Influence of Track Properties on Railway Vehicles Wheel Rolling Contact Fatigue

Abstract

Track properties such as rail inclination, cant and gage width have significant effects on the shape and size of the contact area, actual rolling radius and also on the contact forces. These effects have an important role on rolling contact fatigue (RCF) which is known to be the main reason for large portion of wheel set failures and expenses. In this study the wheel/rail dynamic interaction of an Iranian railway passenger wagon under different track features are investigated through simulations using ADAMS\Rail commercial software. The calculated results regarding contact load data and contact properties of the wheel and rail are used for fatigue analysis to calculate RCF damage to the wheels using damage criteria based on previous studies. Two major parameters believed to have serious roles on RCF are the contact stress and the tangential force in the contact patch. These parameters are obtained from vehicle dynamic simulation studies. This paper describes and compares effects of different track geometries in curved and tangent tracks on RCF of three different wheel profiles S1002, P8 and IR1002. It is to identify which combinations of wheel load, wheel and rail profiles and vehicle dynamic characteristics cause RCF more severely.