Effect of Wheel Wear on the Running Stability of 209 Bogies

Abstract

In order to have a relationship between the wheel tread wear and the running stability of a commonly used bogie named 209, a passenger trainset operated on Qinghai-Tibet railway in northwest China was measured regarding its wheel wear and the equivalent conicity. Also, the acceleration on floor above the bogie was recorded using the portable test device. The bogie's running stability is analysed from the lateral acceleration and its frequency spectrum. According to the instability distribution condition of the bogie and the equivalent conicity of wheelset, the relationship between the tread wear and the running stability of vehicle is obtained. This helps to grasp the worn limits on wheel and to propose a practical management strategy on the wheelset conicity. It shows that the tread wear on 209 bogies with disc brake and tread cleaning device is smaller than that applying a tread brake. The instability state of bogie is closely related to the wheelset conicity, and the equivalent conicity distribution can be used to reflect the instability of vehicle. Additionally, it is suggested that a limit of 0.5 for the equivalent conicity of wheelset is employed during the field operation of 209 bogies according to UIC519.