SOUND RADIATION FROM A VIBRATING RAILWAY WHEEL

The sound radiation characteristics of a railway wheel are investigated by using boundary element calculations. The axisymmetry of the wheel allows an axi-harmonic formulation to be used, in which the wheel is defined by a two-dimensional mesh of its cross-section and the motion is decomposed into harmonics of different numbers of nodal diameters. The radiation ratios of the wheel, vibrating in its various normal modes, are calculated for a range of frequencies. The effects of variation in the wheel radius, web thickness and tyre depth are also investigated. From these results, simple formulae are proposed that allow the radiation ratios to be approximated closely. These are more convenient than the boundary element calculations for calculating the rolling noise from a wheel since they are a function of a few simple geometrical parameters. The directivity of wheel radiation is also considered, with comparisons with measured data indicating that simple monopole and dipole characteristics can be applied.