Analysis of coupled human-seat-railway vehicle-track model for investigation of ride comfort

In the present work, a three-dimensional human subject model coupled with vehicle-track model is formulated to analyze an integrated human-seat-vehicle-track model for evaluating the effect of high wavelength track errors on ride comfort. The model is utilized to determine the railway vehicle ride comfort based on ISO 2631 specifications, subjected to the longitudinal level track inputs. The sensitivity analysis of suspension elements on vehicle ride comfort is determined in a further study. It is analyzed that the longitudinal level track inputs result in significant human subject vibrations and high ride comfort indices (reduced ride comfort), particularly near resonating frequencies.