2305 Potential of Decreasing Flange Wear due to Axle Misalignment of a Vehicle with Independently Rotating Wheels

Since the truck with independently rotating wheels (IRWs) lacks for self-steering ability, it is concerned that the wheel flange contacts with the rail continuously due to the effects of axle misalignment and the flange wears rapidly under the continuous flange contact. In this study, in order to decrease the flange wear due to axle misalignment of the vehicle, a potential of the modified axle supporting mechanism is examined. Here the axle supporting mechanism is composed of a longitudinal spring with lowered stiffness and a damper installed in parallel with the longitudinal spring. As a result of numerical simulation, it is found that the proposed axle supporting mechanism can decrease the flange wear caused by the axle misalignment from the point of view of a wear index.