Analyses of Wheel/Rail Unsymmetrical Contact Problem

Wheel surface damage can divided into three types: wheel tread spalling, out-of-round of wheel and wheel flange wear. Not only the ride index and comfort can be influenced by the wheel tread damage, but also the lateral stability can be affected by wheel tread damage. The railway vehicle derailment maybe happen when the wheel surface damage serious enough. The unsymmetrical wheel/rail contact was an important reason which can leads to the wheel surface damage problem. The unsymmetrical wheel/rail contact was consisted of symmetrical wheel tread combined with the unsymmetrical rail, unsymmetrical wheel tread combined with the symmetrical rail and unsymmetrical wheel tread combined with the unsymmetrical rail. The unsymmetrical wheel/rail contact can be formed when the wheel surface damage or the rail head damage. The forming of the unsymmetrical wheel/rail contact can exacerbate the damage of wheel surface. To improve the dynamic performance and the stability of the vehicle, the strong wheel/rail unsymmetrical contact must be avoided.