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.

Analysis of wheel-rail adhesion redundancy considering the thirdbody medium on the rail surface

Purpose–In response to the problem of insufficient traction/braking adhesion force caused by the existence of the third-body medium on the rail surface,this study aims to analyze the utilization of wheel-rail adhesion coefficient under different medium conditions and propose relevant measures for reasonable and optimized utilization of adhesion to ensure the traction/braking performance and operation safety of trains.Design/methodology/approach–Based on the PLS-160 wheel-rail adhesion simulation test rig,the study investigates the variation patterns of maximum utilized adhesion characteristics on the rail surface under different conditions of small creepage and large slip.Through statistical analysis of multiple sets of experimental data,the statistical distribution patterns of maximum utilized adhesion on the rail surface are obtained,and a method for analyzing wheel-rail adhesion redundancy based on normal distribution is proposed.The study analyzes the utilization of traction/braking adhesion,as well as adhesion redundancy,for different medium under small creepage and large slip conditions.Based on these findings,relevant measures for the reasonable and optimized utilization of adhesion are derived.Findings–When the third-body medium exists on the rail surface,the train should adopt the low-level service braking to avoid the braking skidding by extending the braking distance.Compared with the current adhesion control strategy of small creepage,adopting appropriate strategies to control the train’s adhesion coefficient near the second peak point of the adhesion coefficient-slip ratio curve in large slip can effectively improve the traction/braking adhesion redundancy and the upper limit of adhesion utilization,thereby ensuring the traction/braking performance and operation safety of the train.Originality/value–Most existing studies focus on the wheel-rail adhesion coefficient values and variation patterns under different medium conditions,without considering whether the rail surface with different medium can provide sufficient traction/braking utilized adhesion coefficient for the train.Therefore,there is a risk of traction overspeeding/braking skidding.This study analyzes whether the rail surface with different medium can provide sufficient traction/braking utilized adhesion coefficient for the train and whether there is redundancy.Based on these findings,relevant measures for the reasonable and optimized utilization of adhesion are derived to further ensure operation safety of the train.

Train wheel-rail force collaborative calibration based on GNN-LSTM

Accurate wheel-rail force data serves as the cornerstone for analyzing the wheel-rail relationship.However,achieving continuous and precise measurement of this force remains a significant challenge in the field.This article introduces a calibration algorithm for the wheel-rail force that leverages graph neural networks and long short-term memory networks.Initially,a comprehensive wheel-rail force detection system for trains was constructed,encompassing two key components:an instrumented wheelset and a ground wheel-rail force measuring system.Subsequently,utilizing this system,two distinct datasets were acquired from the track inspection vehicle:instrumented wheelset data and ground wheel-rail force data,a feedforward neural network was employed to calibrate the instrumented wheelset data,referencing the ground wheel-rail force data.Furthermore,ground wheel-rail force data for the locomotive was obtained for the corresponding road section.This data was then integrated with the calibrated instrumented wheelset data from the track inspection vehicle.Leveraging the GNN-LSTM network,the article establishes a mapping relationship model between the wheel-rail force of the track inspection vehicle and the locomotive wheel-rail force.This model facilitates continuous measurement of locomotive wheel-rail forces across three typical scenarios:straight sections,long and steep downhill sections,and small curve radius sections.

Wheel-rail contact model for railway vehicle-structure interaction applications:development and validation

An enhancement in the wheel-rail contact model used in a nonlinear vehicle-structure interaction(VSI)methodology for railway applications is presented,in which the detection of the contact points between wheel and rail in the concave region of the thread-flange transition is implemented in a simplified way.After presenting the enhanced formulation,the model is validated with two numerical applications(namely,the Manchester Benchmarks and a hunting stability problem of a sus-pended wheelset),and one experimental test performed in a test rig from the Railway Technical Research Institute(RTRI)in Japan.Given its finite element(FE)nature,and contrary to most of the vehicle multibody dynamic commercial software that cannot account for the infrastructure flexibility,the proposed VSI model can be easily used in the study of train-bridge systems with any degree of complexity.The validation presented in this work proves the accuracy of the proposed model,making it a suitable tool for dealing with different railway dynamic applications,such as the study of bridge dynamics,train running safety under different scenarios(namely,earthquakes and crosswinds,among others),and passenger riding comfort.

