Suspension system for railway vehicles - has elliptical spring shackles with flattened ends to generate friction to damp out oscillations

摘要

A railway vehicle is suspended from its axles by leaf springs. The ends of the springs are attached by shackles (8,9,10) to the vehicle body. The outer shackles (8,9) are generally elliptical in shape and have a mainly circular cross-section. The inner surface of each of the two shackles is in contact with the lower support (14), the central shackle (10) or the upper support (12). It has a localised flat (15) formed on it. The chord forming this flat subtends an angle alpha at the centre of the circular cross-section. If the sine of half the angle alpha is greater than the coefficient of friction, then any swaying motion of the vehicle relative to the axle will be damped by friction and a smoother suspension system will be achieved.