Out-of-round tram wheels – Multibody simulation study based on measured wheel rim geometry

Abstract

The article discusses the influence of out-of-roundness (OOR) type of wheel shape deviations on its interaction with the rail. The analysis was carried out using multibody simulation technique (MBS). Measurements of tram wheel rims and sample models of flat spots were used as input data. It has been observed that the presence of wheel OOR deviations caused a significant increase in vertical impact loads at the interface between the wheel and the rail, which favours rolling contact fatigue formation. Deviations created at the stage of manufacturing the wheel rim (usually while the profile of the rim itself is turned on a lathe) were amplified by increasing amplitudes and were also visible during the measurement of worn rims, thus creating inequalities with dominant amplitudes. Flat spots present on the rolling surfaces of the wheels cause cyclic jumps of vertical force at the contact point of the wheel and the rail, with maximum values depending on the depth and radius of the rounded edges of the flat spot, and thus subject to change in subsequent stages of the flat spot development. Taking into account the observations made, preventive measures have been proposed against the development of OOR deviations in tram wheels, the origin of which is primarily in the machining process.

Keywords

Tram wheel out-of-roundness untrueness polygonisation light rail vehicle

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Staśkiewicz

Firlik

Out-of-round tram wheels – current state and measurements. Arch Transp 2018; 45: 93–103.

Nielsen

Out-of-round railway wheels. In: Lewis R and Olofsson U (eds) Wheel-rail interface handbook. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press, 2011, pp.245–279.

Tao

Wang

Wen

, et al. Measurement and assessment of out-of-round electric locomotive wheels. Proc IMechE, Part F: J Rail and Rapid Transit 2016; 232: 275–287.

Cui

Allen

, et al. Effect of the turning characteristics of underfloor wheel lathes on the evolution of wheel polygonisation. Proc IMechE, Part F: J Rail and Rapid Transit 2018; 233: 479–488.

Johansson

Out-of-round railway wheels-assessment of wheel tread irregularities in train traffic. J Sound Vib 2006; 293: 795–806.

Jin

Fang

, et al. An investigation into the mechanism of the polygonal wear of metro train wheels and its effect on the dynamic behaviour of a wheel/rail system. Veh Syst Dyn 2012; 50: 1817–1834.

Barke

Chiu

WK.

A review of the effects of out-of-Round wheels on track and vehicle components. Proc IMechE, Part F: J Rail and Rapid Transit 2005; 219: 151–175.

Tao

Wang

Wen

, et al. Measurement and assessment of out-of-round electric locomotive wheels. Proc IMechE, Part F: J Rail and Rapid Transit 2018; 232: 275–287.

Pan

Zhao

Liu

, et al. Micro-mechanism of polygonization wear on railroad wheels. Wear 2017; 392–393: 213–220.

10.

, et al. Investigation on dynamic responses of vehicle due to wheel polygonalization. In: Spiryagin M, Gordon T and Cole C (eds) Dynamics of vehicles on roads and tracks: proceedings of the 25th international symposium on dynamics of vehicles on roads and tracks (IAVSD 2017). Boca Raton: CRC Press, 2018, pp.759–764.

11.

Peng

Iwnicki

Shackleton

, et al. A practical method for simulating the evolution of railway wheel polygonalization. In: Spiryagin M, Gordon T, Cole C, et al. (eds) Dynamics of vehicles on roads and tracks: proceedings of the 25th international symposium on dynamics of vehicles on roads and tracks (IAVSD 2017 ). Boca Raton: CRC Press, 2018, pp.753–758.

12.

Shan

Song

Investigations on formation mechanisms of out-of- round wheel and its influences on the vehicle system.

IOP Conf Ser 2018; 397: 1–10.

13.

Nielsen

Johansson

Out-of-round railway wheels-a literature survey. Proc IMechE, Part F: J Rail and Rapid Transit 2000; 214: 79–91.

14.

Paczkowska

Wojciechowski

Firlik

, et al. Influence of operation on tram wheels and rails surface layer condition. Mater Eng 2017; 1: 35–43.

15.

Kalousek

Johnson

KL.

An investigation of short pitch wheel and rail corrugations on the Vancouver mass transit system. Proc IMechE, Part F: J Rail and Rapid Transit 1992; 206: 127–135.

16.

Tao

Wen

Liang

, et al. An investigation into the mechanism of the out- of-round wheels of metro train and its mitigation measures. Veh Syst Dyn 2019; 57: 1–16.

17.

Nowakowski

Komorski

Szymański

, et al. Wheel-flat detection on trams using envelope analysis with Hilbert transform. Lat Am J Solids Struct 2019; 16: 1–16.

18.

Brizuela

Fritsch

Ibáñez

Railway wheel-flat detection and measurement by ultrasound. Transp Res Part C Emerg Technol 2011; 19: 975–984.

19.

Ekberg

Fatigue of railway wheels. In: Lewis R and Olofsson U (eds) Wheel-rail interface handbook. Cambridge: Woodhead Publishing, 2009, pp.211–244.

20.

Cazzulani

Di Gialleonardo

Bionda

, et al. A new approach for the evaluation and the improvement of the metrological characteristics of an instrumented wheelset for the measure of wheel–rail contact forces. Proc IMechE, Part F: J Rail and Rapid Transit 2017; 231: 381–393.

21.

Johansson

Nielsen

JCO.

Out-of-round railway wheels – wheel-rail contact forces and track response derived from field tests and numerical simulations. Proc IMechE, Part F: J Rail and Rapid Transit 2003; 217: 135–146.

22.

Iwnicki

Handbook of railway vehicle dynamics. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press, 2006.

23.

Zhu

Xiao

Yang

, et al. Estimation of wheel/rail contact forces based on an inverse technique. In: 13th international conference on fracture, Beijing, China, 16-21 June 2013, pp. 1–7. New York: Curran Associates, Inc.

24.

Sun

Cole

Spiryagin

Monitoring vertical wheel–rail contact forces based on freight wagon inverse modelling. Adv Mech Eng 2015; 7: 1–11.

25.

Matsumoto

Sato

Ohno

, et al. A new measuring method of wheel – rail contact forces and related considerations. Wear 2008; 265: 1518–1525.

26.

Steenbergen

MJMM.

The role of the contact geometry in wheel–rail impact due to wheel flats. Veh Syst Dyn 2007; 45: 1097–1116.

27.

Thompson

Jones

Noise and vibration from the wheel-rail interface. In: Lewis R and Olofsson U (eds) Wheel-Rail interface handbook. Swaston, UK: Woodhead Publishing Limited, 2009, pp. 477–509.