Elasto-plastic stress analysis and fatigue life prediction of a freight car wheel under mechanical and cyclic thermal loads

Abstract

The elasto-plastic finite element analyses of a 36 in. dia. freight car wheel, subjected to cyclic thermal loads in presence of mechanical loads and cyclic mechanical loads in presence of thermal loads, were conducted. The stresses and strains computed for these loading conditions were then used to predict the fatigue life of a wheel subjected to a random load history.