| Abstract: | A hierarchical concept for describing the rolling/sliding contact of a wheel on a rail is proposed, which is developed to model the near surface deformation of the contacting partners depending on the vehicle system dynamics. In principal the vehicle dynamics simulation delivers the input for a static finite element model for the elastic-plastic rolling/sliding contact investigation. To include also more realistic rough surfaces in the calculations, which is absolutely necessary to predict the highly deformed surface layer as observed in wheels and rails, a further refinement of the mesh is necessary and performed. The output values of the static finite element model are now boundary conditions for the finite element micro-model. The results of this micro-model correspond well with the micro-structural investigations of wheel and rail surfaces. |
