Continuous observation of wheel/rail contact forces in curved track and theoretical considerations

• Published in: Vehicle system dynamics Vol. 50; no. sup1; pp. 349 - 364
• Main Authors: Matsumoto, Akira, Sato, Yasuhiro, Ohno, Hiroyuki, Shimizu, Makoto, Kurihara, Jun, Tomeoka, Masao, Saitou, Takuya, Michitsuji, Yohei, Tanimoto, Masuhisa, Sato, Yoshi, Mizuno, Masaaki
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Taylor & Francis 01.01.2012
• Subjects: Automotive wheels; Computer simulation; condition monitoring; Contact; derailment coefficient; Dynamics; friction coefficient; Mathematical models; measurement; Rails; Trains; vehicle dynamics simulation; Vehicles; wheel-rail interaction
• ISSN: 0042-3114; 1744-5159
• DOI: 10.1080/00423114.2012.669130

By using non-contact gap sensors equipped on non-rotating parts of a bogie, a new measuring method of wheel/rail contact forces has been developed. The developed system has been verified to have sufficient durability for continuous measurement on in-service trains and sufficient practical accuracy after various stand tests and train running tests. After a long-period of continuous measurement on a commercial subway line, some important characteristics of wheel/rail contact mechanics were found by the analysis of measured data. Numerical simulations of curving with a full vehicle model using multi-body dynamics software were carried out, and according to the comparison with measured data, simulation results agree well with measured data in the steady-state values of derailment coefficients considering friction coefficient.