of evaluation of the inertial forces are collected in Tables 13. Table 1 summarizes the values of the
centrifugal force divided by the mass for the cities of Kiev, Dnepropetrovsk, and Simferopol.
Table 2 gives the values of the Coriolis force divided by the mass for motion west and east with velocities of 60, 300,
and 500 km/h.
Table 3 collects the values of the Coriolis force divided by the mass for motion north and south with velocities of 60,
300, and 500 km/h for the cities of Kiev, Dnepropetrovsk, and Simferopol.
Figure 1 schematically shows the centrifugal and Coriolis forces acting on a high-speed railroad vehicle moving east or
west and north or south. It can be seen that the Coriolis and centrifugal forces are opposite, partially canceling each others effect
on the track when the vehicle moves west or south. If the vehicle moves east or north, the Coriolis and centrifugal forces act in the
same direction, inducing a longitudinal moment on the wheelset, which produces an asymmetric, continuous dynamic load on
the track and, hence, causes excessive wear on the right-hand rail.
3. Evaluation of the Gyroscopic Moment on the Wheelset of a High-Speed Car Hunting on a Curve. Gyroscopic
phenomena are known to manifest themselves during compound motion that includes rotation [4, 10]. How the gyroscopic
couple acts on the wheelset of a high-speed car is described by the Zhukovsky rule: if a fast-rotating wheelset is forced to hunt on

103
 Y3
w1

w3 3
w2 N3
Y2 Vr 3

N3 M1 1 w1
Y1

l
2 NC

a b
Fig. 2

a curve, then the gyroscopic couple will tend to align the wheelset axis in parallel to the cars axis of rotation so that both rotations
occur in the same direction (Fig. 2a). The gyroscopic moment on the wheelset is defined by the vector formula

M 1 = I 22 ( w2 w3 ),

where I 22 is the axial moment of inertia of the wheelset; w2 is the angular velocity of rotation of the wheelset; and w3 is the
angular velocity of hunting.
Note that both velocities can be found from the obvious formulas

V V
w2 = , w3 = ,
r R

where V is the translational velocity of the car; r is the radius of the wheel; and R is the radius of curvature of the track.
Then the gyroscopic moment can be found in scalar form as

V2
M 1 = I 22 ,
rR

i.e., the gyroscopic moment is proportional to the squared linear velocity of the car and to the axial moment of inertia of the
wheelset. To evaluate the gyroscopic moment, we will use the following input data:

I 22 = 114 kgm2, V = 300 km/h (83.3 m/sec), r = 0.5 m, R = 500 m.

Then M 1 = 3162.5 Nm.

4. Evaluation of the Centrifugal Force on Components of a High-Speed Car on Curves of a Railtrack. During
motion with high speed, the components of a car, including wheelsets, are subjected to the centrifugal force due to the curvature
of the railroad. This force is defined in vector form as

N c = -mr w3 ( w3 R ),

where w3 is the rate of turn of the car; R is the radius of curvature of the track.
In the simplest plane case, the formula for the centrifugal inertial force has a much simpler scalar form because
w3 = V / R:

V2
N c = mr ,
R

i.e., the centrifugal force is proportional to the squared linear velocity of the car and the mass of the relevant component. To evaluate
the centrifugal forces for a wheelset of mass mr = 1080 kg, we will use the above input data. Then, we obtain: Nc = 15 kN.
5. Evaluation of the Coriolis Force Due to Vibrations of Components about a High-Speed Car. Coriolis forces are
known to occur when components of a car oscillate about it during turnhunting, galloping, and rolling. For example, when the
wheelset oscillates vertically about the rocking truck (Fig. 2b), the Coriolis force is defined in vector form as

104
 N C = -mr 2( w1 Vr 3 ),

where w1 is the rate of roll of the truck;Vr3 is the velocity of vertical vibrations of the wheelset about the truck; and mr is the mass
of the wheelset.
In the special case shown in Fig. 2b, the Coriolis force can be defined in scalar form: N C = 2mw1Vr 3 .
It is assumed here that the kinematic parameters of components of a high-speed car are continuously tracked by inertial
measuring systems during motion on a real track [2, 4].
6. Evaluation of Inertial Forces and Moments on the Wheelset of a High-Speed Car Moving on a Railtrack with
Local Irregularities. According to Magnus [10], gyroscopic forces are not only those associated with the presence of a
gyroscope or a flywheel, but are forces that linearly depend on velocities and whose work against displacements of the system is
zero, i.e., these inertial forces are linearly dependent on the velocity of motion and are perpendicular to this velocity. To evaluate
the inertial forces and moments caused by the gyroscopic, Coriolis, and centrifugal components due to the interaction between an
oscillating, fast-rotating wheelset and a railtrack with torsion, horizontal and vertical curvature, and local irregularities, the
following compact block-matrix formula [15] is applied (it derives from the EulerLagrange nonlinear differential equations of
spatial motion):

