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.

Experimental study of the wheel/rail impact caused by wheel flat within 400 km/h using full-scale roller rig

Purpose–In service,the periodic clashes of wheel flat against the rail result in large wheel/rail impact force and high-frequency vibration,leading to severe damage on the wheelset,rail and track structure.This study aims to analyze characteristics and dynamic impact law of wheel and rail caused by wheel flat of high-speed trains.Design/methodology/approach–A full-scale high-speed wheel/rail interface test rig was used for the test of the dynamic impact of wheel/rail caused by wheel flat of high-speed train.With wheel flats of different lengths,widths and depths manually set around the rolling circle of the wheel tread,and wheel/rail dynamic impact tests to the flats in the speed range of 0–400 km/h on the rig were conducted.Findings–As the speed goes up,the flat induced the maximum of the wheel/rail dynamic impact force increases rapidly before it reaches its limit at the speed of around 35 km/h.It then goes down gradually as the speed continues to grow.The impact of flat wheel on rail leads to 100–500 Hz middle-frequency vibration,and around 2,000 Hz and 6,000 Hz high-frequency vibration.In case of any wheel flat found during operation,the train speed shall be controlled according to the status of the flat and avoid the running speed of 20 km/h–80 km/h as much as possible.Originality/value–The research can provide a new method to obtain the dynamic impact of wheel/rail caused by wheel flat by a full-scale high-speed wheel/rail interface test rig.The relations among the flat size,the running speed and the dynamic impact are hopefully of reference to the building of speed limits for HSR wheel flat of different degrees.

Research of inverse mathematical model to high-speed trains

Operation safety and stability of the train mainly depend on the interaction between the wheel and rail.Knowledge of wheel/rail contact force is important for vehicle control systems that aim to enhance vehicle stability and passenger safety.Since wheel/rail contact forces of high-speed train are very difficult to measure directly,a new estimation process for wheel/rail contact forces was introduced in this work.Based on the state space equation,dynamic programming methods and the Bellman principle of optimality,the main theoretical derivation of the inversion mathematical model was given.The new method overcomes the weakness of large fluctuations which exist in current inverse techniques.High-speed vehicle was chosen as the research object,accelerations of axle box as input conditions,10 degrees of freedom vertical vibration model and 17 degrees of freedom lateral vibration model were established,respectively.Under 250 km/h,the vertical and lateral wheel/rail forces were identified.From the time domain and frequency domain,the comparison of the results between inverse and SIMPACK models were given.The results show that the inverse mathematical model has high precision for inversing the wheel/rail contact forces of an operation high-speed vehicle.

Dynamic analysis of a high-speed train operating on a curved track with failed fasteners

A high-speed train-track coupling dynamic model is used to investigate the dynamic behavior of a high-speed train operating on a curved track with failed fasteners. The model considers a high-speed train consisting of eight vehicles coupled with a ballasted track. The vehicle is modeled as a multi-body system, and the rail is modeled with a Timoshenko beam resting on the discrete sleepers. The vehicle model considers the effect of the end connections of the neighboring vehicles on the dynamic behavior. The track model takes into account the lateral, vertical, and torsional deformations of the rails and the effect of the discrete sleeper support on the coupling dynamics of the vehicles and the track. The sleepers are assumed to move backward at a constant speed to simulate the vehicle running along the track at the same speed. The train model couples with the track model by using a Hertzian contact model for the wheel/rail normal force calculation, and the nonlinear creep theory by Shen et al. (1984) is used for wheel/rail tangent force calculation. In the analysis, a curved track of 7000-m radius with failed fasteners is selected, and the effects of train operational speed and the number of failed fasteners on the dynamic behaviors of the train and the track are investigated in detail. Furthermore, the wheel/rail forces and derailment coefficient and the wheelset loading reduction are analyzed when the high-speed train passes over the curved track with the different number of continuously failed fasteners at different operational speeds. Through the detailed numerical analysis, it is found that the high-speed train can operate normally on the curved track of 7000-m radius at the speeds of 200 km/h to 350 km/h.