Influence of railway wheel tread damage on wheel-rail impact loads and the durability of wheelsets

Dynamic wheel-rail contact forces induced by a severe form of wheel tread damage have been measured by a wheel impact load detector during full-scale field tests at different vehicle speeds.Based on laser scanning,the measured three-dimensional damage geometry is employed in simulations of dynamic vehicle-track interaction to calibrate and verify a simulation model.The relation between the magnitude of the impact load and various operational parameters,such as vehicle speed,lateral position of wheel-rail contact,track stiffness and position of impact within a sleeper bay,is investigated.The calibrated model is later employed in simulations featuring other forms of tread damage;their effects on impact load and subsequent fatigue impact on bearings,wheel webs and subsurface initiated rolling contact fatigue of the wheel tread are assessed.The results quantify the effects of wheel tread defects and are valuable in a shift towards condition-based maintenance of running gear,and for general assessment of the severity of different types of railway wheel tread damage.

On the Polygonal Wear Evolution of Heavy-Haul Locomotive Wheels due to Wheel/Rail Flexibility and Its Mitigation Measures

Wheel polygonal wear can immensely worsen wheel/rail interactions and vibration performances of the train and track,and ultimately,lead to the shortening of service life of railway components.At present,wheel/rail medium-or high-frequency frictional interactions are perceived as an essential reason of the high-order polygonal wear of railway wheels,which are potentially resulted by the flexible deformations of the train/track system or other external excitations.In this work,the effect of wheel/rail flexibility on polygonal wear evolution of heavy-haul locomotive wheels is explored with aid of the long-term wheel polygonal wear evolution simulations,in which different flexible modeling of the heavy-haul wheel/rail coupled system is implemented.Further,the mitigation measures for the polygonal wear of heavy-haul locomotive wheels are discussed.The results point out that the evolution of polygonal wear of heavy-haul locomotive wheels can be veritably simulated with consideration of the flexible effect of both wheelset and rails.Execution of mixed-line operation of heavy-haul trains and application of multicut wheel re-profiling can effectively reduce the development of wheel polygonal wear.This research can provide a deep-going understanding of polygonal wear evolution mechanism of heavy-haul locomotive wheels and its mitigation measures.

Numerical Prediction of Ride Comfort of Tracked Vehicle Equipped with Novel Flexible Road Wheels

Enhancing ride comfort has always constituted a crucial focus in the design and research of modern tracked vehicles,heavily reliant on the driving system's performance.While the road wheel is a key component of the driving system,traditional road wheels predominantly adopt a solid structure,exhibiting subpar adhesion performance and damping effects,thereby falling short of meeting the demands for high-speed,stable,and long-distance driving in tracked vehicles.Addressing this issue,this paper proposes a novel type of flexible road wheel(FRW)characterized by a catenary construction.The study investigates the ride comfort of tracked vehicles equipped with flexible road wheels by integrating finite element and vehicle dynamic.First,three-dimensional(3D)finite element(FE)models of both flexible and rigid road wheels are established,considering material and contact nonlinearities.These models are validated through a wheel radial loading test.Based on the validated FE model,the paper uncovers the relationship between load and radial deformation of the road wheel,forming the basis for a nonlinear mathematical model.Subsequently,a half-car model of a tracked vehicle with seven degrees of freedom is established using Newton's second law.A random road model,considering the track effect and employing white noise,is constructed.The study concludes by examining the ride comfort of tracked vehicles equipped with flexible and rigid road wheels under various speeds and road grades.The results demonstrate that,in comparison to the rigid road wheel(RRW),the flexible road wheel enhances the ride comfort of tracked vehicles on randomly uneven roads.This research provides a theoretical foundation for the implementation of flexible road wheels in tracked vehicles.

A strategy for out-of-roundness damage wheels identification in railway vehicles based on sparse autoencoders

Wayside monitoring is a promising cost-effective alternative to predict damage in the rolling stock. The main goal of this work is to present an unsupervised methodology to identify out-of-roundness(OOR) damage wheels, such as wheel flats and polygonal wheels. This automatic damage identification algorithm is based on the vertical acceleration evaluated on the rails using a virtual wayside monitoring system and involves the application of a two-step procedure. The first step aims to define a confidence boundary by using(healthy) measurements evaluated on the rail constituting a baseline. The second step of the procedure involves classifying damage of predefined scenarios with different levels of severities. The proposed procedure is based on a machine learning methodology and includes the following stages:(1) data collection,(2) damage-sensitive feature extraction from the acquired responses using a neural network model, i.e., the sparse autoencoder(SAE),(3) data fusion based on the Mahalanobis distance, and(4) unsupervised feature classification by implementing outlier and cluster analysis. This procedure considers baseline responses at different speeds and rail irregularities to train the SAE model. Then, the trained SAE is capable to reconstruct test responses(not trained) allowing to compute the accumulative difference between original and reconstructed signals. The results prove the efficiency of the proposed approach in identifying the two most common types of OOR in railway wheels.