Comparative study on wheel-rail dynamic interactions of side-frame cross-bracing bogie and sub-frame radial bogie

Improving freight axle load is the most effective method to improve railway freight capability; based on the imported technologies of railway freight bogie, the 27 t axle load side-frame cross-bracing bogie and sub-frame radial bogie are developed in China. In order to analyze and compare dynamic interactions of the two newly developed heavy-haul freight bogies, we establish a vehi- cle-track coupling dynamic model and use numerical calculation methods for computer simulation. The dynamic performances of the two bogies are simulated separately at various conditions. The results show that at the dipped joint and straight line running conditions, the wheel-rail dynamic interactions of both bogies are basically the same, but at the curve negotiation condition, the wear and the lateral force of the side-frame cross-bracing bogie are much higher than that of the sub-frame radial bogie, and the advantages become more obvious when the curve radius is smaller. The results also indicate that the sub- frame radial bogie has better low-wheel-rail interaction characteristics.

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.

Characteristics of wheel-rail vibration of the vertical section in high-speed railways

In order to analyze the characteristics of wheel-rail vibration of the vertical section in a high-speed railway, a vehicle-line dynamics model is established using the dynamics software SIMPACK. Through this model, the paper analyzes the influence of vertical section parameters, including vertical section slope and vertical curve radius, on wheel-rail dynamics interaction and the acting region of wheel-rail vibration. In addition, the characteristics of wheel- rail vibration of the vertical section under different velocities are investigated. The results show that the variation of wheel load is not sensitive to the vertical section slope but is greatly affected by the vertical curve radius. It was also observed that the smaller the vertical curve radius is, the more severe the interaction between the wheel and rail be- comes. Furthermore, the acting region of wheel-rail vibration expands with the vertical curve radius increasing. On another note, it is necessary to match the slope and vertical curve radius reasonably, on account of the influence of operation speed on the characteristics of wheel-rail vibration. This is especially important at the design stage of vertical sec- tions for lines of different grades.

The effect of track alignment irregularity on wheel-rail contact geometry relationship in a turnout zone

The irregularity is a key factor affecting the wheel-rail contact geometry relationship. In this paper, we calculated the wheel-rail contact points at typical sections and obtained the longitudinal variation of the wheel-rail geometry relationship with the trace line method. The profile of the key rail sections was matched by cubic spline curve, and the shape interpolation was realized in non-controlling sections. The results show that the roll angles at each typical section increases gradually with the enlargement of track alignment irregularity. When the flange contact occurs, the roll angle increases dramatically. Proper track alignment irregularity towards the switch rail improves the structure irregularity of the turnout.

Gaps,challenges and possible solution for prediction of wheel-rail rolling contact fatigue crack initiation

The prediction of wheel/rail rolling contact fatigue(RCF)crack initiation during railway operations is an important task.Since RCF crack evolution is influenced by many factors,its prediction process is complex.This paper reviews the existing approaches to predict RCF crack initiation.The crack initiation region is predicted by the shakedown map.By combining the shakedown map with various initiation criteria and the critical plane method,the crack initiation life is calculated.The classification,methodologies,theories and applications of these approaches are included in this paper.The advantages and limitations of these methods are analyzed to provide recommendation for RCF crack initiation prediction.This review highlights that wheel/rail dynamic characteristic,complex working conditions,surface defects and wear all affect the RCF crack initiation.The optimal selection of criteria is essential in the crack initiation prediction.Based on the research gap regarding the challenging process of crack initiation prediction detailed in this review,a proposed prediction process of RCF crack initiation is proposed to achieve a more accurate result.

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.

Variation of Dynamic Wheel-Rail Forces in High Speed Trains

In this paper, variation of wheel-rail forces in dynamic train-track interaction at high speed track is investigated. To analyze track and train dynamically, a model of standard fleet and train is provided. To model the loads of track and train realistically, ADAMS / RAIL software is used. In modeling of a car by ADAMS / RAIL, an ERRI standard model of the car on a high speed track with corrugated rail （1 mm amplitude, 1 meter wavelength and total length of 5 meters） is provided. To verify the equations of dynamic load factors, offered in some codes, the software outputs and equations are compared to judge. The results of the dynamic analysis of the train shows that the equations offered in ORE manual are more applicable than those offered in the other codes.

