The wheel-rail contact is at the core of all research related to vehicletrackinteraction. This tiny interface governs the dynamic performanceof rail vehicles through the forces it transmits and, like any high stressconcentration zone, it is subjected to serious damage phenomena. Thus,a clear understanding of the rolling contact between wheel and rail is keyto realistic vehicle dynamics simulation and damage analysis. In a multi-body dynamics simulation, the demanding contact problemshould be evaluated at about every millisecond for several wheel-rail pairs.Hence, a rigorous treatment of the contact is highly time-consuming.Simplifying assumptions are therefore made to accelerate the simulationprocess. This gives rise to a trade-o between the accuracy and computationaleciency of the contact model in use. Conventionally, Hertz+FASTSIM is used for calculation of the contactforces thanks to its low computational cost. However, the elliptic patchand pressure distribution obtained by Hertz' theory is often not realisticin wheel-rail contact. Moreover, the use of parabolic traction bound inFASTSIM causes considerable error in the tangential stress estimation.This combination leads to inaccurate damage predictions. Fast non-elliptic contact models are proposed by others to tacklethis issue while avoiding the tedious numerical procedures. The studiesconducted in the present work show that the accuracy of these models iscase-dependent. To improve the accuracy of non-elliptic patch and pressure estimation,a new method is proposed. The method is implemented in an algorithmnamed ANALYN. Comparisons show improvements in patch and, particularly,pressure estimations using ANALYN. In addition, an alternative to the widely-used FASTSIM is developed, named FaStrip. Unlike FASTSIM, it employs an elliptic traction boundand is able to estimate the non-linear characteristic of tangential stressdistribution. Comparisons show more accurate estimation of tangentialstress and slip velocity distribution as well as creep forces with FaStrip. Ultimately, an ecient non-elliptic wheel-rail contact model consistingof ANALYN and FaStrip is proposed. The reasonable computationalcost of the model enables it to be used on-line in dynamics simulationand its accuracy can improve the damage predictions. / <p>QC 20160202</p>

High-Speed Rail (HSR) as a fast, reliable and environmentally friendly mode of transportation has received a lot of attention in recent decades. The International Union of Railways reported that there are more than 18600 miles of HSR in operation and about 1.6 billion passengers per year are carried by them. Although there are plans for HSR in many states including Florida, the United States, however, is still hesitant to develop its own HSR network. One of the main barriers to developing high-speed rail is excessive vibration propagation to the media which may cause annoyance to people who live in the track neighborhood. Train induced vibration also contributes to track settlement, developing track flaws, and increasing life cycle cost of track and supporting structures. The aim of this research is to address this problem by conducting a comprehensive investigation into track dynamics. For this purpose, three-dimensional mass-spring-damper models of vehicle, track and supporting structures were developed and matrices of mass, stiffness, and damping of each subsystem were formed. The response of the whole system was, then, determined by coupling the subsystems using Hertz contact theory. The differential equations of the coupled system were solved by the Newmark integration method and the results including vertical and lateral displacements and forces were presented in the time domain. Since the purpose of this dissertation is to quantify the effect of track and vehicle condition on vibration level, rail defects were also taken into account and rail random irregularities for the vertical profile, Gauge, alignment and cross level (super elevation) were incorporated into a numerical solution. The results of the study show the effect of track and vehicle parameters on the response of the vehicle, track, and substructures. Since Florida and some other states in the United States are very prone to hurricanes, an investigation was conducted into the effect of wind speed on vehicle stability. For this purpose, a curved beam was modeled to consider the influence of track curvature, cant deficiency, wind speed and train speed simultaneously. The results from the study show the maximum allowable values of train speed and axle load for different wind speeds. The findings can be used to decide under what circumstances there is a risk of vehicle overturning and how to avoid it.

