Wheel-Rail Contact Analysis considering the Deformation of Wheel and Axle

A precise evaluation of the contact position and the distribution of contact pressure in a wheel-rail interface analysis is one of the most important procedures to predict fatigue life and wear of wheel and rail. This paper presents the analysis result of finite element method(FEM) to investigate how the deformation of a wheelset, which is the assembly of wheel and axle of a railroad vehicle, affect the contact analysis of wheel and rail. 3D-FEM was used to analyze three contact models; a model with only wheel, a model with wheelset, and a model with simplified wheel and rail geometry. The analysis result of the contact position and the distribution of contact pressure are discussed. It is shown that the analysis results of a model with wheelset represent largest value with respect to contact pressure and contact stress. Furthermore, it is found that the distribution of contact pressure and the contact position is highly affected by the deformation of wheel and axle. It is concluded that the deformation of axle should be considered to evaluate the exact contact parameters in a wheel-rail contact analysis.