This shows the carrier vehicle moving around a turn to the right. The
grooved upper wheels (blue) that are on the carriage (light green)
have moved the carriage to the left relative to the main frame
(brown) to rotate the front and rear bogies
in clockwise and counter-clockwise directions through fifteen degree
angles. The displacement
of the point of connection of the
carriage to each bogie from the turn axis of the bogie is preferably
about one-fourth the distance to the turn
axis of the other bogie, i.e. the displacement is about one-fourth
the wheel base when the turn axes intersect the wheel axes. With a
wheel base of 108 inches, the displacement is about 27 inches and with
bogie turn angles of fifteen degrees, the turn radius is only
about 17 feet. In these conditions, as well as with any smaller
bogie turn
angles and correspondingly larger turn radii,
the axis of each wheel will be in a vertical plane that is
at approximately a right angle to the portion of a track engaged
by the wheel.
Highly accurate wheel tracking is thereby obtained. The vehicle
is normally kept on the desired path through the friction between the
wheels and the tracks that is developed through vertical forces
applied by the wheels to the tracks. Any
transverse forces that need to be applied between the upper
wheels and the upper tracks to keep the vehicle on the desired path
are normally quite low.
However, the flanges of the upper wheels on the bogies
serve to prevent any transverse movement from the desired path that
might otherwise result from side-wind or centrifugal forces that are
excessive in relation to transverse frictional forces that are
developed through vertical
forces applied between the wheels and the tracks.
©Autran Corp. 1999, 2002,2006
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