A design method for rail profiles based on the geometric characteristics of wheel

Abstract

Designing a proper rail profile carries more significance than designing a wheel profile because of the amount of work and cost involved in the maintenance of rails. A better rail profile will not only help to ensure achieving the desired dynamic performance of rail vehicles but it also extends the service life of rails. This paper presents a unique design method for the design of rail profiles based on the given geometric contact characteristics. The proposed method utilizes a given wheel profile and two typical functions respectively to set the main design targets. The first function is the rolling radii difference and the second one is the contact angle difference. Wheel–rail contact distribution is chosen as the secondary target to prevent stress concentration and the associated fatigue failure. With certain assumptions, the solution process becomes a reverse designed one, which can be solved by using proper discrete numerical methods. Two examples of rail profile designs have been discussed in detail for rigid and independent wheelsets.

Keywords

Profile optimization inverse design wheel/rail contact rolling radii difference contact angle difference

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Kalker

. A fast algorithm for the simplified theory of rolling contact. Veh Syst Dyn 1982; 11: 1–13.

Spiryagin

Polach

Cole

. Creep force modelling for rail traction vehicles based on the Fastsim algorithm. Veh Syst Dyn 2013; 51: 1765–1783.

Shen

Hedrick

Elkins

. A comparison of alternative creep force models for rail vehicle dynamic analysis. Veh Syst Dyn 1983; 12: 79–83.

Cooperrider

Law

Hull

et al.

Analytical and experimental determination of nonlinear wheel/rail geometric constraints. Report No. FRA-OR&D 76-244 (PB-252 290). 1976, pp. 41–69.

Garcia Vadillo

Gimenez Jose

Tarrago Jose

et al.

Wheel/rail contact: geometrical study. Veh Syst Dyn 1984; 13: 207–214.

Hull

Cooperrider

. Influence of nonlinear wheel/rail contact geometry on stability of rail vehicles. Trans ASME J Eng Ind 1977; 99: 172–185.

Persson

Iwnick

. Optimization of railway wheel profiles using a genetic algorithm. Veh Syst Dyn 2004; 41: 517–526.

Shevtsov

Markine

Esveld

et al.

An inverse shape design method for railway wheel profiles. Struct Multidiscip Optim 2007; 33: 243–253.

Shen

Zhong

. A design method for wheel profiles according to the rolling radius difference function. Proc IMechE, Part F: J Rail and Rapid Transit 2011; 225: 457–462.

10.

Magel

Kalousek

. The application of contact mechanics to profile design and rail grinding. Wear 2002; 253: 308–316.

11.

Wang

Chen

et al.

Optimal rail profile design for a curved segment of a heavy haul railway using a response surface approach. Proc IMechE, Part F: J Rail and Rapid Transit 2016; 230: 1496–1508.

12.

Sergey

Irian

Victor

et al.

Problems with wheel and rail profiles selection and optimization. Wear 2008; 265: 1266–1272.

13.

Jahed

Farshi

Eshraghi

et al.

A numerical optimization technique for design of wheel profiles. Wear 2008; 264: 1–10.

14.

Cui

Jin

et al.

Wheel-rail profiles matching design considering railway track parameters. Chin J Mech Eng 2010; 23: 410–417.

15.

Ignesti

Innocenti

Marini

et al.

A numerical procedure for the wheel profile optimisation on railway vehicles. Proc IMechE, Part G: J Aerospace Engineering 2014; 228: 206–222.

A design method for rail profiles based on the geometric characteristics of wheel–rail contact

Abstract

Keywords

Get full access to this article

References