Xiaochuan Ma

Comparison of calculation methods for wheel–switch rail normal and tangential contact

Wheel–rail contact is more complex in railway a turnout than in ordinary track and, thus, necessitates an advanced model to simulate dynamic interaction and predict rail wear. The main aim of the present work is to assess the application of several wheel–rail rolling contact models in railway turnout. For normal contact problems, wheel–rail contact models based on four different methods are compared: Hertz theory, the semi-Hertzian method, CONTACT, and the finite element method. The assessment is based on the results of contact patch shape and size and contact pressure for several wheelset lateral displacements. The load is set to a constant and equal to static wheel load. Calculations are performed at the section of switch rail head with width 35 mm in CN60-1100-1:18 turnout; both standard and worn rail profiles are accounted for. For tangential contact problems, four corresponding methods are assessed, based on the calculation of creep forces, distribution of the stick/slide region and computational efficiency: Shen–Hedrick–Elkins theory, FASTSIM, improved FASTSIM based on semi-Hertzian method, and CONTACT. It is found that the normal contact problems solved by the semi-Hertzian method and CONTACT correlate well with the finite element method, and the tangential contact problems solved by improved FASTSIM and CONTACT are quite favorable. The conclusions of this work can provide some guidance for contact model selection in the dynamic simulation and wear prediction of railway turnout.

Optimization of Rail Profiles to Improve Vehicle Running Stability in Switch Panel of High-Speed Railway Turnouts

A method for optimizing rail profiles to improve vehicle running stability in switch panel of high-speed railway turnouts is proposed in this paper. The stock rail profiles are optimized to decrease the rolling radii difference (RRD). Such characteristics are defined through given rail profiles, and the target rolling radii difference is defined as a function of lateral displacements of wheel set. The improved sequential quadratic programming (SQP) method is used to generate a sequence of improving profiles leading to the optimum one. The wheel-rail contact geometry and train-turnout dynamic interaction of the optimized profiles and those of nominal profiles are calculated for comparison. Without lateral displacement of wheel set, the maximum RRD in relation to a nominal profile will be kept within 0.5 mm–1 mm, while that in relation to an optimized profile will be kept within 0.3 mm–0.5 mm. For the facing and trailing move of vehicle passing the switch panel in the through route, the lateral wheel-rail contact force is decreased by 34.0% and 29.9%, respectively, the lateral acceleration of car body is decreased by 41.9% and 40.7%, respectively, and the optimized profile will not greatly influence the vertical wheel-rail contact force. The proposed method works efficiently and the results prove to be quite reasonable.

Stiffness Characteristics of High-Speed Railway Turnout and the Effect on the Dynamic Train-Turnout Interaction

Track stiffness in railway turnouts is variable due to differences in structural composition along the longitudinal direction, which will lead to severe dynamic interaction between train and turnout. In this paper, a transient analysis model is presented to investigate the stiffness characteristics of high-speed railway turnouts based on the finite element method and is applied to optimise the stiffness of railway turnouts. Furthermore, the effect of the stiffness variations on the dynamic train-turnout interaction is analysed. The calculation results show that the track stiffness characteristics are similar in the main and diverging line of railway turnout, except for the check rail sections. Due to the existence of shared baseplates and spacer blocks between different rails, the stiffness variations in the crossing panel are most severe in high-speed railway turnouts. The stiffness differences (calculated as the ratio of the maximum and minimum stiffness) of the longitudinal and lateral direction for Chinese number 18 ballasted turnout are 216% and 229%, respectively. The graded stiffness of the tie pads has been redesigned to optimise the stiffness of railway turnout based on the transient analysis model and the stiffness differences of the turnout are decreased. Altogether, the dynamic train-turnout interaction is enhanced remarkably by considering the turnout’s stiffness characteristics.

