STEERABILITY OF RAILWAY VEHICLES

The term steerability is widely used in the motion theory of wheel and track- laying machines, water and air vehicles, spacecraft. Steerability is a property of a transport machine to submit to the managing influence. Steerability of the machine is defined by its reaction to managing influence on the part of managing in the form of changing travelling course or lateral kinematical parameters. For example, in automobiles this influence is shown in the turn of a steering wheel, in planes it is a turn of steering wheel or controller handle and so on. Railway vehicles, as known, have no similar bodies of control. The change of the moving is carried out by a rail track under the influence of horizontal travelling forces. Using the terminology from the control of wheel carriers, the author considers qualitative parameters of steerability of rail vehicles, connecting them with additional influence on vehicles of the railway in the process of control.