A numerical simulation of wheel wear

The conditions at the wheel/rail contact have a dramatic impact on safety, ride quality and cost of maintenance. Appreciating its importance, the US Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) initiated a project to improve both the understanding of and application of an improved wheel/rail interaction on Amtrakʹs Northeast Corridor. One item delivered as part of this programme is an improved wheel profile. This profile is designed to reduce wheel flange wear for the Amtrak vehicles without introducing wheelset hunting. The comparative wear performance of the new wheel has been evaluated against existing wheels by simulating the wheel–rail interaction over 800 km of running. The simulation is based on the principle of pummelling and employs a quasi-static curving model. The model is validated through comparison with NUCARS predictions. The improved wheel design is found to exhibit a 25% reduction in flange wear compared with the current wheel profile.