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.

A critical review of wheel/rail high frequency vibration-induced vibration fatigue of railway bogie in China

Purpose–This review aims to give a critical view of the wheel/rail high frequency vibration-induced vibration fatigue in railway bogie.Design/methodology/approach–Vibration fatigue of railway bogie arising from the wheel/rail high frequency vibration has become the main concern of railway operators.Previous reviews usually focused on the formation mechanism of wheel/rail high frequency vibration.This paper thus gives a critical review of the vibration fatigue of railway bogie owing to the short-pitch irregularities-induced high frequency vibration,including a brief introduction of short-pitch irregularities,associated high frequency vibration in railway bogie,typical vibration fatigue failure cases of railway bogie and methodologies used for the assessment of vibration fatigue and research gaps.Findings–The results showed that the resulting excitation frequencies of short-pitch irregularity vary substantially due to different track types and formation mechanisms.The axle box-mounted components are much more vulnerable to vibration fatigue compared with other components.The wheel polygonal wear and rail corrugation-induced high frequency vibration is the main driving force of fatigue failure,and the fatigue crack usually initiates from the defect of the weld seam.Vibration spectrum for attachments of railway bogie defined in the standard underestimates the vibration level arising from the short-pitch irregularities.The current investigations on vibration fatigue mainly focus on the methods to improve the accuracy of fatigue damage assessment,and a systematical design method for vibration fatigue remains a huge gap to improve the survival probability when the rail vehicle is subjected to vibration fatigue.Originality/value–The research can facilitate the development of a new methodology to improve the fatigue life of railway vehicles when subjected to wheel/rail high frequency vibration.

Dynamic analysis of axle box bearings on the high-speed train caused by wheel-rail excitation

To explore the impact of wheel-rail excitation on the dynamic performance of axle box bearings,a dynamic model of the high-speed train including axle box bearings is developed.Subsequently,the dynamic response characteristics of the axle box bearing are examined.The investigation focuses on the acceleration characteristics of bearing vibration under excitation of track irregularities and wheel flats.In addition,experiments on both normal and faulty bearings are conducted separately,and the correctness of the model and some conclusions are verified.According to the research,track irregularity is unfavorable for bearing fault detection based on resonance demodulation.Under the same speed conditions,the acceleration peak of bearing is inversely proportional to the length of the wheel flat and directly proportional to its depth.The paper will contribute to a deeper understanding of the dynamic performance of axle box bearings.

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.

Wheel/rail-force–based maintenance interval extension of the C80 series wagon

Purpose–This study aims to introduce the achievements and benefits of applying wheel/rail-force–based maintenance interval extension of the C80 series wagon in China.Design/methodology/approach–Chinese wagons’existing maintenance strategy had left a certain safety margin for the characteristics of widely running range,unstable service environment and submission to transportation organization requirements.To reduce maintenance costs,China railway(CR)has attempted to extend the maintenance interval since 2020.The maintenance cycle of C80 series heavy haul wagons is extended by three months(no stable routing)or 50,000 km(regular routing).However,in the meantime,the alarming rate of the running state,a key index to reflect the severe degree of hunting stability,by the train performance detection system(TPDS)for the C80 series heavy haul wagons has increased significantly.Findings–The present paper addresses a big data statistical way to evaluate the risk of allowing the C80 series heavy haul wagons to remain in operation longer than stipulated by the maintenance interval initial set.Through the maintenance and wayside-detectordata,whichis divided intothreestages,the extension period(three months),the current maintenance period and the previous maintenance period,this method reveals the alarming rate of hunting was correlated with maintenance interval.The maintainability of wagons will be achieved by utilizing wagon performance degradation modeling with the state of the wheelset and the often-contact side bearing.This paper also proposes a statistical model to return to the average safety level of the previous maintenance period’s baseline through correct alarming thresholds for unplanned corrective maintenance.Originality/value–The paper proposes an approach to reduce safety risk due to maintenance interval extension by effective maintenance program.The results are expected to help the railway company make the optimal solution to balance safety and the economy.

