WHEEL/RAIL FRICTIONAL TEMPERATURE ANALYSIS UNDER WHEEL ROLLING

Studies on the frictional temperature of wheel/rail contact are briefly reviewed. Based on the finite element method and non-steady heat transfer equations, a numerical model is proposed to analyze the frictional temperature of wheel/rail under the wheel rolling without its center translation. The effect of the rolling speed on the temperature field near the contact patch of rail is investigated. The heat-convection and radiation between the wheel/rail and the ambient, heat transfer between the contacting surfaces of the wheel/rail, the material thermal coefficient changing with temperature are taken into account. The numerical results show that the temperature rise rate of the rail surface is very high at the beginning of the wheel rolling and then gradually reduces to zero. When the frictional temperature of the surface reaches to steady state, it increases linearly with wheel rolling speed. If the rotating angular displacement of the wheel is identical and the other conditions are unchanged, the rolling speed has little influence on the thickness of the heat affected layer of the rail.