ABSTRACT
This chapter describes the submission by AEA TECHNOLOGY RAIL to the "Benchmarking" exercise organised by the Manchester Metropolitan University. The submission is based on analysis using the AEA TECHNOLOGY RAIL developed railway vehicle dynamic modelling package, VAMPIRE. VAMPIRE vehicle models are set up as text files containing information describing the masses, wheelsets, suspension elements and flexible modes that make up the vehicle. The primary friction faces were each represented by two VAMPIRE friction elements. One vertical and one lateral element were used. These are coupled, so that the friction breakout is dependent on the vector sum of the forces on the two elements. Also the dynamically varying normal load on the elements is used in calculating the breakout force. VAMPIRE simulations are controlled by run files. The output plots supplied were all produced using the Time History Plotting and Cross Plotting post-processors supplied with VAMPIRE.
