This paper summaries the development of a damage model to predict the deterioration rates of the wheel tread in terms of wear and rolling contact fatigue (RCF) damage. The model uses a description of a fleet's route diagram to characterise the duty cycle of the vehicle in terms of curve radius, cant deficiency and traction/braking performance. Using this duty cycle a large number of vehicle dynamics simulations are automatically conducted to calculate wheel-rail contact forces and predict the formation of wear and RCF damage, using a combination of the Archard and frictional energy-based (Tγ) damage models.The damage models have been validated using observation data (wear rates and maximum observed RCF damage) acquired from a range of vehicle fleets in Great Britain (GB). Results from the validation of the model are presented along with a review of the wheel turning and observation data.A piece-wise linear regression is fitted to the wear and RCF parameters predicted from the model to determine the damage rates for each wheelset type on the vehicle. These damage rates are used within the recently developed Wheelset Management Model (WMM) to describe how the attributes of the wheel (i.e. wheel diameter, profile shape and tread damage) deteriorate over time and trigger a maintenance or renewal activity when the condition of the wheel matches a particular limiting value.This work formed part of the rail industry research programme managed by the Rail Safety and Standards Board (RSSB), and funded by the Department for Transport, to increase the rolling stock functionality of the Vehicle Track Interaction Strategic Model (VTISM) tool.

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The project DynoTRAIN, which was funded under the European Seventh Framework Programme, was set-up in order to close the open points in the Technical Specification of Interoperability (TSI) of the trans-European rail system. The project was divided in seven work packages. The focus in work package 3 (WP 3) was the contact geometry between wheels and rails. More general information about the DynoTRAIN project is given in the foreword of this special edition. WP 3 was split into several tasks. In the first and second tasks worn wheel and rail profiles were collected. Since the wear behaviour of wheels and rails depends (among other factors) on bogie design, operating conditions, rail inclination and curve radius, a large number of wheel and rail profiles were investigated in order to obtain a representative picture of the contact conditions on the trans-European network. The wheel and rail profiles were analysed in terms of equivalent conicity, which is an important indicator for the running stability of railway vehicles. Based on the collected data, reference profiles for wheels and rails were defined for the calculation of conicity maps. The reference wheel and rail profiles act as a sort of coordinate (scaling) system for the conicity maps. The conicity maps were calculated from selected wheel and rail profiles that had the same frequency distribution as the whole sample. The conicity maps were calculated for different speed categories and for wheels operating on networks with rail inclinations of 1/20 and 1/40. Finally, limit values of the equivalent concity for the authorization of vehicles and in-service limits for tracks were derived from these conicity maps. This approach enabled the open point ‘equivalent conicity’ in the TSI: Locomotives and Passenger Rolling Stock and TSI: Infrastructure to be closed.

This report describes the results of a study of the potential benefits and areas of applicability of independently rotating wheels for railway vehicles which has been undertaken by British Rail Research.