WHEEL/RAIL DYNAMIC RESPONSES DUE TO THE WHEEL FLAT OF HEAVY-HAUL LOCOMOTIVES

The wheel flat will cause a severe wheel/rail impact, thus aggravating fatigue damage to vehicle and track components. To reveal the characteristics of the coupled vibration response of heavy-haul locomotives and tracks due to actual wheel flat, a fitting model for wheel flat was established based on the field measured data. Using a heavy-haul locomotive-track coupled dynamic model that considers the interaction between the rail pad and fastening clip in detail, the wheel/rail dynamic response caused by locomotive wheel flat was simulated and analyzed in time and frequency domains. The results show that the geometry of the actual wheel flat was not symmetrical. The P₂ force induced by the wheel flat had a great influence on the track components. The wheel flat would cause temporary separation between the rail and the fastening system. This research provided a theoretical reference for identifying locomotive wheel tread damages and maintaining heavy-haul track components.