<p>Numerical procedures for reliable wheel and rail wearprediction are rare. Recent development of simulationtechniques and computer power together with tribologicalknowledge do however suggest computer aided wear prediction.The objective of the related research field at the RoyalInstitute of Technology (KTH) is to arrive at a numericalprocedure able to simulate profile evolution due to uniformwear to a degree of accuracy sufficient for application tovehicle dynamics simulation. Such a tool would be useful formaintenance planning as well as optimisation of the transportsystem and its components.</p><p>The research contribution accounted for in this thesisincludes, in addition to a literature review, refinement ofmethods applied to uniform wheel wear simulation by inclusionof braking and improvement of the contact model. Further atentative application to uniform rail wheel simulation has beenproposed and tested.</p><p>The first part addresses issues related to braking andwheel-rail contact conditions in the context of wheel wearsimulation. The KTH approach includes Archard’s wear modelwith associated wear maps, vehicle dynamics simulation andrailway network definition. In previous work at KTH certainvariations in operating conditions have been accounted forthrough empirically estimated average scaling factors. Theobjective of the current research is to be able to include suchvariations in the set of simulations. In particular theinfluence of disc braking and varying friction and lubricationconditions are investigated. Both environmental factors likemoist and contamination and deliberate lubrication need to beconsidered. As part of the associated contact analysis theinfluence of tangential elastic deformation of the contactingsurfaces on the sliding velocity has been separatelyinvestigated and found to be essential in case of partial slipcontact conditions.</p><p>In the second part validation of the improvements related towheel wear simulation is addressed. Disc braking has beenincluded in the simulation set and a wear map for moist contactconditions based on recent tribometer tests has been draftedand tested. It has been shown that the previously used brakingfactor accounts for the combination of the contributions fromsurface elasticity and braking. Good agreement withmeasurements from the Stockholm commuter service is achieved.It is concluded that the model improvements accounted for aresufficient for adequate simulation of tread wear but thatfurther development of the flange / gauge corner contactmodelling may be needed.</p><p>In the final part a procedure for simulation of rail wearand corresponding profile evolution has been formulated. Asimulation set is selected defining the vehicles running on thetrack to be investigated, their operating conditions, andcontact parameters. Several variations of input data may beincluded together with the corresponding occurrenceprobability. Trial calculations of four non-lubricated curveswith radii from 303 m to 802 m show qualitatively reasonableresults in terms of profile shape development and difference inwear mechanisms between gauge corner and rail head. The wearrates related to traffic tonnage are however overestimated. Itis believed that model refinements in terms of environmentalinfluence and contact stress calculation are useful to improvethe quantitative results.</p> / QC 20100531

<p>Det finns flera olika metoder att väga ett tåg samt att detektera hjulskador såsom hjulplattor då ett tåg är i drift. I dagsläget används töjningsgivare som monteras på rälen och som kalibreras efter en statisk last. Kalibreringen går till så att ett tåg med känd last sakta passerar över givaren. Detta arbete avser att studera hur eventuella dynamiska effekter påverkar sådana mätningar. Dessa mätmetoder ska undersökas för att få reda på hur tillförlitliga de är. </p><p>Olika FEM-simuleringar utförs för att undersöka de dynamiska effekterna. Dels studeras en konstant åkande kraft och dels studeras en åkande kraft bestående av en konstant och en harmonisk (sinusvarierande) del. Skjuvspänningsfördelningen i rälen bestäms och den kan sedan räknas om till tvärkraft, varefter den passerande lasten kan beräknas. Rapporten behandlar även simuleringar av hjulplattor, vågutbredning, kontakttider samt hur en last med varierande frekvens och hastighet påverkar sådana mätningar. </p> / <p>Several different methods to weigh railway trains and to detect wheelflats are in use. One method make use of strain gauges calibrated with a static load. This means that a train with a known axle load slowly passes the gauge that is calibrated. The work presented here aims at studying how dynamic train/track interaction influences the shear stress in the rail. </p><p>Different FEM-analyses have been performed to study this. On the one hand analyses with a constant force travelling along the rail have been performed and on the other hand a travelling force that consists of a constant part and a harmonic part was used. The shear stress distribution in the rail gives the possibility to calculate the magnitude of the travelling force passing the gauge. The report also deals with detecting wheelflats, that is, detecting when an impact load hits the rail.</p>