Numerical investigation on effect of the relative motion of stock/switch rails on the load transfer distribution along the switch panel in high-speed railway turnout

ABSTRACT In railway turnout, the stock rail and switch rail are separated to enable the vehicle changing among the tracks, and they are provided with different rail resilience level on the baseplate. Therefore, there will be vertical relative motion between stock/switch rails under the wheel loads, and the relative motion will affect consequentially the wheel–rail contact conditions. A method is developed to investigate the effect of the relative motion of stock/switch rails on the load transfer distribution along the switch panel in high-speed railway turnout. First, the rigid wheel–rail contact points of stock/switch rails are calculated based on the trace line method, and then the contact status is determined by the presented equations, finally, the distribution of wheel–rail contact forces of stock/switch rails is obtained based on the continuity of interface displacements and forces which using an approximate surface deformation method. Some parametric studies have been performed, such as the lateral displacement of wheel set, the vertical contact forces, the wheel profiles and the vertical stiffness of rail pad. The results of the parametric study are presented and discussed.

Comparison of non-Hertzian modeling approaches for wheel–rail rolling contact mechanics in the switch panel of a railway turnout

Due to the complicated wheel–rail contact relation of railway turnouts, it is necessary to select a reasonable rolling contact model to simulate the vehicle–turnout dynamics and wheel–rail damages. This paper mainly aims to evaluate the calculation accuracy and efficiency of different non-Hertzian modeling approaches in solving normal and tangential wheel–rail contact problems of railway turnouts. Four different non-Hertzian approaches, namely CONTACT, Kik–Piotrowski, Ayasse–Chollet, and Sichani methods are compared and analyzed. The above four models are built considering the relative motion of stock/switch rails. A wheel profile called LMA contacting with stock/switch rails (head width 35 mm) of CN60-1100-1:18 turnouts is selected as the object of analysis. The normal contact problems are evaluated by the wheel–rail contact areas, shapes, and normal contact pressures. The assessment of tangential contact problems is based on the creep curves, tangential contact stresses, and distribution of the stick/slip region. In addition, a contrast analysis is performed on the calculation efficiencies of the four approaches. It is found that the normal and tangential contact results calculated based on the Sichani method coincide well with those obtained according to CONTACT, and the calculation efficiency is about 262 times that of CONTACT. The conclusions can provide some guidance to the selection of wheel–rail rolling contact approach in the simulation of vehicle–turnout dynamics and wheel–rail damages.

Theoretical 3D Model for Quasistatic Critical Derailment Coefficient of Railway Vehicles and a Simplified Formula

The formula for the critical derailment coefficient concerning wheelset yaw angles and wheel-rail creep forces is deduced based on the three-dimensional (3D) force equilibrium relationship in the critical wheel derailment state under quasistatic assumption. The change of critical derailment coefficient and wheel-rail contact patch normal force/creep force as wheelset yaw angles change under the influence of the friction coefficient, maximum flange angle, and net wheel weight is analyzed according to the Kalker linear creep theory and Shen-Hedrick-Elkins creep theory. Analysis shows that the wheel-rail friction coefficient and maximum wheel flange contact angle can significantly influence the critical wheel derailment coefficient, further proving the conservative results when the critical Nadal derailment coefficient is adopted in analyzing wheel derailment under small wheelset yaw angles. To realize easy calculation and application of critical 3D derailment coefficients, the ratio of lateral creep force to longitudinal creep force of wheel-rail contact patches under critical quasistatic wheel derailment conditions is deduced. A simplified calculation method of critical derailment coefficients is presented based on this. The calculation accuracy is verified, proving that it can satisfy engineering application.

Effect of the vertical relative motion of stock/switch rails on wheel–rail contact mechanics in switch panel of railway turnout

In order to enable the vehicle to change among the tracks, the stock and switch rails are separated and provided with different rail resilience levels on the baseplate in the railway turnout switch panel. Therefore, there will be vertical relative motion between stock/switch rails under wheel loads, and the relative motion will change the combined profile of stock/switch rails and consequently affect the wheel–rail contact mechanics. A method is developed in this article to investigate the effect of the relative motion of stock/switch rails on the wheel–rail contact mechanics along the railway turnout switch panel. First, the possible rigid wheel–rail contact points, called primary and secondary stock/switch rail contact points, are calculated based on the trace line method; second, the actual contact points are determined by the presented equations; finally, the distribution of wheel–rail contact forces on the stock/switch rails is obtained based on the continuity of interface displacements and forces. A numerical example is presented in order to investigate the effect of the relative motion of stock/switch rails on the wheel–rail contact points, stresses, and forces, and the results are presented and discussed.