Finite element model updating – Case study of a rail damper

In rail industry, noise reduction is a concern to decrease environmental pollution. The current study focuses on rail damper modeling and improvement of the model through validation with experimental results. Accurate modeling and simulation of rail dampers, specifically tuned rail dampers with layers interconnected by bolt joints, shall enable objective-oriented improvement of their design. In this work, to improve the damper model cone pressure theory is applied in the FE model and the sensitivity analysis is then applied to gradually improve the FE model. The improved model yields higher Modal Assurance Criterion (MAC) values and lower frequencies deviation.