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.

Effects of Lateral Motion on the Creep Forces in Wheel/Rail Rolling Contact

The influences of the lateral motion of a single wheelset running on a tangent railway on the creepages and creep forces between wheel and rail are investigated with numerical methods. The effect of the yaw motion of wheelset is neglected in the analysis, and Kalker’s theory of three dimensional elastic bodies in rolling contact is employed to analyze the creep forces in the wheel/rail rolling contact with Non Hertzian form.

NUMERICAL SIMULATION OF TWO-POINT CONTACT BETWEEN WHEEL AND RAIL

The elastic-plastic contact problem with rolling friction of wheel-rail is solved using the FE parametric quadratic programming method. Thus, the complex elastic-plastic contact problem can be calculated with high accuracy and efficiency, while the Hertz＇s hypothesis and the elastic semi-space assumption are avoided. Based on the ‘one-point＇ contact calculation of wheel-rail, the computational model of ‘two-point＇ contact are established and calculated when the wheel flange is close to the rail. In the case of ‘two-point＇ contact, the changing laws of wheelrail contact are introduced and contact forces in various load cases are carefully analyzed. The main reason of wheel flange wear and rail side wear is found. Lubrication computational model of the wheel flange is constructed. Comparing with the result without lubrication, the contact force between wheel flange and rail decreases, which is beneficial for reducing the wear of wheel-rail.

An integrated approach for the optimization of wheel-rail contact force measurement systems

A comprehension of railway dynamic behavior implies the measure of wheel-rail contact forces which are affected by disturbances and errors that are often difficult to be quantified. In this study, a benchmark test case is proposed, and a bogie with a layout used on some European locomotives such as SIEMENS El90 is studied. In this layout, an additional shaft on which brake disks are installed is used to transmit the braking torque to the wheelset through a single-stage gearbox. Using a mixed approach based on finite element techniques and statistical considerations, it is possible to evaluate an optimal layout for strain gauge positioning and to optimize the measurement system to diminish the effects of noise and disturbance. We also conducted preliminary evaluations on the precision and frequency response of the proposed system.

State-of-Arts of Mechanics of Rolling Contact and Its Application to Analysis of the Interactions between Wheel and Rail

A few typical models of theory on rolling contact of bodies are reviewed, and the advantages and disadvantages in the applications to the dynamics of railway vehicles and the wheel/rail rolling contact are discussed in detail in the present paper.

Simulation on derailment base on a new wheel-rail contact method

The simulation package for special research on derailment of high speed vehicle is established.The process of derailment is different from other behaviors of vehicle dynamics because of large lateral displacement of wheelsets.To get correct results,a new fast algorithm to computing contact force is adopted and the exact geometry analysis is necessary to judge derailment happened.Variation of contact condition and coefficient of friction with speeds are also considered into vehicle-track coupled model.The structure of the package is presented in detail.The results are particular emphasis on investigation influence of maximum track defect,critical vehicle speed and various contact condition on derailment.The simulation can also be used to define the most risk factor leading to derailment.

Modeling of Energy Processes in Wheel-Rail Contacts Operating under Influence of Periodic Discontinuous Forces

In this paper we present new numerical simulation approaches for determining the energy processes under periodic conditions caused by time-discontinuous forces in the wheel-rail contacts. The main advantage of the presented method is the total elimination of frequency analysis, which in effect introduces important simplifications in the identification of the effects in the contact. The second important feature is the fact that the method is based on the analysis of appropriate loops on the energy phase plane leading to an easy estimation of the rail strength through the evaluation of the loop’s area. That model based simulation in the applied dynamics relies on advanced methods for model setup, robust and efficient numerical solution techniques and powerful simulation tools for practical applications. Fundamental properties of contact displacements of the rail surface have been considered on the basis of the newly established method. The contact zone between railway wheels and the rail surfaces made of bulk materials is perceived as strong enough to resist the normal (vertical) forces introduced by heavy loads and the dynamic response induced by track and wheel irregularities. The analysis is carried out for a wheel running on an elastic rail rested on sleepers arranged on completely rigid foundation. The equations of displacement motion are established through the application of the Lagrange equations approach. The established model of the wheel-rail contact dynamics has been applied to that same roll plane but with taking into account a nonlinear characteristic of the sleeper with respect to the ground. Attention then is focused completely on the modeling of the energy absorbed by the rail. The applied method employs the energy state variables as time functions leading to determine the susceptibility of a given contact on the strength induced by the rail roll.