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.

Voluntary wheel running ameliorated the deleterious effects of high-fat diet on glucose metabolism,gut microbiota and microbial-associated metabolites

Exercise training is critical for the early prevention and treatment of obesity and diabetes mellitus.However,the mechanism with gut microbiota and fecal metabolites underlying the effects of voluntary wheel running on high-fat diet induced abnormal glucose metabolism has not been fully elaborated.C57BL/6 male mice were randomly assigned to 4 groups according to diets(fed with normal chow diet or high-fat diet)and running paradigm(housed in static cage or with voluntary running wheel).An integrative 16S rDNA sequencing and metabolites profiling was synchronously performed to characterize the effects of voluntary wheel running on gut microbiota and metabolites.It showed that voluntary wheel running prevented the detrimental effects of high-fat feeding on glucose metabolism 16S rDNA sequencing showed remarkable changes in Rikenella and Marvinbryantia genera.Metabolic profiling indicated multiple altered metabolites,which were enriched in secondary bile acid biosynthesis signaling.In conclusion,our study indicated that voluntary wheel running significantly improved glucose metabolism and counteracted the deleterious effects of high-fat feeding on body weight and glucose intolerance.We further found that voluntary wheel running could integratively program gut microbiota composition and fecal metabolites changes,and may regulate muricholic acid metabolism and secondary bile acid biosynthesis in high-fat fed mice.

Parametric Optimization of Wheel Spoke Structure for Drag Reduction of an Ahmed Body

The wheels have a considerable influence on the aerodynamic properties and can contribute up to 25%of the total drag on modern vehicles.In this study,the effect of the wheel spoke structure on the aerodynamic performance of the isolated wheel is investigated.Subsequently,the 35°Ahmed body with an optimized spoke structure is used to analyze the flow behavior and the mechanism of drag reduction.The Fluent software is employed for this investigation,with an inlet velocity of 40 m/s.The accuracy of the numerical study is validated by comparing it with experimental results obtained from the classical Ahmed model.To gain a clearer understanding of the effects of the wheel spoke parameters on the aerodynamics of both the wheel and Ahmedmodel,and five design variables are proposed:the fillet angleα,the inside arc radius R1,the outside radius R2,and the same length of the chord L1 and L2.These variables characterize the wheel spoke structure.The Optimal Latin Hypercube designmethod is utilized to conduct the experimental design.Based on the simulation results of various wheel spoke designs,the Kriging model and the adaptive simulated annealing algorithm is selected to optimize the design parameters.The objective is to achieve the best combination for maximum drag reduction.It is indicated that the optimized spoke structure resulted in amaximum drag reduction of 5.7%and 4.7%for the drag coefficient of the isolated wheel and Ahmed body,respectively.The drag reduction is primarily attributed to changes in the flow state around the wheel,which suppressed separation bubbles.Additionally,it influenced the boundary layer thickness around the car body and reduced the turbulent kinetic energy in the wake flow.These effects collectively contributed to the observed drag reduction.

An internal ballistic model of electromagnetic railgun based on PFN coupled with multi-physical field and experimental validation

To accelerate the practicality of electromagnetic railguns,it is necessary to use a combination of threedimensional numerical simulation and experiments to study the mechanism of bore damage.In this paper,a three-dimensional numerical model of the augmented railgun with four parallel unconventional rails is introduced to simulate the internal ballistic process and realize the multi-physics field coupling calculation of the rail gun,and a test experiment of a medium-caliber electromagnetic launcher powered by pulse formation network(PFN)is carried out.Various test methods such as spectrometer,fiber grating and high-speed camera are used to test several parameters such as muzzle initial velocity,transient magnetic field strength and stress-strain of rail.Combining the simulation results and experimental data,the damage condition of the contact surface is analyzed.

