A codimension two bifurcation in a railway bogie system

In this paper, a comprehensive analysis is presented to investigate a codimension two bifurcation that exists in a nonlinear railway bogie dynamic system combining theoretical analysis with numerical investigation. By using the running velocity V and the primary longitudinal stiffness \(K_{1x}\) as bifurcation parameters the first and second Lyapunov coefficients are calculated to determine which kind of Hopf bifurcation can happen and how the system states change with the variance of the bifurcation parameters. It is found that multiple solution branches both stable and unstable coexist in a range of the bifurcation parameters which can lead to jumps in the lateral oscillation amplitude of the railway bogie system. Furthermore, reduce the values of the bifurcation parameters gradually. Firstly, the supercritical Hopf bifurcation turns into a subcritical one with multiple limit cycles both stable and unstable near the Hopf bifurcation point. With a further reduction in the bifurcation parameters two saddle-node bifurcation points emerge, resulting in the loss of the stable limit cycle between these two bifurcation points.