Effect of the worn status of wheel/rail profiles on wheel wear over curved tracks

Abstract

The worn status of wheel/rail profiles could change the wheel-rail contact and influence the wear rates of the wheel and rail. Worn wheel profiles of a Chinese intercity train and the worn rail profile of curved tracks were taken into account in this work. According to the dynamics model of the vehicle, teh wheel-rail three-dimensional steady-state rolling contact model, and the Archard wear model, a new fast calculation method of wheel wear rate was proposed. Simulation results show that obviously severe wear would distribute in the flange when the wheel and rail were worn. The side wear of rail gauge corner will seriously aggravate the wear of new wheel flange. The wear of the wheel is serious for teh worn wheel in the initial phase of service. Therefore, the re-profiling of wheels and rails should be scheduled cooperatively, and the wear of flange in the initial phase of service should addressed.