Coupling the "sandwich" track model to a commercial dynamic vehicle model

Most commercial vehicle dynamic modeling programs do not have, or have a very limited, track component. Today, most track dynamic models do not have a detailed vehicle model either. Assumptions have to be made to simulate the vehicle and track performances when using those programs. For instance, a predefined wheel-rail contact force is normally assumed as the input for both vehicle and track models. This research aims to integrate a previously developed "Sandwich" dynamic track model to a detailed vehicle model in a commercially available program so that a vehicle-track dynamic interaction can be realistically simulated. Case studies will be presented to demonstrate the coupling effect and the results will help us better understand the vehicle and track behavior under different riding conditions.