WHEEL RESEARCH, VOLUME I. ELASTIC STRESS ANALYSIS, ELASTIC FINITE-ELEMENT STRESS ANALYSIS OF RAIL CAR WHEELS

This report describes the capabilities and validation efforts for an elastic finite element stress model of a railcar wheel. Theoretical techniques and computer operational procedures will be described in various manuals to be compiled at a later date. The model, comprised of three or more computer codes, will analyze any common railroad wheel configuration. Service inputs, expressed as braking energy--time coordinates or static mechanical rim and/or flange loads, may be evaluated as they affect strains throughout the wheel. Mechanical loads due to wheel-rail interactions and the effects of simulated service brake applications may be evaluated separately or conjunctively. A variety of options exist with regard to output forms. Wheel response to a simulated service input may be expressed in terms of strain, engineering stress or octahedral shear stress. An automatic data plotting capability permits data displays at the wheel surface or at selected interior planes. Analytical and experimental results were compared and found to agree within acceptable limits.