An efficient and accurate explicit integration method for solving the nonlinear maglev vehicle-bridge interaction

Magnetic Levitation (Maglev) vehicle uses electromagnets to levitate and propel the train forward. The majority of maglev lines employ bridges as supporting structures, in which the interaction between maglev vehicle and bridges become a research focus in recent years. Numerical calculation of the Maglev Vehicle-Bridge Coupling System (MVBS) is a challenging task due to the influence of nonlinear electromagnetic force and complex coupling relationship. This study proposes a novel single-step explicit integration method to solve the nonlinear dynamic responses of MVBS. The proposed method possesses third-order accuracy, which is appropriate for solving nonlinear electromagnetic forces and decoupling the system. Based on displacements and velocities in the preceding step, the proposed method propels the computation to the subsequent time step only by vector calculations, meaning that it can implement decoupling calculation for the MVBS. Moreover, it achieves computational accuracy at low frequencies while displaying dissipation at high frequencies. The theoretical derivation and numerical application of the proposed method are demonstrated to exhibit its advantages in solution accuracy, computational efficiency, and numerical dissipation, particularly when solving nonlinear MVBS.