2026-10-12T10:02:52Z https://www.scidb.cn/oai

10.57760/sciencedb.Tribology.00057 2026-06-22T15:39:29Z

2026-06-22 Analysis of Three-Dimensional Transient Wheel-Rail Contact and Wheel Wear Behavior Under High-Order Wheel Polygons doi:10.57760/sciencedb.tribology.00057 en To comprehensively reveal the intrinsic relationship between 3D transient wheel-rail contact characteristics and wheel wear behavior under high-order polygonal wear conditions in 300 km/h high-speed electric multiple units (EMUs), and to systematically investigate the influencing factors and spatial distribution characteristics of transient wheel wear, a sophisticated 3D finite element model was meticulously developed for simulating transient wheel-rail rolling contact and quantitatively predicting wheel wear distribution. This advanced model thoughtfully incorporated key engineering details, including the sub-rail support structure to reflect track dynamics and, crucially, the elastoplastic material properties of both wheel and rail to accurately capture plastic deformation and residual stress accumulation under high-frequency impact. Leveraging the explicit finite element method, a robust and quantitative computational framework was successfully implemented, enabling precise calculation of the transient wear distribution specifically associated with evolving wheel polygonal defects. Subsequently, a detailed parametric study was conducted to investigate the individual and combined influences of several critical factors: the inclusion of wheel-rail elastoplasticity, different operational states (notably contrasting constant-speed rolling with active traction), and a range of typical high-order polygonal parameters (specifically examining orders 18, 21, and 23, alongside amplitudes of 0.1 mm, 0.2 mm, and 0.3 mm) on the resulting 3D transient wheel-rail contact characteristics and the consequent wheel wear behavior. The simulation results provided clear and quantitative insights. They indicated a significant deterioration in the wheel-rail contact state under traction compared to the constant-speed baseline, accompanied by markedly more severe wheel wear, quantified by an approximate 19-fold increase in wear depth. Under traction, a critical interaction was observed where the inherent track stiffness irregularity and the dynamic excitation from wheel polygonal wear produced strong superimposed effects. This synergy caused the fluctuation trend of the wheel-rail longitudinal force to be amplified by a factor of 1.3, and its variation pattern became distinctly correlated with the underlying polygonal geometry. Furthermore, the interfacial slip amount increased by 10.5%, and its spatial distribution across the contact patch was found to closely resemble the geometric profile of the polygon. The analysis confirmed that elastoplastic deformation of the wheel and rail materials substantially aggravated both the wheel slip magnitude and the resultant wear depth. A notable shift in wear location was also identified: under traction, wheel wear was predominantly concentrated in the central region of the contact patch, differing from distributions observed under other conditions. Within the studied parameter range, several consistent trends were established regarding the impact of polygonal severity. As the polygonal order or amplitude increased, the total accumulated wheel wear showed a corresponding increase. For instance, the wear volume for the 23rd-order polygon was measured to be 1.09 times that of the 21st-order polygon under identical conditions. The correlation between the spatial wheel wear distribution and the polygonal geometric morphology was significantly enhanced with increasing defect severity. Concurrently, the phase difference between the wear distribution pattern and the defect geometry was reduced, demonstrating a tighter coupling. When the polygonal amplitude was increased from 0.1 mm to 0.3 mm, the phase difference between the wear increment distribution and the polygonal geometry decreased by 22°. A key mechanistic finding was that larger polygonal order or amplitude led to a more pronounced concentration of wheel wear towards the polygon peaks. This localized, accelerated wear at the peaks acts as a natural grinding process, leading to spontaneous attenuation of the polygonal amplitude in the short term, thereby forming a negative feedback mechanism that temporarily delays the further deterioration of the defect. The conclusions derived from this research can provide a valuable theoretical reference for understanding the complex development mechanisms of wheel polygons and for formulating scientifically-informed, cost-effective wheel maintenance, reprofiling, and monitoring strategies in high-speed railway operations. high-speed railway; high-order wheel polygon; transient rolling contact; finite element analysis; wheel wear Gao Quanfu Wen Jiaqi Ma Shuai Wu Shaopei Zhang Xin Li Deyang Li Guofang PUBLIC https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ dataset Science Data Bank