Wheel-rail steady state rolling contact analysis based on ale finite element method

Based on the Arbitrary Lagrangian Eulerian (ALE) FEM, 3D FE model for the steady-state wheel-rail rolling contact has been established. This model uses the relative sliding speed on the contact surface to define the adhesion and creep conditions of the wheel-rail rolling contact, and introduces the non-tangential sliding constraint on the contact interface into the equation of reactive power by means of the method of Lagrange multipliers, so as to better calculate and analyze the adhesion characteristics of the contact patterns. This model not only takes into considerations of the material, geometry and the problem of non-linear contact, but also takes into account of the wheel rolling speed, the actual geometrical shape and the influence of the inertia force, and simultaneously analyzes the contact stress of the contact patterns and the distribution of the relative sliding speed. The analysis on the contact status of the mono-wheel rolling on the rail under the steady state demonstrates that the contact pattern shape for wheel-rail rolling contact obtained by this model differs greatly from the Hertz theory-based elliptical assumption. To describe the sliding and adhesion status of the contact patterns by means of the relative sliding speed is more helpful to describe the mutual effect of wheel and rail, and also the frictional force distribution inside the contact pattern and the spin effect of the relative sliding speed can be obviously observed. The rotation and distribution of the frictional force inside the contact pattern has a huge impact on the wheel-rail system in the aspects of the vibration, the adhesion and the generation of wear.