A Study of a Numerical Analysis Method for the Wheel-Rail Wear of a Heavy-Haul Train

Abstract

The wheel-rail rolling contact finite-element model based on arbitrary Lagrangian-Eulerian finite-element method (FEM) is developed and applied to the wheel-rail steady-state rolling contact analysis. Based on the wheel-rail steady-state rolling contact analysis, the wheel profile wear prediction methodology is developed and applied to wear of the wheel flange and rail gauge corner when the heavy-haul train passes on sharp curve track. The vehicle dynamic model is built in the ADAMS software, and the forces of the axle boxes acquired from the vehicle system dynamic model are loaded on the model of three-dimensional non-linear finite-element steady-state analysis for wheelset rolling contact process. Steady-state rolling contact analysis based on three-dimensional non-linear finite element is solved by the ABAQUS software. In the FEM simulation, a material model with bilinear kinematic hardening property is used. The wear modelling is based on the Archard's wear model. Laplacian smoothing with area weights is used to smooth the meshes of wheel and rail. Finally, the simulation results of a heavy-haul train wheel are analysed.