Design and Experimental Investigation of Vibration-Damping Alloy Noise Reduction Pads for Metro Wheels

To achieve vibration and noise reduction in metro wheels, a novel metro noise reduction plate was developed by integrating the vibration suppression principle of advanced vibration-damping alloy materials with the advantages of damped dynamic vibration absorbers. ANSYS finite element simulations were first conducted to demonstrate that the noise reduction plate exhibits significant vibration suppression above 1000 Hz, with the frequency difference ratio between the plate and wheel maintained within 10%. Subsequent semi-anechoic chamber tests were performed to evaluate the vibroacoustic radiation characteristics of freely suspended metro wheels with and without the vibration-damping alloy plate. Experimental results revealed full-band noise reduction of 11.2 dB(A) under radial excitation and 12.9 dB(A) under axial excitation. Notably, noise reduction exceeding 12 dB(A) was achieved in the frequency range above 3000 Hz, consistent with simulation predictions demonstrating superior high-frequency vibration absorption characteristics. These findings demonstrate that the vibration-damping alloy plate effectively suppresses metro wheel vibrations.