Influence of wheel and rail profile shape on the initiation of rolling contact fatigue cracks at high axle loads

Abstract

The influence of wheel and rail profile shape features on the initiation of rolling contact fatigue (RCF) cracks is evaluated based on the results of multi-body vehicle dynamics simulations. The damage index and surface fatigue index are used as two damage parameters to assess the influence of the different features. The damage parameters showed good agreement to one another and to in-field observations. The wheel and rail profile shape features showed a correlation to the predicted RCF damage. The RCF damage proved to be most sensitive to the position of hollow wear and thus bogie tracking. RCF initiation and crack growth can be reduced by eliminating unwanted shape features through maintenance and design and by improving bogie tracking.

Prediction of Rolling Contact Fatigue Behavior in Rails Using Crack Initiation and Growth Models along with Multibody Simulations

“…It is important to bear in mind that the damage index function is specific for the sites studied in Burstow's report [14]. To assess different track sections, some modifications are required, as applied by [37][38][39]. This can be done recalculating the turning points of the damage function using the equation…”

Implementation of a non-Hertzian contact model for railway dynamic application

“…In railway dynamics, the vehicle-track interaction has been studied mostly through multibody simulations where railway vehicles, running in tracks with realistic operation conditions, are analysed in a virtual environment [2]. By using these tools, virtual homologation [3][4][5][6], prediction of wear and rolling contact fatigue of wheels and rails [7][8][9][10][11][12], among other studies can be performed. A key ingredient in all these case studies is the wheel-rail contact model, which evaluates the contact reactions forces developed over the wheel-rail contacting area [13][14][15][16][17][18][19].…”