Influence of different conditions of tilt compensation on motion and motion-related discomfort in high speed trains

• Train speed may be increased by constructing new railways with improved curve geometry or by using tilting trains. The tilting system compensates the lateral acceleration felt by the passengers in curves by tilting the car body, thus allowing trains to run 25-30 % faster on existing curved tracks with maintained good ride comfort. Although motion sickness in tilting trains seems to be a small problem for most passengers it can be a problem to those prone to nausea. To investigate the incidence of motion related discomfort and how different tilt compensation strategies influence the occurrence of such discomfort, a full-scale test ride was conducted on a curved track with a tilting train. Seventy healthy volunteers were employed, selected for high subjective sensitivity to nausea. Three conditions were tested using three different cars under three days. The test ride lasted about 3 hours. Four times per test ride the subjects answered a questionnaire concerning vegetative symptoms, fatigue, sleepiness and nausea. The test persons' overall estimation of average ride comfort was good in all conditions, however, some persons reported motion related discomfort due to motion sickness. A 55% degree of tilt compensation of the lateral acceleration (in the track plane) instead of the normal 70%, reduced the number of test persons reporting dizziness and nausea by about 30 - 50%. Discomfort correlates very poorly with a motion dose (time integrated) of vertical acceleration but instead correlates better with a motion dose of roll angle acceleration.

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TEKNIK OCH TEKNOLOGIER  -- Maskinteknik -- Farkostteknik (hsv//swe)

ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY  -- Mechanical Engineering -- Vehicle Engineering (hsv//eng)

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