Investigation on the causes of rail corrugation in high-speed railways based on the wheel–rail transient rolling contact model and wear model

Abstract

This work investigated the causes of rail corrugation in a high-speed railway. A three-dimensional (3D) finite element (FE) model of the vehicle-track system (VTS) and a rail wear prediction model were developed. The 3D FE model was employed to study the dynamic interactions of the VTS excited by rail welds with varying wavelengths. The wear model calculates the wear depth on rail surface based on the Archard’s theory. The frequency response analysis and modal analysis were implemented to identify the vibration modes relevant to the corrugation. The phase relationship between the initial corrugation and the resulting dynamic wear was discussed. The vertical vibration at 543 Hz of the track was found to be responsible for the initiation of the studied corrugation. The excitation from the rail welds is one of the necessary conditions for the formation of this type of corrugation. The evolution of the phase shift of the dynamic wear with respect to the existing corrugation indicates that the corrugation caused by the rail welds is self-limited and the corrugation will stabilize at a certain value. The corrugation will translate on the rail surface due to a leading phase angle of the dynamic wear relative to the corrugation geometry.