Thermal and mechanical behavior of casting copper alloy wheel during wheel and belt continuous casting process

To investigate the thermal and mechanical behavior of casting wheel,a two-dimensional thermoelastic-plastic finite element model was used to predict the temperature,stress and distortion distribution of the casting wheel during the wheel and belt continuous casting process.The effects of grinding thickness and casting speed on the thermal and mechanical behaviors of the center of the hot face of the casting wheel were discussed in detail.In each rotation,the casting wheel passes through four different spray zones.The results show that the temperature distribution of the casting wheel in different spray zones is similar,the temperature of the hot face is the highest and the temperature reaches the peak in the spray zoneⅢ.The stress and distortion depend on the temperature distribution,and the maximum stress and distortion of the hot face are 358.2 MPa and 1.82 mm,respectively.The temperature at the center of the hot face decreases with increasing grinding thickness and increases with increasing casting speed.

Enhancement of motor functional recovery in thoracic spinal cord injury: voluntary wheel running versus forced treadmill exercise

Spinal cord injury necessitates effective rehabilitation strategies, with exercise therapies showing promise in promoting recovery. This study investigated the impact of rehabilitation exercise on functional recovery and morphological changes following thoracic contusive spinal cord injury. After a 7-day recovery period after spinal cord injury, mice were assigned to either a trained group(10 weeks of voluntary running wheel or forced treadmill exercise) or an untrained group. Bi-weekly assessments revealed that the exercise-trained group, particularly the voluntary wheel exercise subgroup, displayed significantly improved locomotor recovery, more plasticity of dopaminergic and serotonin modulation compared with the untrained group. Additionally, exercise interventions led to gait pattern restoration and enhanced transcranial magnetic motor-evoked potentials. Despite consistent injury areas across groups, exercise training promoted terminal innervation of descending axons. In summary, voluntary wheel exercise shows promise for enhancing outcomes after thoracic contusive spinal cord injury, emphasizing the role of exercise modality in promoting recovery and morphological changes in spinal cord injuries. Our findings will influence future strategies for rehabilitation exercises, restoring functional movement after spinal cord injury.

Adaptive Trajectory Tracking Control for Nonholonomic Wheeled Mobile Robots:A Barrier Function Sliding Mode Approach

The trajectory tracking control performance of nonholonomic wheeled mobile robots(NWMRs)is subject to nonholonomic constraints,system uncertainties,and external disturbances.This paper proposes a barrier function-based adaptive sliding mode control(BFASMC)method to provide high-precision,fast-response performance and robustness for NWMRs.Compared with the conventional adaptive sliding mode control,the proposed control strategy can guarantee that the sliding mode variables converge to a predefined neighborhood of origin with a predefined reaching time independent of the prior knowledge of the uncertainties and disturbances bounds.Another advantage of the proposed algorithm is that the control gains can be adaptively adjusted to follow the disturbances amplitudes thanks to the barrier function.The benefit is that the overestimation of control gain can be eliminated,resulting in chattering reduction.Moreover,a modified barrier function-like control gain is employed to prevent the input saturation problem due to the physical limit of the actuator.The stability analysis and comparative experiments demonstrate that the proposed BFASMC can ensure the prespecified convergence performance of the NWMR system output variables and strong robustness against uncertainties/disturbances.

KL-SG High-Speed Rail-a catalyst for national economic development Sri Viknesh Permalu and Karthigesu Nagarajoo

Purpose-In an increasingly interconnected world,transportation infrastructure has emerged as a critical determinant of economic growth and global competitiveness.High-speed rail(HSR),characterized by its exceptional speed and efficiency,has garnered widespread attention as a transformative mode of transportation that transcends borders and fosters economic development.The Kuala Lumpur-Singapore(KL-SG)HSR project stands as a prominent exemplar of this paradigm,symbolizing the potential of HSR to serve as a catalyst for national economic advancement.Design/methodologylapproach-This paper is prepared to provide an insight into the benefits and advantages of HSR based on proven case studies and references from global HSRs,including China,Spain,France and Japan.Findings-The findings that have been obtained focus on enhanced connectivity and accessibility,attracting foreign direct investment,revitalizing regional economies,urban development and city regeneration,boosting tourism and cultural exchange,human capital development,regionai integration and environmental and sustainability benefits.Originality/value-The KL-SG HSR,linking Kuala Lumpur and Singapore,epitomizes the potential for HSR to be a transformative agent in the realm of economic development.This project encapsulates the aspirations of two dynamic Southeast Asian economies,united in their pursuit of sustainable growth,enhanced connectivity and global competitiveness.By scrutinizing the KLSG High-Speed Rail through the lens of economic benchmarking,a deeper understanding emerges of how such projects can drive progress in areas such as cross-border trade,tourism,urban development and technological innovation.

