Effect of a scratch on curved rail on initiation and evolution of plastic deformation induced rail corrugation

A calculation model is put forward to analyze the effect of a scratch on the running surface of a curved rail on initiation and growth of plastic deformation induced rail corrugation when a wheelset is steadily and repeatedly curving. The numerical method considers a combination of Carter’s two-dimensional contact theory, a two-dimensional elastic–plastic finite element model and a vertical dynamics model of railway vehicle coupled with a curved track. A concept of feedback between the corrugation development and the vertical coupling dynamics of the wheelset and track is involved. The cyclic ratchetting effect of the rail material under repeated contact loadings is taken into account. The numerical results indicate that when a vehicle runs on rails with a scratch the contact vibration between the wheel and rail occurs at large amplitude, and rail corrugation due to plastic deformation initiates and develops. The corrugation has a tendency to move along the running direction and its evolution rate decays as wheelset passages increase. The passing frequencies of the plastic deformation induced corrugation depend on the natural frequencies of the track. The residual stresses stabilize after a limited number of wheelset passages. The residual strains increase at a reduced rate with increasing wheelset passages.