Det finns flera olika metoder att väga ett tåg samt att detektera hjulskador såsom hjulplattor då ett tåg är i drift. I dagsläget används töjningsgivare som monteras på rälen och som kalibreras efter en statisk last. Kalibreringen går till så att ett tåg med känd last sakta passerar över givaren. Detta arbete avser att studera hur eventuella dynamiska effekter påverkar sådana mätningar. Dessa mätmetoder ska undersökas för att få reda på hur tillförlitliga de är. Olika FEM-simuleringar utförs för att undersöka de dynamiska effekterna. Dels studeras en konstant åkande kraft och dels studeras en åkande kraft bestående av en konstant och en harmonisk (sinusvarierande) del. Skjuvspänningsfördelningen i rälen bestäms och den kan sedan räknas om till tvärkraft, varefter den passerande lasten kan beräknas. Rapporten behandlar även simuleringar av hjulplattor, vågutbredning, kontakttider samt hur en last med varierande frekvens och hastighet påverkar sådana mätningar. / Several different methods to weigh railway trains and to detect wheelflats are in use. One method make use of strain gauges calibrated with a static load. This means that a train with a known axle load slowly passes the gauge that is calibrated. The work presented here aims at studying how dynamic train/track interaction influences the shear stress in the rail. Different FEM-analyses have been performed to study this. On the one hand analyses with a constant force travelling along the rail have been performed and on the other hand a travelling force that consists of a constant part and a harmonic part was used. The shear stress distribution in the rail gives the possibility to calculate the magnitude of the travelling force passing the gauge. The report also deals with detecting wheelflats, that is, detecting when an impact load hits the rail.

Turnouts (Switches &amp; Crossings) are important components in railway networks, as they provide the necessary flexibility for train operations by allowing trains to change among the tracks. But the turnout’s geometry with discontinuity in rail profiles and lack of transition curve causes additional wear both on track and on vehicle. The main goal of this MSc thesis is to investigate the influence of turnouts on wheel wear of a freight vehicle. This will be obtained by simulations in the commercial MBS software GENSYS. The wheel-rail contact is modelled according to Hertz’s theory and Kalker’s simplified theory, with the FASTSIM algorithm, and the wear calculations are performed according to Archard’s law. Wheel wear is estimated by considering variations in parameters which have effect on wheel-rail contact. All these variations are common in daily rail operation, and they are caused by it, i.e. worn wheel profiles, worn crossing nose and different stiffness of the stock and the switch rails at the beginning of the turnout. Moreover, the wheel wear is calculated for both possible directions which a vehicle can run, the diverging and the straight direction of the turnout. Especially for the straight direction, various running speeds have been tested as the speed limit when the vehicle follows the straight direction is higher than for the diverging part. Running with worn wheel profiles has the greatest impact in terms of increasing the wheel wear, especially on the outer part of wheel tread. In addition, the worn crossing nose results in increased wheel wear in this area. The results of the simulations concerning the different stiffness showed that the wheel wear caused by the contact of wheel and stock rail increases whereas the wear caused by the contact with the switch rail is kept at about the same level or decreases. It is concluded that turnouts have a significant impact on wheel wear, mainly because of the discontinuity in rail geometry and all the investigated parameters increase this impact. Moreover, great differences in wear values for areas close to each other are observed, mainly because of the wear coefficient values chosen in Archard’s wear map.

The response of beams resting on viscoelastically damped foundation under moving SDoF oscillators is scrutinized through a novel state-space formulation, in which a number of internal variables is introduced with the aim of representing the frequency-dependent behaviour of the viscoelastic foundation. A suitable single-step scheme is provided for the numerical integration of the equations of motion, and the Dimensional Analysis is applied in order to define the dimensionless combinations of the design parameters that rule the responses of beam and moving oscillator. The effects of boundary conditions, span length and number of modes of the beam, along with those of the mechanical properties of oscillator and foundation, are investigated in a new dimensionless form, and some interesting trends are highlighted. The inaccuracy associated with the use of effective values of stiffness and damping for the viscoelastic foundation, as usual in the present state-of-practice, is also quantified.

