Railway Train-Track Dynamics for Wheelflats with Improved Contact Models

Abstract

A variety of methods have been proposed to calculate the dynamic response caused by a railway vehicle affected by a wheelflat. Most of the sophisticated procedures evaluate the elastic properties of the wheel-rail contact by means of the Hertz model. However, the hypotheses that must be satisfied in order to apply the Hertzian contact model are not fulfilled when the wheel-rail contact occurs in the area of wheel affected by the flat. This gives rise to deviations in the results of the dynamic model compared to the real situation. With the objective of analysing the influence of the elastic wheel-rail contact model, a procedure was developed to determine the dynamic response caused by a geometric irregularity (in rail or wheel) by means of Hertzian and non-Hertzian contact models. Results of the wheelflat impact simulations given by both types of contact model have been compared in this work.