ISSN:
1573-269X
Keywords:
Railway dynamics
;
limit-cycles
;
bifurcations
;
chaos
Source:
Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
Topics:
Mathematics
Notes:
Abstract A dicone moving on a pair of cylindrical rails can be considered as a simplified model of a railway wheelset. Taking into account the non-linear friction laws of rolling contact, the equations of motion for this non-linear mechanical system result in a set of differential-algebraic equations. Previous simulations performed with the differential-algebraic solver DASSL, [2], and experiments, [7], indicated non-linear phenomena such as limit-cycles, bifurcations as well as chaotic behaviour. In this paper the non-linear phenomena are investigated in more detail with the aid of special in-house software and the path-following algorithm PATH [10]. We apply Poincaré sections and Poincaré maps to describe the structure of periodic, quasiperiodic and chaotic motions. The analyses show that part of the chaotic behaviour of the non-linear system can be fully understood as a non-linear iterative process. The resulting stretching and folding processes are illustrated by series of Poincaré sections.
Type of Medium:
Electronic Resource
URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF00045671
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