Fatigue life prediction of a railway hollow axle with a tapered bore surface

This paper aims to evaluate the fatigue life of railway hollow axles with tapered bore surfaces (hereinafter indicated as RATB) that have a different inner shape than the shape of existing hollow axles. The fatigue strength evaluation method is identified in accordance with European Standards EN13103 and EN13261; the fatigue strength is also evaluated by finite element analysis of a full scale axle test piece by way of applying an S-N curve that was identified through fatigue tests of high strength axle materials. Furthermore, a fatigue life analysis of the wheel-rail contact force was conducted using dynamic simulation results of a Korean Electric Multiple Unit (K-EMU) multi-body dynamics model. As a result of the fatigue life evaluation, the RATB for metro vehicles satisfied the fatigue strength requirements of EN, and the fatigue life by wheel-rail contact force was predicted to be safe within a standard axle replacement cycle. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.