An investigation into the effect of rubber design parameters of a resilient wheel on wheel-rail noise

Abstract

Resilient wheels composed of a steel rim, a steel wheel core, a rubber layer and a press-fit ring are widely used on trams due to their ability to reduce noise and vibration. To make the press-fit process easier, the rubber layer in a resilient wheel is normally not continuous but instead, it is formed by rubber blocks which are uniformly separated in the circumferential direction. The gaps between the rubber blocks allow the rubber blocks to deform freely in the circumferential direction and therefore, generate stiffness which is lower than that when no such gaps are present. However, the question of what are the effects of the gaps on the vibration and sound radiation behaviours of the wheel and on wheel/rail noise has received little attentions. The aim of this paper is to answer this question adequately by developing a wheel/rail noise prediction model and carrying out a parametric study on key design parameters including rubber material parameters, the number of rubber blocks and the gap-rubber ratio.