Vibration Analysis of Composite Panels in Aerodynamic Brakes of High-Speed Trains

Presently aluminum and steel are used to construct aerodynamic brake panels in high- speed train, however the aim of this paper is to increase natural frequencies and reduce the weight of panels at the same time using composite materials. In this paper, composite graphite epoxy (AS4 / 3501-6) is used, due to its better vibration characteristics among other composites. According to simulations, the natural frequency of graphite epoxy panel in comparison to aluminum panel has increased from 84.205 Hz to 101.55 Hz which is a 20 percent rise. What is more the maximum stress on the composite graphite epoxy panel and maximum lateral displacement are 71 MPa and 2.952 mm respectively. These results indicate better performance of graphite epoxy panel in comparison to aluminum panel. Finally, the panel during opening from -5° to 73° in 3 seconds is considered and the results of dynamic analysis of brake panel, using ABAQUS software, including Transverse displacement and stress is presented. It is shown that when panel has completely opened to 90 degrees, stresses and displacements are in a good agreement with static results.