基于交叉迭代法的车辆-轨道非线性空间耦合振动模型及算法改进

针对车辆-轨道非线性空间耦合系统动力学分析计算量大、计算耗时长及计算精度难以保证的问题,对车辆-轨道非线性空间耦合振动模型和交叉迭代法进行改进。运用有限元法分别建立车辆和轨道空间子系统动力学模型,在基于“迹线法”构建轮轨接触几何关系的基础上,提出“投影对点作差法”搜索轮轨空间接触点位置,并引入轮轨准弹性接触对其进行修正,精细化轮轨接触关系;结合车辆-轨道非线性空间耦合系统特点,改进基于Newmark数值积分的交叉迭代求解系统动力学方程的算法,并给出完整的数值计算步骤。通过与相关文献进行对比,验证改进模型和算法的有效性。结果表明:改进模型的分析精度更高,搜索轮轨空间接触点位置的速度更快;改进算法的计算过程更完善,步骤更清晰;改进的模型和算法在提高计算精度的同时,仍然具有较快的计算效率,且使数值编程更易实现,方便工程应用。

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。

Research on the influence of flexible wheelset rotation effect on wheel rail contact force

Purpose-Under the high-speed operating conditions,the effects of wheelset elastic deformation on the wheel rail dynamic forces will become more notable compared to the low-speed condition.In order to meet different analysis requirements and selecting appropriate models to analyzing the wheel rail interaction,it is crucial to understand the influence of wheelset flexibility on the wheel-rail dynamics under different speeds and track excitations condition.Design/methodology/approach-The wheel rail contact points solving method and vehicle dynamics equations considering wheelset flexibility in the trajectory body coordinate system were investigated in this paper.As for the wheel-rail contact forces,which is a particular force element in vehicle multibody system,a method for calculating the Jacobian matrix of the wheel-rail contact force is proposed to better couple the wheel-rail contact force calculation with the vehicle dynamics response calculation.Based on the flexible wheelset modeling approach in this paper,two vehicle dynamic models considering the wheelset as both elastic and rigid bodies are established,two kinds of track excitations,namely normal measured track irregularities and short-wave irregularities are used,wheel-rail geometric contact characteristic and wheel-rail contact forces in both time and frequency domains are compared with the two models in order to study the influence of flexible wheelset rotation effect on wheel rail contact force.Findings-Under normal track irregularity excitations,the amplitudes of vertical,longitudinal and lateral forces computed by the flexible wheelset model are smaller than those of the rigid wheelset model,and the virtual penetration and equivalent contact patch are also slightly smaller.For the flexible wheelset model,the wheel rail longitudinal and lateral creepages will also decrease.The higher the vehicle speed,the larger the differences in wheel-rail forces computed by the flexible and rigid wheelset model.Under track short-wave irregularity excitations,the vertical force amplitude computed by the flexible wheelset is also smaller than that of the rigid wheelset.However,unlike the excitation case of measured track irregularity,under short-wave excitations,for the speed within the range of 200 to 350 km/h,the difference in the amplitude of the vertical force between the flexible and rigid wheelset models gradually decreases as the speed increase.This is partly due to the contribution of wheelset's elastic vibration under short-wave excitations.For low-frequency wheel-rail force analysis problems at speeds of 350 km/h and above,as well as high-frequency wheel-rail interaction analysis problems under various speed conditions,the flexible wheelset model will give results agrees better with the reality.Originality/value-This study provides reference for the modeling method of the flexible wheelset and the coupling method of wheel-rail contact force to the vehicle multibody dynamics system.Furthermore,by comparative research,the influence of wheelset flexibility and rotation on wheel-rail dynamic behavior are obtained,which is useful to the application scope of rigid and flexible wheelset models.

基于轮轨驱动的新型桥梁转体装置力学性能研究

转体施工在跨越既有线路的桥梁建设中得到广泛应用,针对传统桥梁转体装置存在的控制性不强、转速不均、转角超限等工程难题,以合肥市文忠路上跨合肥东站立交桥为载体,从转体施工的转动设备与转动能力入手,提出了基于轮轨系统驱动的新型桥梁转体施工装置,增强了桥梁转体施工的精确性和可操作性;为验证装置的可行性和可靠性,通过精细化有限元模拟,探究装置在不同齿轮摩擦因数、球铰静摩擦系数以及齿轮宽度下的受力性能。通过对上述影响因素的分析结果表明,球铰静摩擦系数对齿轮及球铰受力性能的影响最显著;齿轮宽度对小齿轮系统峰值应力降低的贡献率,随着宽度的增长而逐渐降低;齿轮摩擦因数对轮轨系统的受力影响较小。所提出的新型转体装置能够安全、可靠地用于桥梁转体施工,为实现桥梁结构的精确化转体施工提供了重要的技术支撑。