Effect of deformation parameters on the austenite dynamic recrystallization behavior of a eutectoid pearlite rail steel

Understandings of the effect of hot deformation parameters close to the practical production line on grain refinement are crucial for enhancing both the strength and toughness of future rail steels.In this work,the austenite dynamic recrystallization(DRX)behaviors of a eutectoid pearlite rail steel were studied using a thermo-mechanical simulator with hot deformation parameters frequently employed in rail production lines.The single-pass hot deformation results reveal that the prior austenite grain sizes(PAGSs)for samples with different deformation reductions decrease initially with an increase in deformation temperature.However,once the deformation temperature is beyond a certain threshold,the PAGSs start to increase.It can be attributed to the rise in DRX volume fraction and the increase of DRX grain with deformation temperature,respectively.Three-pass hot deformation results show that the accumulated strain generated in the first and second deformation passes can increase the extent of DRX.In the case of complete DRX,PAGS is predominantly determined by the deformation temperature of the final pass.It suggests a strategic approach during industrial production where part of the deformation reduction in low temperature range can be shifted to the medium temperature range to release rolling mill loads.

Corrosion Test of the Steel Plate in a WJ-8 Fastener for High Speed Rail

It was found that the steel plate in the composite plate in the WJ-8 fastener used in high speed rail is rusty. The objective of this study is to test the zinc coating of the steel plate. A literature review was conducted to identify the zinc coating techniques, and the companies that can provide different coating service was identified. A salt fog chamber was built that was in compliance with the ANSI B117 code, and the steel plates that were coated by the identified companies were tested using the salt fog chamber. The results indicated that the coating technique that had the best performance in preventing corrosion was the Greenkote plates with passivation. The galvanized option had the roughest coating layer, and it was the most reactive in the salt water solution. This makes it non-ideal for the dynamic rail environment because the increased friction of the plate could damage the supports, especially during extreme temperatures that would cause the rail to expand or contract. Greenkote with Phosphate and ArmorGalv also provided increased corrosion prevention with a smooth, strong finish, but it had more rust on the surface area than the Greenkote with ELU passivation. The ArmorGalv sample had more rust on the surface area than the Greenkote samples. This may not be a weakness in the ArmorGalv process;rather, it likely was the result of this particular sample not having the added protection of a colored coating.

Human intrusion detection for high-speed railway perimeter under all-weather condition

Purpose – The paper aims to solve the problem of personnel intrusion identification within the limits of highspeed railways. It adopts the fusion method of millimeter wave radar and camera to improve the accuracy ofobject recognition in dark and harsh weather conditions.Design/methodology/approach – This paper adopts the fusion strategy of radar and camera linkage toachieve focus amplification of long-distance targets and solves the problem of low illumination by laser lightfilling of the focus point. In order to improve the recognition effect, this paper adopts the YOLOv8 algorithm formulti-scale target recognition. In addition, for the image distortion caused by bad weather, this paper proposesa linkage and tracking fusion strategy to output the correct alarm results.Findings – Simulated intrusion tests show that the proposed method can effectively detect human intrusionwithin 0–200 m during the day and night in sunny weather and can achieve more than 80% recognitionaccuracy for extreme severe weather conditions.Originality/value – (1) The authors propose a personnel intrusion monitoring scheme based on the fusion ofmillimeter wave radar and camera, achieving all-weather intrusion monitoring;(2) The authors propose a newmulti-level fusion algorithm based on linkage and tracking to achieve intrusion target monitoring underadverse weather conditions;(3) The authors have conducted a large number of innovative simulationexperiments to verify the effectiveness of the method proposed in this article.