G
1 M yr ( t W yr + W yr ) / 2 ( t V yr + V yr ) / 2 I yr ( t Y cr + Y cr ) / 2 w yr
- = ,
mr N Gyr ( W yr + W yr ) / 2 (Y cr + Y cr ) / 2
0 t t t t E0 V0 yr

where E 0 is a unit (44) matrix; 0 is a zero (44) matrix; I yr is an inertia matrix of the wheelset divided by its mass mr and
calculated in a chosen basis trihedral by the algorithm [9] for the KVZ I2 wheelset [6]; W yr and t W yr are the quaternionic
matrices of the components of the angular velocity w yri (i = 1, 2, 3) of the wheelset in the basis trihedral; V yr and t V yr are
quaternionic matrices of the components of the linear velocityV0 yri (i = 1, 2, 3) of the wheelset pole in the basis trihedral; Y cr ,
t Y , Y t , and t Y t are the quaternionic matrices of the coordinates of the wheelsets center of mass y
cr cr cr cri (i = 1, 2, 3) in the basis
trihedral determined from a layout diagram.
The block-matrix formula can be expanded into

1
- N 1 = w3 w1 y 3c + w2 w1 y 2c - w22 y1c - w23 y1c - w3V2 + w2V3 ,
mr

1
- N 2 = -w12 y 2c + w3 w2 y 3c + w1 w2 y1c - w23 y 2c + w3V1 - w1V3 ,
mr

1
- N 3 = -w12 y 3c - w22 y 3c + w2 w3 y 2c + w1 w3 y1c - w2V1 + w1V2 ,
mr

1
- M 1 = w3 w1 I 21 - w2 w1 I 31 - w3 w2 I 22 - w22 I 32 + w23 I 23 + w2 w3 I 33 + V3 w1 y 3c + V2 w1 y 2c - w3V1 y 3c - w2V1 y 2c ,
mr

1
- M 2 = w3 w1 I 11 + w12 I 31 - w3 w2 I 12 + w1 w2 I 32 - w23 I 13 - w1 w3 I 33 + V3 w2 y 3c + V1 w2 y1c - w3V2 y 3c - w1V2 y1c ,
mr

1
- M 3 = -w2 w1 I 11 - w12 I 21 + w22 I 12 + w1 w2 I 22 + w2 w3 I 13 - w1 w3 I 23 + V2 w3 y 2c + V1 w3 y1c - w2V3 y 2c - w1V3 y1c .
mr

The kinematic parameters of motion of the wheelset needed to determine the inertial forces and moments caused by
local irregularities of the track can be obtained with adequate accuracy using various methods and devices for track geometry
measurement, including inertial and noncontact measurements. In particular, the real-time railtrack quality control system
includes inertial laser-gyro strapdown measuring units [1]; computer-aided data collection, processing, and transfer systems are
developed [2]. We assume that the pole of the basis trihedral of the wheelset accurately traces the railtrack.

105
 x2, m
0.01

0.01

0.02
0 100 200 300 400 500 x1, m

a
x3, m

0.01
0
0.01
0.02
0.03
0.04
0 100 200 300 400 500 x1, m

b
Fig. 3

Let us consider, as input data, a straight-line railtrack segment of length L = 600 m with local irregularities measured
with a track measuring device as deviations from the straight-line coordinate axis of the right-hand rail every h = 0.1 m. Figure 3
presents the measured data in the form of a spatial trajectory in vertical and horizontal projections. It is assumed that this railroad
segment is traveled by a vehicle with constant velocity V . Let V = 200 km/h for determinacy. Given the linear velocity and
trajectory of the railroad vehicle, we can plot a hodograph of the pole of the basis trihedral of the wheelset depending on the time
of travel of the railtrack segment. The time as a scalar argument varies within [ 0, t C ] and is defined by the formula t = X 1 / V ,
where X 1 is the longitudinal component of wheelset displacement.
For finite time when X 1 = L, we have t C = L / V . In the case under consideration, we find t C = (0.6 km)/(200 km/h) =
0.003 h (t C = 10.8 sec).
To make the hodograph invariant to the travel velocity, we introduce dimensionless time t = t / t C that varies within
[0, 1] and dimensionless vertical and horizontal displacements divided by a typical dimension,

X2 X3
X2 = , X3 = ,
X 2 max X 3 max

where X 2 max and X 3 max are the maximum vertical and horizontal irregularities of the railtrack on the segment being
considered: X 2 max = 0.012 m, X 3 max = 0.018 m.
A dimensionless longitudinal displacement component is introduced in a similar way:

