The edge effect to the wheel/rail rolling contact problem was investigated using laboratory experiments and validated using a 3D FE model involving contact and material nonlinearities. A special purpose test rig with a full-scale wheel was developed to apply the rolling contact load on railhead. An image analysis technique known as Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) was used to determine the vertical (E22), lateral (Ell) and shear (El2) strains on the rail end face. Traditional strain gauge technique was used to validate the vertical strain obtained using PIV method. The PIV strain has exhibited a good agreement with the strain gauge values. The ability to explore the vertical, lateral and shear strains in the zone of interest is an advantage in the PIV method. A virgin railhead edge shows a significant volume of plastic deformation in the first load cycle compared to subsequent load cycles. More than 22,000 microstrains plastic strain accumulation (ratchetting) was observed for the 100 load cycles with both the loaded and unloaded wagon wheel loads (130.7 kN and 50 kN). It also observed that a deeper plastic zone on the rail end face for the loaded wagon wheel load than unloaded wagon wheel load. The experimentally validated FE model is an important outcome in this research that can be used for further investigation on railhead edge effects under various wheel loads. The experimental setup will also be used to study the wheel/ rail contact interaction problem with different rail test specimens and various loading conditions.
Experimental investigation of wheel/rail rolling contact at railhead edge
Experimental Mechanics ; 53 , 6 ; 943-957
2013
15 Seiten, 27 Bilder, 30 Quellen
Article (Journal)
English
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