Simulation of wheel-rail damage

Wheel-Rail systems are inherently subject to damage caused by the rolling contact and slip stick behaviour between the wheel and the rail. Damage typically manifests itself as wear or crack initiation and growth in the rail. In order to accurately predict this phenomena an accurate understanding of the contact mechanics and crack behaviour is required. In this paper a methodology based on BEM is presented which enables these type of problems to be simulated. Two applications are presented. In the first the wear of an auxiliary rail is predicted and in the second the growth of a crack in the rail due to the rolling contact is predicted.