Reduced Wheel-Rail Pair Wear Due to Differential Rotation of Wagon Wheel Pairs

Abstract

Applied lubrication tools come to the brink of their normal effectiveness. A method for reducing the wear of wheels and rails and a design for its implementation, consisting in the application of the proposed differential axis. The predicted comparison criteria depending on the change in the value of the elastic-friction coupling between the wheels, as well as the calculated effect, in comparison with a rigid pair of wheels, indicates the possibility of selecting the optimal coupling between the wheels during operational tests. A numerical assessment of the movement of the model 18-100 trolley in a curve with a radius of 200 m was carried out. Based on the results of a comparative assessment, it was determined that when the trolley with wheelsets moves in differential mode, compared with typical, depending on the amount of coupling between the wheels, the average decreases: lateral force by 20.5–40.2%, and the specific work of the displacement friction forces at the contact points by 26.6%. The criteria for reducing wheel wear along the surface of the ridge and the ridge, as well as the specific wear of the vertical and lateral rail, when the connection between the wheels (to critical to slip) increases, practically do not change and, accordingly, make up 36.8%, 13.2% and 33.5% and 25.5%.