Study On The Mechanism Of Wheel Corrugation Based On Experiment And Simulation

The mechanism of wheel corrugation for high speed railway was studied by both experiment and simulation methods. Based on Hertz rolling contact theory, a friction and wear experiment platform for wheel/rail contact was built. The experiments of wheel/rail contact were performed under pure rolling condition. Corrugations of wheel specimen after different rotations were observed and analyzed. On the other hand, the dynamic behavior of wheel/rail contact was simulated by Finite Element Method. The variations of elastic-plastic stress and strain field of wheel/rail contact surface were analyzed. According to the experiment and simulation results, it can be concluded that the initial contour sharpness of the wheel and the rail surfaces is larger, so the contact interface is peak-peak contact. When the peaks of surface roughness are worn down, the contact interface becomes contact between small planes. With the increase of wear rate, the actual contact area of the wheel/rail is gradually approaching the nominal contact area. This will result in the increase of friction force and friction heat, and create the right conditions for cold welding effect between the contact interfaces. So the wear process is accelerated. The periodic corrugation damage and hardening of wheel surface mainly result from the wear and variation impact of wheel/rail interface.