Wheel wear and rolling contact fatigue evolution under interaction of abrasive block and wheel–rail contact: results from field test

Abstract

ABSTRACT Wheel transverse wear, irregular wear along the circumference (out-of-roundness), and rolling contact fatigue (RCF) are inevitable problems in the railway industry. One effective countermeasure to solve these problems is to apply a tread abrasive block (tread trimmer) that has the function of cleaning and repairing the wheel treads. In this study, to investigate the effect of abrasive blocks on wheel wear and RCF, five working modes of the abrasive block were designed for an urban express train operating on an urban express line in China. The wheel profiles, wheel out-of-roundness, and abrasive block profiles of the urban express train were monitored. The results show that the low-pressure and intermittent modes of the abrasive block can suppress wheel polygonal wear, eliminate hollow wear with acceptable tread wear, maintain equivalent conicity at a good level, reduce the wear of the abrasive block itself, and remove RCF cracks.