Prediction of wheel profile wear—comparisons with field measurements

A wheel profile wear prediction tool is developed and applied to a vehicle operating the commuter rail network in Stockholm. The methodology is based on a load collective concept where time-domain simulations are performed based on actual track data, measured rail profiles as well as pertinent operating conditions. The vehicle model is built in the GENSYS MBS software utilising validated suspension models. The contact between wheel and rail is modelled with Hertzian theory and Kalker’s simplified theory (FASTSIM). The wear modelling is based on Archard’s wear model and the implementation, including laboratory measurements, is performed in cooperation with tribology experts at KTH Machine Elements. Finally, validation against consecutive wheel profile measurements is performed by simulating approximately 200,000 km of running. Comparisons between simulated and measured wheel profiles, including four scalar wear measures (flange thickness, flange height, flange inclination and area worn off), are presented. The agreement is generally very good.