This paper presents the vibration characteristics of a pantograph–catenary interaction in a rigid catenary system. Both computational simulation and laboratory tests are carried out to evaluate the frequency contents of pantograph strips. Based on the observation that irregular wear is characterized by the consistency between the pantograph strips’ wear pattern and the mode shape of their dominant modal frequencies, it is deducted that resonance occurs at the pantograph strip and the contact wire interface in the high frequency range. By applying damping treatment to the pantograph strip, and hence improving its damping property, a reduction of 7 dB in the total vibration level at the sliding contact can be achieved, as verified through field tests. It is also found that the worse the initial condition of the pantograph–catenary system, the more prominent the damping effects on the control of high-frequency vibration for irregular wear problems.

The irregular wear of carbon current collector pantograph strips increases the railway maintenance costs and introduces safety hazards in the railway operation. This paper presents a method for analyzing the irregular wear of carbon strips with numerical dynamic analyses and modal tests. The carbon strips were studied in laboratory tests, and an equivalent numerical model for the investigation of their irregular wear and performance improvement was established. The results from the computational simulations were evaluated based on the laboratory results, and the correlation between the high-frequency vibration and irregular wear of the carbon strips was studied. The irregular wear contour of the carbon strips coincides with the high-frequency mode shape according to the experimental and numerical results. Moreover, the dynamic design for carbon strips was optimized with the validated computational model. The results suggest that the optimized schemes effectively mitigate the irregular wear of carbon strips.

A method to deduce the characteristics of rail corrugation was developed and presented in this paper. It has been found that noise and vibration in the train vehicle were primarily contributed by rail corrugation and wheel polygonalisation. As the characteristics of wheel sets of a particular train can be assumed to be unchanged during a trip, rail corrugation along the tracks of the trip can be identified. Wavelet analysis was employed in analysing interior noise and vibration data collected inside a high‐speed train vehicle traveling on a typical high‐speed line in China. Noise and vibration data corresponding to increasing, decreasing, and unchanged train speeds were grouped and examined using time‐frequency domain analysis. For both acceleration and deceleration speed conditions, the characteristic frequency of interior noise and vibration changes as the train speed changes, in a discontinuous pattern, and with a fixed speed‐frequency ratio, which can be deducted as the pinned‐pinned frequency of rail vibration and wavelength of rail corrugation in corresponding rail track sections. This method enables accurate restoration of rail corrugation characteristics, without having to apply for railway possession for rail corrugation tests onsite, which is an inexpensive yet reliable method to provide a basis for the formulation of line maintenance and rail grinding plans.

Steel-spring floating-slab tracks (SSFSTs) are widely used as efficient vibration-damping beds, and in China, they are mainly used in subways and municipal railroads. The shear hinge is an important component that improves the stability of the line, and field research has found that the top-mounted shear hinge (TMSH) undergoes varying degrees of damage, which indirectly affects the safety and stability of line operation. In this work, we studied the causes of damage to TMSHs, designed a new TMSH structure with a rubber-pad layer installed based on modal theory and rubber-pad vibration-damping theory, and proved that the new structure can reduce the occurrence of damage by comparing it with the original TMSH structure. The main aspects of this study are as follows: Firstly, the ultimate load capacity of the existing and new TMSH structures was checked by establishing a refined finite-element model. Then, modal analysis and frequency-response function analysis were carried out based on modal theory and frequency-response function theory to reveal the causes of TMSH damage and prove that the new structure can effectively delay damage. Finally, the modal and vibration patterns of the two structures were obtained via indoor hammering tests and compared with the simulation results. The results show that the two TMSH structures are in line with the strength requirements, and the existing TMSH damage mainly results from the resonance between its natural frequency and the high-excitation frequency of the floating slab under long-term cyclic train loading, causing high-frequency vibration fatigue damage. It is also demonstrated that the new structure can effectively reduce the natural frequency of the TMSH so that its value is located in the region of low vibration on the floating slab. The excitation vibration levels of the TMSH mounted on the curved section of the 4.8 m floating slab and the 3.6 m floating slab were reduced by 9 dB and at least 3 dB, respectively. After adding rubber pads located in the 400–3000 Hz floating-slab high-vibration-level region of the TMSH damage-prone parts, the amplitude reduction, including lateral excitation of damage-prone parts, resulted in a vibration amplitude reduction of more than 30 dB. However, the vertical excitation of the mid-end and rear-end bolts slightly increased their amplitudes, whereas the shear-rod amplitude was reduced by 48 dB, and the front-bolt amplitude was reduced by 5.28 dB. The natural frequency and vibration pattern obtained from the hammering test were consistent with the simulation results, and the reliability of our conclusions was verified from both experimental and simulation perspectives.