Prediction and Evaluation of Stiffness of Chevron Spring for Rail Vehicle

철도차량용 세브론 스프링의 강성 예측 및 평가

A chevron rubber spring is used in primary suspension system for rail vehicle. The chevron spring support the load carried and reduces vibration and noise in operation of rail vehicle. The computer simulation using the nonlinear finite element analysis program MARC executed to predict and evaluate the load capacity and stiffness for the chevron spring. The appropriate shape and the material properties are proposed to adjust the required characteristics of chevron spring in the three modes of flexibility. Also, several samples of chevron spring are manufactured and experimented. It is shown that the predicted values agree well the results obtained from experiment.