R.P.M. Tech

Dynamic behavior evaluation of a railroad snow blower during cornering. The worst, tighter corners were evaluated. A multi-body dynamics simulation of the detailed suspension mechanism was used to model the behavior.

Type of simulation : MBD

Context :

R.P.M. Tech is a North American leader in the design, manufacture, maintenance and distribution of industrial snow blowers, multi functional utility vehicles and heavy equipment for maintenance of roads, railways, subways and airport runways, and of custom-engineered on/off highway vehicles, for national and international markets.

The subject of the project was a railroad snow blower designed by R.P.M. Tech. The blower being always used on the same section of track, the client wanted to know the maximum velocity of the blower to increase its efficiency. The corners were the limiting factor because of the risk of roll-over or collision with the tunnel wall.

Dynamic behavior evaluation of a railroad snow blower during cornering. The worst, tighter corners were evaluated. A multi-body dynamics simulation of the detailed suspension mechanism was used to model the behavior.

Results :

Simulation outputs were roll angles for several speeds. Geometric interference of the blower with the tunnel wall could then be evaluated. The simulation also allowed to identify the maximum speed before roll-over could happen in the tightest corner.