Design and dynamic analysis of QZS-VSVD suspension system for high-speed rail grinding vehicles

High-speed rail grinding based on the open-type abrasive belt is a distinctive grinding maintenance strategy. The grinding process depends on the relative motion between the abrasive belt and the rail, featuring extremely high speed and efficiency. A novel quasi-zero stiffness and variable stiffness/variable damping (QZS-VSVD) suspension system for high-speed rail grinding vehicles is proposed in this paper. A 25-degree-of-freedom vehicle dynamic model is established by integrating the QZS-VSVD suspension system with normal and tangential grinding force models. For the vertical suspension system, continuous hybrid SH-ADD control algorithm is proposed and fuzzy control algorithm is developed for the lateral suspension system. The vibration isolation performance of QZS-VSVD suspension system at 80 km/h under three extreme grinding modes is co-simulated and compared with the conventional linear suspension system. The results show that the stability and ride indices of rail grinding vehicle using QZS-VSVD suspension system are significantly improved. Moreover, the fluctuation of grinding force is substantially decreased under three grinding modes by using QZS-VSVD suspension system. Consequently, the dynamic performance of rail grinding vehicle and the grinding quality are markedly improved.