The link suspension is the most prevailing suspension system for freight wagons in Central and Western Europe. The system design is simple and has existed for more than 100 years. However, still its characteristics are not fully understood. This thesis investigates the dynamic performance of freight wagons and comprises five parts: In the first part a review of freight wagon running gear is made. The different suspension systems are described and their advantages and disadvantages are discussed. The second part focuses on the lateral force-displacement characteristics of the link suspension. Results from stationary measurements on freight wagons and laboratory tests of the link suspension characteristics are presented. To improve the understanding of various mechanisms and phenomena in link suspension systems, a simulation model is developed. In the third part the multibody dynamic simulation model is discussed. The previous freight wagon model developed at KTH is able to explain many of the phenomena observed in tests. In some cases, however, simulated and measured running behaviour differ. Therefore, a new simulation model is presented and validated against on-track test results. The performance of standard two-axle freight wagons is investigated. The most important parameters for the running behaviour of the vehicle are the suspension characteristics. The variation in characteristics between different wagons is large due to geometrical tolerances of the components, wear, corrosion, moisture or other lubrication. The influence of the variation in suspension characteristics and other parameters on the behaviour of the wagon, on tangent track and in curves, is discussed. Finally, suggestions for improvements of the system are made. A majority of the traffic related track deterioration cost originates from freight traffic. With heavier and faster freight trains the maintenance cost is likely to increase. In the fourth part the possibility to improve ride comfort and reduce track forces on standard freight wagons with link suspension is discussed. The variation of characteristics in link suspension running gear is considerable and unfavourable conditions leading to hunting are likely to occur. Supported by on-track tests and multibody dynamic simulations, it is concluded that the running behaviour of two-axled wagons with UIC double-link suspension as well as wagons with link suspension bogies (G-type) can be improved when the running gear are equipped with supplementary hydraulic dampers. Finally in the fifth part the effects of different types of running gear and operational conditions on the track deterioration marginal cost — in terms of settlement in the ballast, component fatigue, wear and RCF — is investigated. Considerable differences in track deterioration cost per produced ton-km for the different types of running gear are observed. Axle load is an important parameter for settlement and component fatigue. Also the height of centre of gravity has significant influence on track deterioration, especially on track sections with high cant deficiency or cant excess. / QC 20100802

