Dynamics of Automated People Mover Vehicle in Earthquake

The Automated People Mover (APM) system has been developed in 1970s and it has been commercialized, adding to the many new transport systems now in operation domestically to meet the increasing demand for intermediate capacity transport between mass-transit railways and small-capacity transport buses. One of the most far-reaching and disturbing aspects of the earthquake was the severe and extensive damage to the transportation system. In the earthquake in Kobe, Japan in 1995, elevated railroad structures and a large number of cars and were damaged. Several studies on the structures and railway vehicle are carried out after the earthquake. However, the studies on Automated People Mover system in the earthquake was not discussed enough. This paper describes the dynamics of APM vehicle in large earthquakes on elevated guideways. A multibody model of an APM system vehicles with a single-axle bogie system and a steering system are developed by using multibody dynamics code, DADS. By using multibody dynamics models, a computer simulation in the case of an earthquake is carried out. The results showing the difference between single-axle bogie system and a steering system become clear. And stability limit of roll over for sinusoidal input is shown for two types of mechanical guidance systems.