Analysis of Wheel/Rail Force and Flange Force During Steady State Curving of Rigid Trucks

The wheel/rail dynamics interaction project being conducted as part of this program is directed toward reduction of maintenance costs and wheel/rail noise while providing acceptable ride quality and safety. This report describes the development of a simple analysis procedure for estimating the conservative bounds for the wheel/rail forces and flange forces resulting from the curve negotiation of a rigid two-axle truck. The approximate analysis presented provides closed form relations for estimating wheel/rail forces, flange forces, truck angle of attack, and sliding conditions for this type of truck as a function of curve radius. The wheel profiles are modeled by conical wheel treads with vertical wheel flanges and flange friction effects are included.