ELASTIC-PLASTIC FINITE ELEMENT ANALYSIS OF THREE-DIMENSIONAL CONTACT-IMPACT AT RAIL JOINT

Using the finite element code ANSYS/LS-DYNA, a dynamic finite element modelwith an elastic-linear-kinematic-hardening plastic material is established to analyzeelastic-plastic stresses in the railhead in the impact process of wheel and rail occurring at thegap of rail joint. The model is based on the discrete elastic support condition of the rails, whichis suitable for the actual situation of wheel/track rolling contact. In the analysis the influencesof axle load, yield stress and tangent modulus of rail material on the stresses and strains areinvestigated in detail. The distribution of stresses and strains in the jointed railhead are given.It is found that the axle load, yield stress and tangent modulus of rail material greatly affect thestresses and strains in the railhead during impacting. The study provides a reliable method anduseful datum for the further research on fatigue and wear of railhead and improving the rail jointmode.

Numerical simulation of wheel wear evolution for heavy haul railway

The prediction of the wheel wear is a fundamental problem in heavy haul railway. A numerical methodology is introduced to simulate the wheel wear evolution of heavy haul freight car. The methodology includes the spatial coupling dynamics of vehicle and track, the three-dimensional rolling contact analysis of wheel-rail, the Specht's material wear model, and the strategy for reproducing the actual operation conditions of railway. The freight vehicle is treated as a full 3D rigid multi-body model. Every component is built detailedly and various contact interactions between parts are accurately simulated, taking into account the real clearances. The wheel-rail rolling contact calculation is carried out based on Hertz's theory and Kalker's FASTSIM algorithm. The track model is built based on field measurements. The material loss due to wear is evaluated according to the Specht's model in which the wear coefficient varies with the wear intensity. In order to exactly reproduce the actual operating conditions of railway,dynamic simulations are performed separately for all possible track conditions and running velocities in each iterative step.Dimensionless weight coefficients are introduced that determine the ratios of different cases and are obtained through site survey. For the wheel profile updating, an adaptive step strategy based on the wear depth is introduced, which can effectively improve the reliability and stability of numerical calculation. At last, the wear evolution laws are studied by the numerical model for different wheels of heavy haul freight vehicle running in curves. The results show that the wear of the front wheelset is more serious than that of the rear wheelset for one bogie, and the difference is more obvious for the outer wheels. The wear of the outer wheels is severer than that of the inner wheels. The wear of outer wheels mainly distributes near the flange and the root; while the wear of inner wheels mainly distributes around the nominal rolling circle. For the outer wheel of front wheelset of each bogie, the development of wear is gradually concentrated on the flange and the developing speed increases continually with the increase of traveled distance.

Simulation of wheel and rail profile wear:a review of numerical models

The development of numerical models able to compute the wheel and rail profile wear is essential to improve the scheduling of maintenance operations required to restore the original profile shapes.This work surveys the main numerical models in the literature for the evaluation of the uniform wear of wheel and rail profiles.The standard structure of these tools includes a multibody simulation of the wheel-track coupled dynamics and a wear module implementing an experimental wear law.Therefore,the models are classified according to the strategy adopted for the worn profile update,ranging from models performing a single computation to models based on an online communication between the dynamic and wear modules.Nevertheless,the most common strategy nowadays relies on an iteration of dynamic simulations in which the profiles are left unchanged,with co-simulation techniques often adopted to increase the computational performances.Work is still needed to improve the accuracy of the current models.New experimental campaigns should be carried out to obtain refined wear coefficients and models,while strategies for the evaluation of both longitudinal and transversal wear,also considering the effects of tread braking,should be implemented to obtain accurate damage models.