Optimal Scheduling of Multiple Rail Cranes in Rail Stations with Interference Crane Areas

In this paper,we consider a multi-crane scheduling problem in rail stations because their operations directly influence the throughput of the rail stations.In particular,the job is not only assigned to cranes but also the job sequencing is implemented for each crane to minimize the makespan of cranes.A dual cycle of cranes is used to minimize the number of working cycles of cranes.The rail crane scheduling problems in this study are based on the movement of containers.We consider not only the gantry moves,but also the trolley moves as well as the rehandle cases are also included.A mathematical model of multi-crane scheduling is developed.The traditional and parallel simulated annealing(SA)are adapted to determine the optimal scheduling solutions.Numerical examples are conducted to evaluate the applicability of the proposed algorithms.Verification of the proposed parallel SA is done by comparing it to existing previous works.Results of numerical computation highlighted that the parallel SA algorithm outperformed the SA and gave better solutions than other considered algorithms.

Determining future high speed rail review topics through bibliometric analysis

As High Speed Rail(HSR)has proliferated globally,so has a related research field dedicated to exploring and addressing its unique issues.Yet,studies to understand and classify the HSR research domain are limited.This paper addresses the gap,using bibliometric analysis to identify future research areas and 20 candidate topics for literature review based on keyword analysis through VOSviewer.Article and review papers related to HSR published in the last 20 years(2003-2022)were retrieved from Scopus,and then analyzed to determine the split in knowledge between languages,the collaboration between countries and institutions,highly productive and cited journals,and research topics which have and have not been reviewed.Approximately 30%of the search results were published exclusively in Chinese,highlighting the importance of extending the evaluation to cover both languages.This is a novel aspect of the work,which has enabled the recognition of potential knowledge gaps.It is recommended that future reviews incorporate works in both languages,possibly through international collaboration.Institutions in China and other countries that are strong collaborators have been identified,as well as relevant,highly cited journals.

Design and Test of Closed Hydraulic Transmission System of 4WD High-clearance Wheeled Sprayer

In conjunction with the working characteristics of the high-clearance wheeled sprayer and the benefits of the closed hydraulic system,a series of reasonable working parameters should be established,and a hydraulic system that fulfills the requisite specifications should be designed.The AMESim software model is employed to construct a closed hydraulic transmission system,and the simulation analysis is then performed according to the data of hydraulic components.According to analysis results,the prototype can be optimized and upgraded,and a verification test is further carried out.The test results demonstrate that the designed closed hydraulic transmission system meets the actual working requirements of the high-clearance wheeled sprayer and provides a stable experimental platform for intelligent control of agricultural machinery.

Comparison study on measurement of rail weld joint between inertial reference method and multi-point chord reference method

Purpose – Straightness measurement of rail weld joint is of essential importance to railway maintenance. Dueto the lack of efficient measurement equipment, there has been limited in-depth research on rail weld joint with a5-m wavelength range, leaving a significant knowledge gap in this field.Design/methodology/approach – In this study, the authors used the well-established inertial referencemethod (IR-method), and the state-of-the-art multi-point chord reference method (MCR-method). Two methodshave been applied in different types of rail straightness measurement trollies, respectively. These instrumentswere tested in a high-speed rail section within a certain region of China. The test results were ultimatelyvalidated through using traditional straightedge and feeler gauge methods as reference data to evaluate the railweld joint straightness within the 5-m wavelength range.Findings – The research reveals that IR-method and MCR-method produce reasonably similar measurementresults for wavelengths below 1 m. However, MCR-method outperforms IR-method in terms of accuracy forwavelengths exceeding 3 m. Furthermore, it was observed that IR-method, while operating at a slower speed,carries the risk of derailing and is incapable of detecting rail weld joints and low joints within the track.Originality/value – The research compare two methods’ measurement effects in a longer wavelength rangeand demonstrate the superiority of MCR-method.