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Influence of wheel and rail profile shape on the initiation of rolling contact fatigue cracks at high axle loads |
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| Authors: | Ulrich Spangenberg Robert Desmond Fröhling Pieter Schalk Els |
| Institution: | 1. Mechanical Technology, Transnet Freight Rail, Pretoria, Gauteng, South Africa;2. Vehicle Dynamics Group, Department of Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, Gauteng, South Africa |
| Abstract: | The influence of wheel and rail profile shape features on the initiation of rolling contact fatigue (RCF) cracks is evaluated based on the results of multi-body vehicle dynamics simulations. The damage index and surface fatigue index are used as two damage parameters to assess the influence of the different features. The damage parameters showed good agreement to one another and to in-field observations. The wheel and rail profile shape features showed a correlation to the predicted RCF damage. The RCF damage proved to be most sensitive to the position of hollow wear and thus bogie tracking. RCF initiation and crack growth can be reduced by eliminating unwanted shape features through maintenance and design and by improving bogie tracking. |
| Keywords: | Wheel–rail interaction wheel–rail profiles rolling contact fatigue |