Numerical Analysis of Rolling-sliding Contact with the Frictional Heat in Rail

Thermal damage caused by frictional heat of rolling-sliding contact is one of the most important failure forms of wheel and rail. Many studies of wheel-rail frictional heating have been devoted to the temperature field, but few literatures focus on wheel-rail thermal stress caused by frictional heating. However, the wheel-rail creepage is one of important influencing factors of the thermal stress In this paper, a thermo-mechanical coupling model of wheel-rail rolling-sliding contact is developed using thermo-elasto-plastic finite element method. The effect of the wheel-rail elastic creepage on the distribution of heat flux is investigated using the numerical model in which the temperature-dependent material properties are taken into consideration. The moving wheel-rail contact force and the frictional heating are used to simulate the wheel rolling on the rail. The effect of the creepage on the temperature rise, thermal strain, residual stress and residual strain under wheel-rail sliding-rolling contact are investigated. The investigation results show that the thermally affected zone exists mainly in a very thin layer of material near the rail contact surface during the rolling-sliding contact. Both the temperature and thermal strain of rail increase with increasing creepage. The residual stresses induced by the frictional heat in the surface layer of rail appear to be tensile. When the creepage is large, the frictional heat has a significant influence on the residual stresses and residual strains of rail. This paper develops a thermo-meehanical coupling model of wheel-rail rolling-sliding contact, and the obtained results can help to understand the mechanism of wheel/rail frictional thermal fatigue.

Study on Match Relationship between Rail and Wheel

The match relationship between rail and wheel was studied by investigating the behavior of the contact fatigue wear in rail/wheel systems.The hardnesses of samples were close or equal to that of the real rail and wheel.Meanwhile the probe of study went further into the condition match and the material match based on the hardness match.The experimental results show that the wear rate depends on the hardness ratio(H/H)between rail and wheel,and the safe value of H/Hequals 1.00-11.20.The fatigue life of materials relies on the operating conditions except hardness.The selected experimental conditions satisfy the condition match except Rheat-treated out-line.The factor H/Sis the main element effecting wears in rail steel and wheel steel.The nature of the hardness match is the microstructure match under specified operating conditions.

考虑材料温变特性的三维轮轨接触热分析

为研究材料温变特性对轮轨接触行为和摩擦温升的影响,提出了一种考虑材料温变特性的三维轮轨热力耦合模型,能够考虑纵、横向蠕滑率和自旋的影响,更为真实地模拟轮轨系统的服役状态.首先,研究了热力耦合建模方式对轮轨界面摩擦温升及接触应力的影响;随后,将该模型应用于地铁小半径曲线处车辆-轨道相互作用模拟.结果表明:当轮轨界面温度达到450℃时,轮轨接触应力显著降低,降幅可达20%;考虑热力耦合建模后,轮轨界面的预测温升明显低于不考虑热力耦合建模时的结果,在蠕滑率为0.16时,两者的差异可达51%;地铁车辆在小半径曲线线路上运行时轮轨摩擦温升因过大的蠕滑率与自旋会急剧增大到750℃,应考虑轮轨热力耦合建模以避免过高估计轮轨摩擦温升以及轮轨接触应力.

