An investigation into the fatigue failure of metro vehicle bogie frame

Abstract

Metro vehicle bogie frame is usually subjected to complex external excitations. The fatigue damage accumulation of bogie frame is induced by multiple elements and may even lead to failure hazard. Therefore, a comprehensive investigation into the influencing elements was conducted in this paper. To achieve this purpose, a targeted field test was first carried out under normal operating conditions to obtain the dynamic stress and operating state data. Then, P2 resonance frequency of vehicle-track system was calculated, and rail corrugation and 8th order wheel polygon were determined. Damage analysis was performed for rail corrugation, wheel polygon, rail joint, velocity, and passenger capacity. The results indicate that rail corrugation accompanied with wheel polygon are the main reasons for the damage of bogie frame. This research will be beneficial for ensuring operation safety and developing reasonable maintenance schedule for metro vehicle.