Virtual prototyping of the suspended monorail in the aspect of increasing the permissible travel speed in hard coal mines

Due to the longer distance of moving the crew to the workplace in hard coal mines, the possibility of increasing the maximum permissible speed of suspended monorails was con-sidered. To ensure an adequate level of safety, decelerations affecting the crew in the case of emergency braking in various travelling conditions were analysed. The computational model was verified based on the results of the bench tests on a dedicated test track. The article presents a comparison of results of numerical calculations with measurements at the test stand, and results of numerical simulations in relation to the criterial states that could not be checked at the test stand as well as the analysis of overloads that affect the crew during the emergency braking. These overloads have a significant impact on safety of the operator and passengers, and their determination and analysis may be the basis for assessing the degree of safety as well as for the development of guidelines for designing the additional equipment for the operator's cabs and passenger cars, i.e. components increasing their safety.