高速铁路轨道不平顺与车辆动力响应的空频相干分析

轨道几何不平顺是轮轨系统产生振动及动力响应的主要原因,但轨道不平顺与车辆动力响应并非直接对应。为探究对车辆动力响应有显著影响的几何不平顺参数及其对应的波长和里程位置,利用运营线路实测的轨道检测数据,基于小波变换的时频多分辨特性,提出从空-频联合平面内分析轨道不平顺参数之间的关系,以及与车辆动力学指标的相干性。研究表明,影响车体垂向加速度的主要因素是波长16.0~64.0 m范围的高低,其次是波长64.0~189.6 m波段的水平、三角坑,而轨向、轨距等横向几何不平顺参数对其几乎没有影响。影响车体横向加速度的主要因素是波长96.0~155.0 m范围的轨向及波长128.0 m附近的水平、三角坑,轨距与车体横向加速度相关性较弱,对其影响较小。研究结果表明,通过小波时频相干函数可以同时确定对车辆动力响应有较大影响的几何不平顺波长分布和空间位置,为科学、合理地评价轨道几何状态奠定基础。

Influence of Anteroposterior Symmetrical Aero-Wings on the Aerodynamic Performance of High-Speed Train

The running stability of high-speed train is largely constrained by the wheel-rail coupling relationship,and the continuous wear between the wheel and rail surfaces will profoundly affect the dynamic performance of the train.In recent years,under the background of increasing train speed,some scientific researchers have proposed a new idea of using the lift force generated by the aerodynamic wings(aero-wing)installed on the roof to reduce the sprung load of the carriage in order to alleviate the wear and tear of the wheel and rail.Based on the bidirectional running characteristics of high-speed train,this paper proposes a scheme to apply aero-wings with anteroposterior symmetrical cross-sections on the roof of the train.After the verification of the wind tunnel experimental data,the relatively better airfoil section and extension formof anteroposterior symmetrical aero-wing is selected respectively in this paper,and the aero-wings are fixedly connected to the roof of the train through the mounting column to conduct aerodynamic simulation analysis.The research shows that:compared with the circular-arc and oval crosssections,this paper believes that the crescent cross-section can form greater aerodynamic lift force in a limited space.Considering factors such as aerodynamic parameters,ground effect,and manufacturing process,this paper proposes to adopt aero-wings with arc type extension form and connect them to the roof of the train through mounting columns with shuttle cross-section.When the roof of the train is covered with aero-wings and runs at high speed,the sprung load of the carriages can be effectively reduced.However,there are certain hidden dangers in the tail carriage due to the large amount of lift force,so,the intervention of the aero-wing lifting mechanism is required.At the same time,it is necessary to optimize the overall aerodynamic drag force reduction in the followup work.

高速铁路混凝土路基结构研究与应用现状

从工程应用、理论模型、动力静力性能影响因素和优缺点等方面,综述高速铁路混凝土路基结构的发展和研究现状。详细介绍常见的路基结构型式,并对各种路基结构型式进行对比分析;回顾路基结构的静力和动力特性研究进展;在车辆与轨道的相互作用及动力学研究中,阐述从提出车辆-轨道垂向统一模型,逐步发展到空间耦合模型的研究过程和相应的动力学模型;对未来路基结构的研究提出展望。

考虑轮轨多点接触关系的车轨系统地震响应分析

为研究地震作用下轮轨多点接触关系及其对车轨系统地震响应的影响,本文基于虚拟渗透理论分析了轮轨多点接触的几何关系,采用修正的Kik-Piotrowski方法和Kalker线性理论求解轮轨接触力,并建立了地震作用下考虑轮轨多点接触关系的列车-无砟轨道系统模型;以某高速铁路为对象,研究了车轨系统的地震响应及列车的行车安全性。研究结果表明:地震作用下轮轨之间会出现2点接触情况,次接触斑对轮轨接触行为具有重要影响;轮轨多点接触关系对地震作用下的轮轴横向力和脱轨系数具有重要影响,不考虑该多点接触关系会低估列车的行车安全性;车轮抬升量对地震动强度不是特别敏感。