Grinding Characteristics of MoS_(2)-Coated Brazed CBN Grinding Wheels in Dry Grinding of Titanium Alloy

As an important green manufacturing process,dry grinding has problems such as high grinding temperature and insufficient cooling capacity.Aiming at the problems of sticking and burns in dry grinding of titanium alloys,grinding performance evaluation of molybdenum disulfide(MoS_(2))solid lubricant coated brazed cubic boron carbide(CBN)grinding wheel(MoS_(2)-coated CBN wheel)in dry grinding titanium alloys was carried out.The lubrication mechanism of MoS_(2)in the grinding process is analyzed,and the MoS_(2)-coated CBN wheel is prepared.The results show that the MoS_(2)solid lubricant can form a lubricating film on the ground surface and reduce the friction coefficient and grinding force.Within the experimental parameters,normal grinding force decreased by 42.5%,and tangential grinding force decreased by 28.1%.MoS_(2)lubricant can effectively improve the heat dissipation effect of titanium alloy grinding arc area.Compared with common CBN grinding wheel,MoS_(2)-coated CBN wheel has lower grinding temperature.When the grinding depth reaches 20μm,the grinding temperature decreased by 30.5%.The wear of CBN grains of grinding wheel were analyzed by mathematical statistical method.MoS_(2)lubricating coating can essentially decrease the wear of grains,reduce the adhesion of titanium alloy chip,prolong the service life of grinding wheel,and help to enhance the surface quality of workpiece.This research provides high-quality and efficient technical support for titanium alloy grinding.

A new step-cooling process for strength and toughness matching control of vanadium-containing railway wheels:effect of intragranular ferrite

To improve the competitive relationship between strength and toughness,the effect of low undercooling in austenite(γ)on the microstructure and mechanical properties of commercial vanadium-containing wheel steels was studied using an optical microscope(OM),a scanning electron microscope(SEM),a transmission electron microscope(TEM),and mechanical property tests.The results show that when the wheel steel is slightly cooled to an appropriate temperature above A c3 point for a short time after it has been austenitized at an elevated temperature,the solid-solved vanadium is pre-precipitated in the form of V(C,N)second phase semicoherent with the matrix in the originalγgrain.This phase hardly participates in matrix strengthening.Due to the small mismatch between V(C,N)and ferrite(α),during the subsequent-cooling phase transformation stage,the pre-precipitated second phase becomes theαnucleation point,causing granular and ellipsoidal intragranular ferrite(IGF,with an average size of 4-6μm)to nucleate in the originalγ.The IGF production and strength loss increases with the increasing undercooling degree.Based on this,Masteel Co.,Ltd.has developed a new heat-treatment step-cooling process that can promote the formation of IGF,considerably improving the level and uniformity of fracture toughness on the premise that the strength and hardness of the wheel are almost unchanged.

DRY GRINDING OF Ti6Al4V ALLOY WITH FLAP WHEELS

The grindability of alloy Ti6AI4V with zireonia alumina and silicon carbide flap wheels, and the effect of process parameters on grinding forces, grinding temperature and surface integrity are studied. The grinding forces are measured by KISTLER 9265B dynamometer. The grinding temperature response is obtained by NI USB-621X signal collection system. Ground surface morphology and the metallographic structure are observed by the Hirox KN-7700 stereoscopic microcope and the Quanta200 scanning electron microscope （SEM）. Surface roughnesses are measured by Mahr Perthometer M1 instrument. The surface microhardnesses are detected by HXS-1000 microhardness tester.

Analysis of steering performance of differential coupling wheelset

In order to improve the curving performance of the conventional wheelset in sharp curves and resolve the steering ability problem of the independently rotating wheel in large radius curves and tangent lines, a differential cou- pling wheelset （DCW） was developed in this work. The DCW was composed of two independently rotating wheels （IRWs） coupled by a clutch-type limited slip differential. The differential contains a static pre-stress clutch, which could lock both sides of IRWs of the DCW to ensure a good steering performance in curves with large radius and tangent track. In contrast, the clutch could unlock the two IRWs of the DCW in a sharp curve to endue it with the characteristic of an IRW, so that the vehicles can go through the tight curve smoothly. To study the dynamic performance of the DCW, a multi-body dynamic model of single bogie with DCWs was established. The self-centering capability, hunting stability, and self-steering performance on a curved track were analyzed and then compared with those of the conventional wheelset and IRW. Finally, the effect of coupling parameters of the DCW on the dynamic performance was investigated.

