Title: Enhancing rail vehicle stability using bogie direction reversal

Authors: Ali Asadi Lari, Ahmad Reza Fallah

Addresses: School of Railway Engineering, Iran University of Science and Technology, Tehran 16846, Iran. ' Department of Mechanical Engineering, Osaka University, Suita, Osaka 565-0871, Japan

Abstract: Steel wheels are facing the problem of plastic deformation and wear during their operation. Wheel wear within the flange and tread regions can affect the dynamics of rail vehicles. A number of methods are commonly employed to decrease the wear rate within both the flange and the tread regions of wheels. This paper focuses on the running-in period, and on a procedure for Bogie Direction Reversal (BDR) to indicate the importance of operational aspect on the dynamics improvement of wheelset behaviour, and hence, vehicle safety and stability. Test results of eight wheels in a case study have been presented and analysed.

Keywords: BDR; bogie direction reversal; RRD; rolling radii difference; rail vehicle stability; wheel wear rate; wheel wear pattern; railways; steel wheels; plastic deformation; wheel wear; vehicle safety; dynamics; commuter trains; heavy vehicles.

DOI: 10.1504/IJHVS.2011.040501

International Journal of Heavy Vehicle Systems, 2011 Vol.18 No.2, pp.179 - 194

Published online: 29 Jan 2015 *

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