Prediction Model of Wheel/rail Squeal Noise and Sensitivity Analysis of Relevant Parameters

Abstract

Squeal noise is normally attributed to the self-excited vibration of the wheel induced by the lateral creepage when the wheel slides laterally on the top of rail. Due to its unique tone characteristics and high sound pressure level, the human ear is very sensitive to it. With the improvement of living standards, people's tolerance for squeal noise is getting lower and lower. In order to mitigate and control squeal noise, it is necessary to analyze the sensitivity of relevant parameters. In this paper, a prediction model is developed to analyze the effect of various parameters on the sound pressure level of squeal noise. The results show that squeal noise can be significantly reduced by decreasing angle of attack and rolling speed. In addition, the sound pressure of squeal noise can be reduced by reasonably controlling the negative slope of creepage. Furthermore, this mathematical model is used to perform a sensitivity analysis. The results show that squeal noise is most sensitive to the parameter of angle of attack, and the reason for this is illustrated. In particular, the analysis shows that modifying the slope of the creepage curve is effective in mitigating squeal noise, which provides a reference for mitigating and controlling squeal noise in practice, such as the application of friction modifiers at wheel/rail interface.