PERFORMANCE OF BRAZED DIAMOND CUP-TYPE WHEELS WITH DEFINED GRAIN PATTERN IN GRINDING CEMENTED CARBIDE

A new cup-type grinding wheel of the brazed monolayer diamond is developed with a defined grain pattern on the wheel surface. Grinding performance of the brazed wheel in the surface grinding of cemented carbide is studied. Experimental results show that when continuous dry grinding is employed, grits of the brazed diamond grinding wheel fail mainly in attritious wear and fracture modes and no pull-out ones are found in conventional electroplated and sintered diamond wheels. It indicates the strong retention of brazing alloy to diamond grits and the longer service life of the wheel. In addition, the ground surface has good roughness. The theoretical surface roughness agrees well with experimental results.

Microstructure and mechanical properties of A356 aluminum alloy wheels prepared by thixo-forging combined with a low superheat casting process

The A356 aluminum alloy wheels were prepared by thixo-forging combined with a low superheat casting process. The as-cast microstructure, microstructure evolution during reheating and the mechanical properties of the thixo-forged A356 aluminum alloy wheels were investigated. The results show that the A356 aluminum alloy billet with fine, uniform and non-dendritic grains can be obtained when the melt is cast at 635 ℃. When the billet is reheated at 600 ℃ for 60 min, the non-dendritic grains are changed into spherical ones and the billet can be easily thixo-forged into wheels. The tensile strength and elongation of thixo-forged wheels with T6 heat treatment are 327.6 MPa and 7.8%, respectively, which are higher than those of a cast wheel. It is suggested that the thixo-forging combined with the low superheat casting process is an effective technique to produce aluminum alloy wheels with high mechanical properties.

Monitoring Longitudinal Vehicular Velocity by Using Driving Wheels Information

In order to enhance the accuracy and overcome the limitation of representing the vehicular velocity with non driving wheel speed signals, which is commonly used in researching on automotive dynamic control systems at present, the dynamic and kinematics models of running vehicles and wheels are established. The concept that expresses vehicle velocity using only the driving wheel speed information with adjustable weight factors is described and an algorithm is proposed. A Matlab program with the algorithm embedded is made to simulate the vehicle’s accelerating under different road conditions, and it’s simulation results coincide well with the experimental results, which demonstrates the validity of the algorithm.

Effect of wheelset flexibility on wheel–rail contact behavior and a specific coupling of wheel–rail contact to flexible wheelset

The fexibility of a train＇s wheelset can have a large effect on vehicle–track dynamic responses in the medium to high frequency range.To investigate the effects of wheelset bending and axial deformation of the wheel web,a specifi coupling of wheel–rail contact with a fexible wheelset is presented and integrated into a conventional vehicle–track dynamic system model.Both conventional and the proposed dynamic system models are used to carry out numerical analyses on the effects of wheelset bending and axial deformation of the wheel web on wheel–rail rolling contact behaviors.Excitations with various irregularities and speeds were considered.The irregularities included measured track irregularity and harmonic irregularities with two different wavelengths.The speeds ranged from 200 to400km/h.The results show that the proposed model can characterize the effects of fexible wheelset deformation on the wheel–rail rolling contact behavior very well.

A Wall Climbing Robot with Two Driven Wheels

A wall climbing robot with two driven wheels and single adhering disk is introduced in this paper. The robot has a compact structure and can be controlled flexibly. This kind of robot will have a wide prospect for application.

Multi-objective Optimization of Differential Steering System of Electric Vehicle with Motorized Wheels

A differential steering system is presented for electric vehicle with motorized wheels and a dynamic model of three-freedom car is built.Based on these models,the quantitative expressions of the road feel,sensitivity,and operation stability of the steering are derived.Then,according to the features of multi-constrained optimization of multi-objective function,a multi-island genetic algorithm(MIGA)is designed.Taking the road feel and the sensitivity of the steering as optimization objectives and the operation stability of the steering as a constraint,the system parameters are optimized.The simulation results show that the system optimized with MIGA can improve the steering road feel,and guarantee the operation stability and steering sensibility.

Research of DP600 high strength steel wheels

Steel has been used as a traditional wheel materials for a long time.Before 1980' s,over 90% wheels were made of steels.Then,the yield strength of wheel steels increased gradually from 240 -350 MPa to 600 MPa or higher.The advanced high strength steels become the main wheel materials.Since 1990's,DP600 has been broadly applied in steel wheels oversea.However,there was little research of application of high strength steel wheels(especially wheel disc) in domestic wheel industrial.In presence, DP600 steel wheel is only developed in FAWSH by using imported CKD.Other domestic steel wheel manufacturers did little work on high strength DP600 wheel discs.Baosteel wheels Co.Ltd.is the first domestic company producing DP600 steel discs and has become the leading company in production of high strength wheel.Because of the high strength of DP600,its formability,springback,and wrinkle have become the keys of the successful application of DP600 steel.In this paper,the metallurgical and mechanical properties are firstly introduced and formation problems of DP600 are described compared to traditional steels.Secondly,FLD analysis has been done.Wrinkle and more springback are recognized.To solve these problems,an optimized solution is designed and the good result is obtained.The test has shown that the fatigue property of steel wheel discs made by DP600 have been greatly improved.

