Freight car curving performance in braked conditions

Abstract

Railway freight vehicles that are run with full payload on long downhill slopes with many tight curves must be braked more or less continuously. The influence of braking on the curving performance of iron ore freight cars equipped with different types of three-piece bogie designs and pneumatically actuated single-block tread brakes run on curved track in a downhill slope is investigated. The focus is put on the change in performance in terms of self-steering ability, track forces and expected wear in contacts between wheels and rails. Modelling and simulation of the strongly non-linear dynamic interaction between vehicle and track in braked conditions are performed. The large influence of wheel/rail profile matching and the quite different responses to braking for the studied vehicles are shown.