Title: Parametric study of wheel flats effects on dynamic forces and derailment coefficient in turnouts

Authors: Sajjad Sattari; Mohammad Saadat; Sayed Hasan Mirtalaie; Mehdi Salehi; Ali Soleimani

Addresses: Department of Mechanical Engineering, Najafabad Branch, Islamic Azad University, Najafabad, Iran ' Department of Mechanical Engineering, Najafabad Branch, Islamic Azad University, Najafabad, Iran ' Department of Mechanical Engineering, Najafabad Branch, Islamic Azad University, Najafabad, Iran ' Department of Mechanical Engineering, Najafabad Branch, Islamic Azad University, Najafabad, Iran ' Department of Mechanical Engineering, Najafabad Branch, Islamic Azad University, Najafabad, Iran

Abstract: Evaluating and predicting the possibility of derailment at turnouts is important in operation and maintenance. In addition, wheel flat defect is one of the sources of infrastructure damage due to the occurrence of severe impact forces. In this paper, the dynamic and safety studies of a freight train with a defective wheel when passing through turnouts are investigated. After modelling and validation, the evaluation of the wheel-rail dynamic forces and derailment coefficient at turnout has been done using the multibody dynamic universal mechanism (UM), and the effect of the wheel flat depth on these items has been evaluated. The results indicate that the depth of the wheel flat, as well as the train speed, strongly affect the dynamic forces and derailment coefficient at the turnout. Excessive dynamic forces, with the creation and growth of wheel and rail defects, are the cause of derailment, accidents, and destruction, and must be continuously monitored.

Keywords: railway vehicles; wheel flats; turnouts; wheel-rail dynamic forces; derailment coefficient.

DOI: 10.1504/IJHVS.2023.134707

International Journal of Heavy Vehicle Systems, 2023 Vol.30 No.6, pp.752 - 765

Received: 27 Jul 2022
Accepted: 26 Jan 2023
Published online: 06 Nov 2023 *

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