Tip-off effect analysis of a vehicle moving along an inclined guideway by considering dynamic interactions

This study investigates the tip-off effect responses of an accelerated vehicle by considering the dynamic interaction between the vehicle and its guideway system. The launch system is considered as an inclined simply supported uniform elastic beam, whereas the vehicle is regarded as a rigid beam moving along the elastic beam under the action of a predetermined thrust force. A technique for tip-off effect analysis that takes into account the dynamic interactions is developed. Equations governing the interaction between the rigid beam and its guideway are derived by taking into account the influences of the inertia force, Coriolis force, and centrifugal force, on the basis of the Euler-Bernoulli beam theory. A comparison of the tip-off analysis results of the elastic and rigid guideway models indicates that the dynamic response obtained for the elastic guideway model was 20% greater than that obtained for the rigid guideway model. The simulation results of the influences of several parameters by tip-off effect analysis can provide information that is valuable when designing vehicle launch systems.