Dynamic behavior of resilient wheels at a rail weld joint

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to investigate the dynamic response of the resilient wheel equipped on the intercity train at the rail weld. A vehicle-track coupling dynamics model with resilient wheels is developed. A rigid multi-body system with 55 degrees of freedom is utilized to model the vehicle system. The rubber layer of the resilient wheel is modeled as a three-directional spring-damper unit between the wheel rim and the wheel core. For the track sub-model, the rails were modelled as Euler Beam and supported by concrete sleepers modelled as mass block. The vehicle and track motion equations are represented as mass-stiffness-damping matrixes. The accuracy of this modeling method at low frequencies is verified via the comparison between the field measured data and numerical results. The dynamic results of the rigid wheel are compared with those of the resilient wheel. Results show that the dynamic wheel-rail force of the rigid wheel is slightly higher than that of the resilient wheel. Furthermore, the mass factor is introduced to investigate the effect of the rubber layer position on the tire acceleration and the wheel-rail impact force. The numerical simulation results are expected to provide references for resilient wheel application into the intercity train.