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Maglev vehicles apply the entire vehicle load uniformly onto bridges through levitation forces. In assessing the dynamic characteristics of the maglev train–bridge coupling system, it is reasonable to simplify the distributed levitation force as a concentrated force. This article theoretically derives the analytical response of bridge dynamics under the action of a single constant force and conducts numerical simulations for a moving single constant force and a series of equally spaced constant forces passing over simply supported beams and two-span continuous beams, respectively. The topic of discussion is the response of bridge dynamics when different degrees of force concentration are involved. High-precision displacement and acceleration sensors were utilized to conduct tests on the Shanghai maglev line to verify the accuracy of the simulation results. The results indicate that when simplifying the distributed levitation force into a concentrated force model, a frequency ratio can be used to analyze the conditions for resonance between the train and the bridge and to calculate the critical speed of the train; the levitation distribution force of a high-speed maglev vehicle can be simplified into four groups of concentrated forces based on the number of levitation frames to achieve sufficient accuracy, with the dynamic response of the bridge being close to that under distributed loads. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High-speed maglev system is a hot research topic nowadays in the field of high-speed ground transportation. Characteristics of the track irregularity of high-speed maglev system is quite different due to its contactless vehicle-rail relationship and segmented track compared with traditional railway. However, research on maglev track irregularity is still insufficient. This paper summarises, for the first time, the track inspection data collected on Shanghai Maglev Demonstration Line (Shanghai Line) since 2006, and describes the main filtering methods and parameters for acceleration and gap signals, taking into account the characteristics of maglev track. Track irregularity is then determined using the inertial measurement principle. The measured track spectrum on Shanghai Line calculated by the Welch method obeys a chi-square distribution with 2 degrees of freedom, indicating that different track qualities can be transformed by probability methods according to the research requirements. Based on the samples obtained over the past 15 years, and referring to the seven-parameter model of the railway system, a high-speed maglev track spectrum is obtained by the fitting method, parameters of which are obtained by applying the damped least squares method. Preliminary vehicle dynamic analysis is conducted utilising the inverted excitations derived from the measured spectrum of the Shanghai Line. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]