Title: Subsurface crack propagation with different inclusion under a wheel-flat LEFM analysis using dynamics conditions

Authors: Nagvendra Kumar Kanoje; Satish C. Sharma; Suraj P. Harsha

Addresses: Mechanical Industrial and Engineering Department (MIED), Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee 247667, Ufttarakhand, India ' Mechanical Industrial and Engineering Department (MIED), Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee 247667, Ufttarakhand, India ' Mechanical Industrial and Engineering Department (MIED), Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee 247667, Ufttarakhand, India

Abstract: Railway wheels fail owing to fatigue during long runs. During running frequent braking and jamming of brakes causes wheels to skid over rails and material to be removed from the tread. This frequent skidding that removes large amounts of metal from the surface is known as wheel-flat defect. In this paper the model of the wheel with 'flat' defect using FEA and a subsurface crack in the vicinity of the defect is studied. Owing to rolling contact fatigue the subsurface crack propagates and removes a large material from the tread. If flat defect is not detected early the subsurface crack can originate in the vicinity owing to the presence of a cavity or inclusion and may lead to fatal accidents. Stress intensity factor has been obtained for the crack propagation caused by the original subsurface crack. The wheel-rail is modelled as a mass-spring-damper system to simulate the basic wheel-rail dynamics.

Keywords: wheel-rail contact; rolling contact fatigue; wheel-flat defects; FEA; finite element analysis; stress intensity factor; subsurface cracks; crack propagation; LEFM; mass-spring-damper system; simulation; wheel-rail dynamics; railway wheels; wheel skid; modelling.

DOI: 10.1504/IJVNV.2015.067982

International Journal of Vehicle Noise and Vibration, 2015 Vol.11 No.1, pp.1 - 17

Received: 23 Nov 2013
Accepted: 14 Aug 2014
Published online: 12 Mar 2015 *

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