Experimental validation of a numerical model for the simulation of tramcar vehicle dynamics

Tramcar vehicles significantly differ from traditional railway vehicles both for the adopted structural configuration and design solutions and for the operating conditions. For this reason, a new numerical model specific for the analysis of tramcar dynamics has been developed by Politecnico di Milano. Before the numerical model can be adopted as a useful mean to analyse tramcar operational problems, the capability of the model to reproduce the actual tramcar dynamic behaviour has to be verified. The paper deals with the validation of the developed numerical model by means of comparison with experimental data.