Les phénomènes dynamiques observés lors de la circulation des trains provoquent des nuisances, notamment sonores et vibratoires, qui sont amplifiées par la présence de défauts sur la roue et sur le rail. Pour les analyser, il est nécessaire de prédire avec robustesse le comportement dynamique des composants impliqués dans l’interaction véhicule-voie et donc de simuler les efforts de contact générés pour des interfaces non idéalisées.L’objectif de cette thèse est donc de proposer un modèle semi-analytique global compatible avec l’intégration de multiples défauts géométriques sur les surfaces en contact. Afin de simuler l’interaction véhicule-voie dans le domaine temporel et garantir une applicabilité en phase de dimensionnement, une attention particulière est portée sur le compromis entre la précision des résultats et les temps de calcul associés.Le modèle ainsi proposé est composé d’un demi-bogie, dont le comportement vertical est représenté par un ensemble de masses-ressorts-amortisseurs, circulant sur une voie ballastée. Cette dernière est assimilée à une poutre bi-appuyée, supportée périodiquement à l’emplacement des traverses. Ces deux systèmes sont couplés en contact grâce à une procédure Distributed Point Reacting Spring (DPRS) sous forme discrétisée.Une validation du modèle est, d’une part, proposée en considérant des travaux antérieurs dans le cas de géométries parfaites. D’autre part, de multiples combinaisons de défauts, localisés comme le méplat ou répartis comme l’usure ondulatoire, sont introduites dans la simulation. La variabilité spatiale, particulière au cas de l’écaillage, est modélisée par des champs aléatoires. / The appearance of dynamic phenomena during the running of train on track leads to issues such as noise and vibration pollution, which can be further amplified by the presence of defects on the treads. In order to analyze them, it is necessary to predict with reliability the dynamic behavior of the vehicle-track interaction components, in particular the contact forces produced by non perfect treads.The aim of this PhD thesis is to provide a semi-analytical vehicle-track interaction model able to take into account multiple defects on the surfaces in contact. In order to conduct simulations in the time-domain and ensure applicability in the sizing phase, a special attention is given on the compromise between the accuracy of the results and the simulation times.The proposed model is therefore composed of half a bogie running on a ballasted track. This latter is modeled by a pinned-pinned beam with periodic supports located at the sleepers while the vertical behavior of the bogie is given by masses, springs and dampers. These two models are coupled in contact by a discretized Distributed Point Reacting Spring (DPRS) procedure.A validation of the model, based on previous work, is firstly proposed for perfect treads. Then, multiple combinations of defects, either localised as wheelflat or spread as corrugation, are introduced in the simulation. The spatial variability, specific to shelling, is modeled by random fields.

Numerical procedures for reliable wheel and rail wearprediction are rare. Recent development of simulationtechniques and computer power together with tribologicalknowledge do however suggest computer aided wear prediction.The objective of the related research field at the RoyalInstitute of Technology (KTH) is to arrive at a numericalprocedure able to simulate profile evolution due to uniformwear to a degree of accuracy sufficient for application tovehicle dynamics simulation. Such a tool would be useful formaintenance planning as well as optimisation of the transportsystem and its components. The research contribution accounted for in this thesisincludes, in addition to a literature review, refinement ofmethods applied to uniform wheel wear simulation by inclusionof braking and improvement of the contact model. Further atentative application to uniform rail wheel simulation has beenproposed and tested. The first part addresses issues related to braking andwheel-rail contact conditions in the context of wheel wearsimulation. The KTH approach includes Archard’s wear modelwith associated wear maps, vehicle dynamics simulation andrailway network definition. In previous work at KTH certainvariations in operating conditions have been accounted forthrough empirically estimated average scaling factors. Theobjective of the current research is to be able to include suchvariations in the set of simulations. In particular theinfluence of disc braking and varying friction and lubricationconditions are investigated. Both environmental factors likemoist and contamination and deliberate lubrication need to beconsidered. As part of the associated contact analysis theinfluence of tangential elastic deformation of the contactingsurfaces on the sliding velocity has been separatelyinvestigated and found to be essential in case of partial slipcontact conditions. In the second part validation of the improvements related towheel wear simulation is addressed. Disc braking has beenincluded in the simulation set and a wear map for moist contactconditions based on recent tribometer tests has been draftedand tested. It has been shown that the previously used brakingfactor accounts for the combination of the contributions fromsurface elasticity and braking. Good agreement withmeasurements from the Stockholm commuter service is achieved.It is concluded that the model improvements accounted for aresufficient for adequate simulation of tread wear but thatfurther development of the flange / gauge corner contactmodelling may be needed. In the final part a procedure for simulation of rail wearand corresponding profile evolution has been formulated. Asimulation set is selected defining the vehicles running on thetrack to be investigated, their operating conditions, andcontact parameters. Several variations of input data may beincluded together with the corresponding occurrenceprobability. Trial calculations of four non-lubricated curveswith radii from 303 m to 802 m show qualitatively reasonableresults in terms of profile shape development and difference inwear mechanisms between gauge corner and rail head. The wearrates related to traffic tonnage are however overestimated. Itis believed that model refinements in terms of environmentalinfluence and contact stress calculation are useful to improvethe quantitative results. / QC 20100531