Elastic-Plastic Partial Slip Rolling Wheel-Rail Contact with an Oblique Rail Crack

Abstract

This study employs an elastic-plastic finite element model to investigate the effect of oblique rail surface crack on the wheel-rail contact stress distribution under partial slip rolling conditions. Numerical simulations are performed to explore the effects of the contact distance and tractive force on the contact pressure and tangential stress distributions, tip plastic energy, and critical wheel applied load. Contact elements are used to simulate the interaction between the surfaces of the wheel rail and the crack. The numerical results indicate that the contact stress distributions are influenced significantly by the presence of oblique cracks in the rail. The results also indicate that a higher friction force is induced on the crack surfaces when a greater tractive force is applied to the wheel. This increased crack surface friction force reduces the sliding between the crack surfaces and hence causes a reduction in the tip plastic energy.