Experimental and Numerical Investigation of Bogie Hunting Instability for Railway Vehicles Based on Multiple Sensors

Bogie hunting instability is one of the common faults in railway vehicles. It not only affects ride comfort but also threatens operational safety. Due to the lower operating speed of metro vehicles, their bogie hunting stability is often overlooked. However, as wheel tread wear increases, metro vehicles with high conicity wheel-rail contact can also experience bogie hunting instability. In order to enhance the operational safety of metro vehicles, this paper conducts field tests and simulation calculations to study the bogie hunting instability behavior of metro vehicles and proposes corresponding solutions from the perspective of wheel-rail contact relationships. Acceleration and displacement sensors are installed on metro vehicles to collect data, which are processed in real time in 2 s intervals. The lateral acceleration of the frame is analyzed to determine if bogie hunting instability has occurred. Based on calculated safety indicators, it is determined whether deceleration is necessary to ensure the safety of vehicle operation. For metro vehicles in the later stages of wheel wear (after 300,000 km), the stability of their bogies should be monitored in real time. To improve the stability of metro vehicle bogies while ensuring the longevity of wheelsets, metro vehicle wheel treads should be reprofiled regularly, with a recommended reprofiling interval of 350,000 km.