Vibrations generated during the operation of railway infrastructure pose a significant challenge in ensuring the stability of track structures and passenger comfort. From the standpoint of preventing resonance phenomena under variable operating loads, a damping element with a progressive stiffness characteristic is desirable, as it keeps the natural frequency of the system within a narrow range. This master’s thesis presents a numerical investigation of an elastomeric damping element in the Abaqus software package using an axisymmetric finite element formulation. The research is divided into four phases: a comparison of basic geometric shapes using a linear material model, an analysis using the Ogden hyperelastic model with a hysteresis contribution, a modal analysis as a function of preload, and a parametric study of a two-phase model with a catenoid wall. Among the shapes considered, the cylinder and the truncated cone exhibited a linear stiffness characteristic, whereas the hemisphere and the catenoid variants exhibited a progressive one. The modal analysis showed qualitative agreement between the numerical and experimental results, as well as the stabilizing effect of the progressive stiffness of the catenoid shape. The parametric study of the two-phase model systematically evaluated the influence of wall thickness, preload, and excitation amplitude on the stiffness and damping factor of the element.
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