考虑摇头角的非赫兹滚动接触算法对比研究

为研究轮对摇头角对轮轨接触行为的影响以及评估简化非赫兹轮轨接触算法的精度,选取EKP、MKP与MSHM共3种考虑摇头角的轮轨非赫兹简化算法分析轮轨法向与切向接触行为。以S1002CN车轮踏面和CHN60钢轨为研究对象,以精确理论CONTACT算法的结果为参考,对比各简化接触算法得到的接触斑形状、接触应力、切应力等微观接触结果的准确性。利用UM软件建立车辆-轨道耦合动力学模型进行仿真分析得到轮轨运动参数,然后输入到接触算法计算轮轨接触解,基于统计学累积误差方法评估不同接触算法在实际车辆运行工况下的计算精度与稳定性。计算结果表明:摇头角使轮轨接触斑与接触应力呈三维非对称分布;对于法向接触,在大部分工况下,MKP算法相比EKP、MSHM算法精度较高,但接触斑内轮轨曲率变化较大时,如横移量为6 mm,MKP算法所得到的最大接触应力误差为47.2%,此时更适合采用MSHM算法,其误差为27%;对于切向问题,采用EKP+FaStrip、MKP+FaStrip算法比MSHM+FASTSIM算法得到的结果更准确;对于动力学结果,MKP+FaStrip算法比EKP+FaStrip、MSHM+FASTSIM算法得到的接触结果更加精确和稳定。

轨底坡耦合轮径差对地铁车辆动力学性能及轮轨接触特性的影响

为了研究轨底坡耦合轮径差对于地铁车辆动力学性能及轮轨接触特性的影响规律,设置了3种轨底坡工况(1/20、1/30和1/40)和5种轮径差工况,通过建立地铁车辆动力学仿真模型和轮轨接触三维弹性有限元模型,分析轨底坡耦合轮径差对地铁车辆直线平稳性和曲线通过性能的影响。结果表明:直线路段车辆平稳性指标受到轮径差变化的影响大于轨底坡变化的影响,轮轨等效应力和接触应力会随着轮径差的增加而增大;曲线路段的各个动力学指标会随着轮径差的增加而增大;综合考虑动力学指标和轮轨接触特性,直线路段下尽量减少使用1/20轨底坡;曲线路段下,可以选择1/30轨底坡,减少轮径差对车辆的影响。

轨底坡耦合车轮动态型面下地铁轮轨接触特性

为探究地铁车轮型面动态变化与轨底坡设置的关系,跟踪测试了运行里程5万、8万、14万公里车轮磨耗型面,研究轨底坡耦合车轮动态型面时的轮轨接触特性;以车辆动力学理论为依据,根据实测地铁车辆参数,建立了车辆系统动力学模型;基于轮轨接触几何关系和非赫兹滚动接触理论,建立了轮轨滚动接触计算模型;以轮轨接触点和接触位置、滚动圆半径差、接触角、等效锥度、蠕滑率、接触斑面积和最大接触压力作为轮轨接触几何和力学性能指标,分析轨底坡耦合车轮动态型面对轮轨接触特性的影响规律。结果表明:LM标准型面和5万公里车轮磨耗型面与1/20轨底坡匹配时轮轨接触点分布均匀;随着运行里程增加,车轮磨耗型面变化,轮轨接触恶化,轮对横移量4 mm下,8万和14万公里车轮磨耗型面与1/20轨底坡匹配时各指标出现断点。

基于GPD理论和百分位数阈值法的轮轨力极值估计与动力系数研究

在高速铁路无砟轨道结构设计和检算时,列车荷载设计值是关键的设计参数之一。基于GPD理论,研究全波段不平顺激励下的轮轨力极值估计方法,并与脉冲激励下的结果对比,为无砟轨道结构设计和相关规范的完善提供依据。结果表明:采用百分位数法选取阈值时,应对样本分簇以提高样本之间的独立性和轮轨力极值估计的精度;提出结合百分位数阈值的形状参数筛选法进行轮轨力极值估计,确定了每簇样本量大小和形状参数区间;样本量宜取3×10^(5)~5×10^(5)个,百分位数阈值宜取50%~98%,且以轮轨力极值估计值的均值作为最终的轮轨力极值估计值;列车速度为250~400 km/h的列车荷载设计值动力系数分别为2.2、2.4、2.6和2.8。