X1
X1 = ,
X 1 max

where obviously X 1max = L. Note that the dimensionless time can be represented as

t = ( X 1 / V ) / ( L / V ) = X 1 / L

and, hence, X 1 = t, i.e., the plot of the reduced longitudinal displacement of the wheelset versus the dimensionless time has the
form of a bisector of a quadrant angle (Fig. 4a). Figures 4b and 4c show the reduced lateral and vertical displacements of the
wheelset versus the dimensionless time.
The components of the linear velocity of the pole of the basis trihedral are calculated by the formulas

106
 x1, [1] x2, [1] x3, [1]

0.8 0.6 0.6

0.6 0.2 0.2

0.4 0.2 0.2

0.2 0.6 0.6

1.0 1.0
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 T, [1] 0 0.2 0.4 0.6 T, [1] 0 0.2 0.4 0.6 T, [1]

a b c
Fig. 4

V3 V2 M1, M 2, N 1, [1]

0.6 0.6 0.6

0.2 0.2 0.2

0.2 0.2 0.2

0.6 0.6 0.6

1.0 1.0 1.0

0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 T 0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 T 0 0.2 0.4 0.6 T, [1]

a b
Fig. 5 Fig. 6

dX i Li max dX i Li max
= ( i = 1, 2, 3) or Vi = Vi ,
dt tk dt tk

where ( dX i ) / ( dt ) is the derivative of the reduced displacement with respect to the dimensionless time; it is directly found from
the curves by numerical differentiation.
Note that X 1 = t and L1max = L when i = 1; hence, we find analytically

dX i
=1 or V1 = 1,
dt

whence ( dX 1 ) / ( dt ) = L / t k 1, i.e., we arrive at an obvious result: ( dX 1 ) / ( dt ) = V orV1 = V .

Figures 5a and 5b show the derivatives of the reduced horizontal lateral and vertical displacements of the wheelset with
respect to the dimensionless time V2 and V3 divided by their maxima V2 max and V3 max on the segment. It can be found by
numerical differentiation that V2 max = 0.031 and V3 max = 0.044. The following notation is used for the variables introduced:

Vi
Vi = ( i = 1, 2, 3).
Vi max

Written in this dimensionless notation, the formulas for the linear velocity components become

Li max
Vi = Vi max Vi ( i = 1, 2, 3).
tk

It is obvious that V1 = 1, V1 max = 1, V1 = 1, and V1 = V when i = 1.

107
 TABLE 4

V , km/h M1 10 3 , Nm/kg M 2 max , Nm M 3 max , Nm N 1 max , N N 3 10 3 , N/kg

100 0.625 45.56 490.65 700.93 0.868

200 2.7 182.2 1962.6 2903.7 3.75

300 6.076 410 4415.9 6308.4 8.43

Thus, the experimental data in the form of a spatial trajectory obtained with a track measuring device are transformed
into a hodograph. The hodograph is plotted using dimensionless time, and the geometrical parameters of the railtrack are reduced
to typical dimensions. This hodograph allows calculating the horizontal and vertical velocities.
Figure 6 shows the inertial forces and moments calculated with the block-matrix formula for the input data cited above.
The time is dimensionless here, and the inertial forces and moments are divided by their maxima M 3 max = 1962.6 Nm,
M 2 max = 182.2 Nm, N 1max = 2803.7 N, which makes it possible to unify the results, in particular, M 3 ( t ) = M 2 ( t ) = N 1 ( t ).
Note that M 1 = -2.7 103 Nm/kg, N 3 =3.75103 Nm/kg due to the problem formulation. These components are divided by the
mass of the wheelset and do not vary with time on the track segment under consideration. The dependence in Fig. 6 is unified
since it is invariant to the velocity on this segment. However, the maximum forces and moments and their constant components
are considerably dependent on the velocity of the wheelset. Table 4 shows how the local irregularities of the railtrack affect the
dynamic load on the wheelset moving with velocities of 100, 200, and 300 km/h.
Thus, the block-matrix formula for the calculation of gyroscopic, Coriolis, and centrifugal forces and moments on a
wheelset moving along a spatial trajectory has been tested by evaluating the dynamic load on the wheelset moving with high
velocity on a railtrack with local irregularities. We have developed a method to plot the hodograph from measured geometrical
parameters of the railtrack and specified linear velocity. The dimensionless variables introduced made it possible to use the
hodograph to derive convenient formulas for the calculation of the kinematic parameters of motion needed to evaluate the
unknown inertial forces and moments. The method proposed here allows correct evaluation of inertial forces and moments in the
balance of forces acting on the interacting wheelset and rails.

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