Wheel wear prediction of railway freight car based on wheel/rail creep mechanism

In order to predict the wheel wear of railway freight car, the vehicle-track multi-body dynamical models were built in SIMPACK software, and the wheel wear numerical simulation program were developed based on semi-Hertzian contact theory and Zobory's wear model. Wheel wear of C80 and other types of railway freight car which running on Ring-line and Da-Qin railway line were simulated, and the Zobory's wear model was corrected by the results from simulation and field measurement, at last the wheel wear life of C80 freight car which running on the heavy haul railway was predicted by the corrected Zobory's wear model. The results indicate that both the wear distribution range in wheel profile and the trend of wear depth and wheel flange thickness by simulation were in good agreement with the field measurement, but the tread of wear rates from simulation were 1.394~1.842 times and 2.172~3.658 times larger than field measurement separately. The first reason was that the semi-Hertzian contact theory was used in wear simulation, meanwhile the influence of elastic shear deformation on slid velocity was considered in wear simulation. The second reason was that the CL60 wheel steel used in China had highger hardness than that of BS11 steel used in Zobory's experiment. For the C80 freight car running on heavy haul railway, the simulated wheel depot repair life by corrected Zobory's wear model was 390, 000 km and the application life was 650, 000 km. Both the depot repair life and wheel application life from simulation were in good agreement with the field statistical results.