基于遗传算法的实测轮轨蠕滑曲线模拟

轮轨黏着-蠕滑特性直接影响着轮轨系统的工作性能和列车的运行安全。为在轮轨接触数值模型中合理地表征实测黏着-蠕滑曲线的影响,在KP模型和改进FASTSIM模型的基础上,提出了黏着-蠕滑特征参数初值计算方法,结合遗传算法设计参数拟合过程并选取合适的适应度函数,形成了一种获取描述轮轨黏着-蠕滑特性特征参数的通用方法,随后以160 km/h速度的实测蠕滑数据为例,分析对比了本文算法拟合蠕滑曲线的计算效率及与理想工况下局部接触结果的差异。研究表明:(1)本文提出的算法在拟合不同速度工况对应的实测黏着-蠕滑曲线时均具有较高的精度,提出的拟合特征参数取值范围提高了遗传算法收敛速度,与遍历法相比计算速度提高18.5倍;(2)考虑潮湿环境实测轮轨黏着-蠕滑曲线时,轮轨黏滑分布、切向接触应力较干态理想工况有显著差异,主要体现在接触斑最大切向接触应力减小、滑动区面积随蠕滑率增大的速度减缓等。本文算法满足车辆-轨道耦合动力学数值仿真要求,可更真实地模拟实际环境条件下的轮轨相互作用。

面向钢轨修复的不同槽型接触轮砂带打磨接触行为及材料去除特性

为掌握不同槽型接触轮砂带对钢轨打磨接触行为及材料去除特性的影响规律,基于橡胶接触特性,建立X齿型、锯齿型和人字型3种典型接触轮砂带打磨仿真模型,模拟分析不同槽型特征对接触轮-钢轨静态接触行为和动态冲击应力的影响机制;通过钢轨砂带打磨试验,对比研究3种槽型接触轮的材料去除特性。结果表明:3种槽型接触轮与钢轨的接触区域整体均呈椭圆形态,符合赫兹接触理论,内部接触形态则随槽型特征呈现为块状分布;接触区域应力分布总体符合弹性半空间接触理论,但在接触块边缘会出现应力集中;X齿型接触轮和人字型接触轮因齿尖和齿槽结构的存在而具有较高的材料去除能力,同等打磨条件下X齿型接触轮较平型接触轮的材料去除能力提高了79%;顺磨条件下的材料去除能力高于逆磨,以X齿型接触轮为例,顺磨比逆磨的材料去除能力提高了22.7%;X齿型和人字型接触轮砂带打磨的噪声、振动、粗糙度、平均电流均较高,锯齿型接触轮具有较低的振动、粗糙度及平均电流,平型轮则具有较低的噪声和电流。

等效锥度非线性研究及其在踏面设计中的应用

为研究等效锥度非线性特性对车辆系统动力学和磨耗性能的影响,提出可以用于踏面优化设计的非线性特性建议指标。通过对轮轨关系进行细致推导,应用踏面逆向设计快速递推算法,得到具有不同等效锥度非线性特性的踏面,对不同踏面的轮轨关系进行分析。建立车辆系统动力学模型和基于Archard理论的磨耗预测模型,对不同非线性特性踏面的临界速度、横向平稳性、磨耗性能进行对比分析。研究结果表明:非线性因子值过高或过低都会导致临界速度下降,但该指标过高对临界速度影响更大,最大降幅可达20%;等效锥度非线性特性还会影响到踏面的磨耗发展,踏面的初始非线性因子越高,名义等效锥度在磨耗过程中的增长越慢,对延长车轮服役周期是有利的。综合动力学性能及磨耗性能,建议高速列车踏面的非线性因子应取尽可能接近于0的负值。在这一结论的指导下,对S1002CN踏面进行优化设计,得到名义等效锥度为0.1,等效锥度非线性因子为0.013(与S1002CN持平)、-0.002的优化踏面S1002CN_opt1、S1002CN_opt2,优化踏面S1002CN_opt2与S1002CN相比临界速度和横向平稳性有所优化,同时磨耗性能也有所提升。S1002CN_opt2与S1002CN_opt1之间的等效锥度非线性关系在动力学性能及磨耗性能中的表现证明以等效锥度非线性因子限值指导踏面进行优化设计的可行性,研究结果可为踏面设计及轮轨关系研究提供参考。