This study aims to investigate and improve the dynamic performance of straddle monorail vehicles operating on flexible bridges. First, a nonlinear tyre-track contact model is established, with its key parameters identified via indoor mechanical experiments. Then, the bridge model is efficiently constructed using the component mode synthesis method (CMSM), incorporating its main concerned modes into the process. Furthermore, a high-efficiency train-bridge interaction model for the straddle monorail system (SMS) is established based on rigid-flexible coupling dynamics. Subsequently, a dynamic analysis is performed to examine the train’s running behaviour on a flexible simply supported bridge, which reveals the coupled vibration characteristics between the vehicle and the bridge. The dynamic responses derived from numerical simulations are thoroughly compared with field test data, thereby verifying the validity of the proposed model. On this basis, the validated model is employed to systematically investigate the effects of several key factors on the dynamic performance of the SMS, thus clarifying their inherent influence laws on the system dynamic responses. Finally, by taking into account all relevant dynamic indicators of the SMS in a comprehensive manner, reasonable ranges for several critical design parameters and amplitude limit values for track irregularities are proposed. This research could offer useful insights and support for the efficient modelling and optimal design of the SMS.
Zhao et al. (Fri,) studied this question.