New insights into the short pitch corrugation development enigma based on 3D-FE dynamic vehicle-track coupled modelling in frictional rolling contact

New insights into the short pitch corrugation development enigma based on 3D-FE dynamic vehicle-track coupled modelling in frictional rolling contact

Li, S. (TU Delft Railway Engineering)
Li, Z. (TU Delft Railway Engineering)
Nunez, Alfredo (TU Delft Railway Engineering)
Dollevoet, R.P.B.J. (TU Delft Railway Engineering)

2017

A three-dimensional (3D) finite element (FE) dynamic frictional rolling contact model is presented for the study of short pitch corrugation that considers direct and instantaneous coupling between the contact mechanics and the structural dynamics in a vehicle-track system. In this study, we examine the system responses in terms of vibration modes, contact forces and the resulting wear with smooth rail and corrugated rail with progressively increasing amplitude to infer the conditions for consistent corrugation initiation and growth. Wear is assumed to be the damage mechanism, and short pitch corrugation is modeled using wavelengths from field observations of a Dutch railway. The contribution of this paper is a global perspective of the consistency conditions that govern the evolution of short pitch corrugation. The main insights are as follows: (1) the longitudinal vibration modes are probably dominant for short pitch corrugation initiation; (2) during short pitch corrugation evolution, the interaction and consistency between longitudinal and vertical modes should determine the development of short pitch corrugation, and once a certain severity is reached, vertical modes become dominant; and (3) in the case simulated in this paper, corrugation does not grow probably due to not only the different resulting main frequencies of the vertical and longitudinal contact forces, but also the inconsistency between the frequencies of the vertical and longitudinal vibration modes and the resulting wear. It is inferred that in the continuous process of initiation and growth of the corrugation, there should be a consistency between them, and this could be done by the control of certain track parameters.

short pitch corrugation
development mechanism
3D-FE dynamic vehicle-track modeling
vertical and longitudinal track vibrations
frictional rolling contact
OA-Fund TU Delft

http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:79013eb1-b651-4b30-964d-61e5ffc99d78

https://doi.org/10.3390/app7080807

Applied Sciences, 7 (8)

Institutional Repository

journal article

© 2017 S. Li, Z. Li, Alfredo Nunez, R.P.B.J. Dollevoet