The role of microstructure and its stability in performance of wheels in heavy haul service

Thermal or thermo-mechanical loading is one of the major causes of wheel surface damage in Australian heavy haul operations.In addition,multi-wear wheels appear to be particularly sensitive to thermo-mechanical damage during their first service life.Such damage can incur heavy machining penalties or even premature scrapping of wheels.The combination of high contact stresses as well as substantial thermal loading(such as during prolonged periods of tread braking) can lead to severe plastic deformation,thermal fatigue and microstructural deterioration.For some high-strength wheel grades,the increased sensitivity to thermo-mechanical damage observed during the first service period may be attributed to the presence of a near-surface region in which the microstructure is more sensitive to these loading conditions than the underlying material.The standards applicable to wheels used in Australian heavy haul operations are based on the Association of American Railroads(AAR) specification M-107/M-208,which does not include any requirements for microstructure.The implementation of acceptance criteria for the microstructure,in particular that in the near-surface region of the wheel,may be necessary when new wheels are purchased.The stability of wheel microstructures during thermo-mechanical loading and the effects of alloying elements commonly used in wheel manufacturing are reviewed.A brief guide to improving thermal/mechanical stability of the microstructure is also provided.

Modelling of temperature and strain rate dependent behaviour of pearlitic steel in block braked railway wheels

Block braked railway wheels are subjected to thermal and rolling contact loading.The thermal loading results in high temperatures and thermal stresses which cause slow time dependent processes such as creep,relaxation and static recovery of the wheel material.At the same time,the rolling contact loading implies a very fast mechanical load application.This paper is focused on material modeling of pearlitic steel for a wide range of loading rates at elevated temperatures.The starting point is a viscoplasticity model including nonlinear isotropic and kinematic hardening.The Delobelle overstress function is employed to capture strain rate dependent response of the material.The model also includes static recovery of the hardening to capture slower viscous(diffusion dominated)behaviour of the material.Experiments for the pearlitic wheel steel ER7 in terms of cyclic strain-controlled uniaxial tests with hold-time,uniaxial ratchetting tests including rapid cycles and biaxial cyclic tests with tension/compression and torsion are used to calibrate the material model.These experiments were performed under isothermal conditions at different temperatures.In the ratchetting tests,higher loading rates are obtained and these have been used to calibrate the high strain rate response of the viscoplasticity model.The paper is concluded with a numerical example of a block braked wheel where the importance of accounting for the viscoplasticity in modelling is highlighted.

Calculation of Temperature Fields of Electric Locomotive Wheels during Emergency Braking on Tangent Track at a Speed of 200 km/h

According to the heat transfer theory, an unsteady state heat transfer model of electric locomotive wheels during emergency braking on tangent track at a speed of 200 km/h has been established in this paper. The explicit finite difference method is used in the numerical calculation of temperature fields of wheels. From the calculation results, the determination of braking distance and the material choice of brake shoes are discussed.

Air Tightness Control of Passenger Car Wheels

Since the tubeless tires and especially cast alloy wheels are used, the air tightness of wheels is an important factor of the automobiles quality. Based on specification of the car industry that up to 10% decrease of the prescribed nominal tire pressure during a time of six-month is allowed, the requirements presented in specifications and norms are treated and validated. The practical experience and influences on the wheel tightness control are discussed and the data presented in a report of a wheel manufacturer, concerning the replacements of wheels in service due to air leakage are evaluated. Summarizing the results of analyses, a proposal is made for the testing of the cast aluminum car wheels to meet the requirements for a reliable and economical air tightness control in modern test facilities.

Determination of an Equivalent Loading Circle Which May Represent the Loading of the Dual Wheels

This work aims to look for a simplifying surface that can represent the effect of the dual wheels on the variation of the stress and deformation state prevailing during the passage of traffic loads. This was facilitated by the results of Thiam (2016) [4] obtained on the distribution of the vertical contact stress in the space described by the dual wheels. The analysis of the results of this study, on all the loading circles considered, shows that the radius loading circle equal to 0.181 m makes it possible to most probably represent the effect of the dual wheels. With this new surface, the effect of the dual wheels can be determined in 2D. The choice of this load is confirmed by a study in case of overload. Thus, the single axle with dual wheels is represented by a simplified diagram equipped on each side by a disk of radius 0.181 m. These results are obtained using a numerical simulation under Cast3M with a gravelly lateritic pavement.