AN INVESTIGATION INTO EFFECT OF TRAIN CURVING ON WEAR AND CONTACT STRESSES OF WHEEL AND RAIL

Some important papers concerning the studies on rail wear and wheel/rail contact stresses are reviewed. The present paper utilizes a numerical method to analyze the effect of railway vehicle curving on the wear and contact stresses of wheel/rail. The numerical method considers a combination of Kalker's non-Hertzian rolling contact theory, a material wear model and a vertical and lateral coupling dynamics model of a half vehicle and a curved track. The present analysis investigates the influence of the curving speed, the curved track super-elevation and the rail cant on the wear and the contact stresses. Through the detailed numerical analysis, it is found that the maximum contact stress depends greatly not only on the curving speed but also on the profiles of the wheel/rail. The curving speed increasing leads to increase the normal load of the wheel rolling over the high curved rail, but, decrease the normal contact stress level under the condition of the optimum match of wheel/rail profiles. The track super elevation increasing efficiently lowers the contact stresses and the wear at a constant curving speed. The rail cant has a great influence on the low rail wear of the curved track. Increasing the rail cant leads to the great growth of the low curved rail wear, the reduction in the high rail wear. The results are very useful in the maintenance of the track.