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Study of Wheel-Rail Contacts at Railway Turnout Using Multibody Dynamics

Simulation Approach

Chapter · January 2021

DOI: 10.1007/978-981-33-6318-2_46

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 Study of Wheel-Rail Contacts at Railway
Turnout Using Multibody Dynamics
Simulation Approach

Yohanis D. Jelila1 and Hirpa G. Lemu2(&)

1
Jimma Institute of Technology, Jimma University, Jimma, Ethiopia
ydabesa8@gmail.com
2
Faculty of Science and Technology, University of Stavanger,
Stavanger, Norway
Hirpa.g.lemu@uis.no

Abstract. The high impact force and varying crossing geometry at railway
turnout cause rolling contact fatigue damage and accumulated plastic defor-
mation which affects the life of the wheel-rail contact interface. This subjects the
wheel-rail material to fatigue damage at lower cycle under tangential contact
force compared to the normal contact force. In addition, the involved contact
dynamics at rail turnout has significant impact on the dynamic response of the
system. To investigate the problem related to wheel-rail contact damage at
railway turnout, simulation and analysis of the wheel-rail contact dynamics
considering the acting forces and the resulting motions is necessary. This article
presents the results of a study conducted on wheel-rail contact at railway
turnouts using a multibody dynamic modelling and simulation tool (SIM-
PACK). The SIMPACK wheel-rail model and simulation results have shown
that the wheel-rail dynamics simulation parameters such as joint position,
velocity, acceleration, force and torque on wheel sets are constant for the straight
tracks and not constant for curved/sharp edged tracks. From simulation results, it
has been observed that the wheelset stability, train punctuality and life of wheel-
rail surface depend on track type and can be affected by the track geometry.

Keywords: Contact force
Multibody dynamics
Railway turnout

SIMPACK modelling
Wheel-rail contact modelling

1 Introduction

Nowadays, railway transport is generally acknowledged for its low cost, environmental
friendliness, energy efficiency, and fast speed (over short, medium and long ranges)
compared with other means of transportation. Though all railway operators and
maintenance service providers need to keep train service punctual, relatively quiet,
comfortable, and low-cost, damages that often result between the wheel and rails
surface such as wear, squats, cracks, and rolling contact fatigue affect railway opera-
tions in the rail networks [1]. A rail network with series of railway turnout is a part of
the railway system where a track crosses over one another at an angle to divert a train
from the original track. It allows for train vehicles switch between various tracks and

© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2021
Y. Wang et al. (Eds.): IWAMA 2020, LNEE 737, pp. 371–379, 2021.
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-33-6318-2_46
372 Y. D. Jelila and H. G. Lemu

in-turn maximizes the utility of tracks and assets [2, 3]. The geometrical interruptions
of turnouts at crossing areas lead to high impact forces and aggressive dynamic train
turnout interactions produced at turnouts cause serious damages such as wear, rolling
contact fatigue and accumulated plastic deformations, which will eventually shorten the
operational life of its components [4]. The high impact loads induced by the dynamic
wheel–rail interaction at turnout cause material deterioration when a vehicle moves in
both facing and trailing directions, resulting in high maintenance costs [5].
Several studies have shown that it is very likely that a rail turnout will be subjected
to extreme impact loads, resulting in rapid degradation in structural integrity and
longevity, wheel life and ride comfort. A wide range of loading conditions and touch
geometries appear as a result of the rail and wheel profiles as well as curve radii, as rail
vehicles travel on rail networks [2]. The contact conditions differ considerably between
the two main touch zones, the wheel tread-rail head and the gauge corner of the wheel
flange-rail, but damages are mostly severe in the latter [6]. Due to the lateral translation
of wheelsets and the variety of rail profiles, dynamic vehicle-turnout interaction is a
time-variant process, even when discounting track irregularities, it is much more
complex than on the ordinary track. This can potentially cause significant damage to
the contact surfaces and transmit noise and vibration to the outside world. In the case of
impaired turnout, extreme rolling contact fatigue (RCF) induces substantial changes in
the wheel-rail profile and thus affects the running actions of railway vehicles.
As Cornish et al. [7] identified, there are two deterioration modes associated with
the wheel to rail interaction. These are (1) deterioration by rolling contact fatigue
damage, plastic deformation, wear and fracture mechanism (Fig. 1 [7]) and (2) deteri-
oration by metal fatigue from contact patch and brittle fracture. The second deterio-
ration category exists due to more global system conditions such as track quality (i.e.
foundation support), manufacturing defects and abnormal loading, although it is not the
subject of this study. As the system consists of several components, many degrees of
freedom are involved. The bodies that make up the vehicle can be connected in various
ways and a moving interface connects the vehicle with the track. This interface
involves the complex geometry of the wheel tread and the rail head and non-
conservative frictional forces generated by relative motion in the contact area [8].

Fig. 1. Illustration of rail wheel deterioration mechanisms.

 Study of Wheel-Rail Contacts at Railway Turnout 373

Multibody system simulation approach is nowadays recognized as a reliable and

mature computer aided engineering tool where several interacting bodies are involved.
Therefore, the study of railway vehicle dynamics by using multibody simulation tools
has been increasing its popularity in the past years, and this is due to its efficiency and
reliability to formulate and solve different types of problems. Vehicle dynamics is
mostly studied using multibody system (MBS) software because these tools have
robust solvers for wheel-rail contact calculation. The MBS solvers generally consider
the track flexibility using the continuously supported track model and offer support to
the train running gear [9]. Though analytical, boundary element method (BEM), finite
element method (FEM) and other numerical methods are used, most of the developed
MBS software currently adopt ready to use track models for vehicle dynamics simu-
lation, which usually consider rails, pads, and sleepers only. Therefore, the MBS
vehicle model will be promising for researches on investigating the vehicle-track
interaction problem [10].
In the literature, many approaches on fatigue life analysis and prediction of wheel-
rail contact surface are reported. For example, the degradation of rails from a materials
point of view including all relevant influencing factors such as traffic, rail grade, track
geometry, maintenance regime are reported in [11] and proved that the problem of rail
degradation cannot be solved by material choice alone rather it depends on the crack
growth in rails. Wan et al. [4] studied the dynamic behaviour and crossing performance
of turnout from field measurement and finite element modelling. The field measure-
ments of geometry and acceleration were performed on common single turnouts in the
Dutch railway network. FE modelling the dynamic responses of the crossing nose
displacements and accelerations, contact forces between the wheel and the crossing and
the stresses in rail material were obtained as outputs.
Observing the complex dynamics taking place at the wheel-rail contact at turnouts
and the further need to predict failure of the system, the work reported in this article is
intended to make multibody dynamic simulation of the wheel-rail contact dynamics to
investigate damage phenomenon of wheel-rail contact surface at crossings geometry.

2 Materials and Methods

In the present work, two approaches, i.e. FEM in ANSYS Workbench and simulation
using the SIMPACK software from DASSAULT System, were used to make the
wheel-rail contact modelling and simulation. The geometric modelling of the wheel-rail
contact at turnouts of the railway was first done using Autodesk Inventor® based on the
specification of Addis Ababa light railway transit (AALRT) data (Table 1 and Table 2)
and the modelled geometry was imported to ANSYS R19.2 workbench for contact
analysis and simulation. A multibody-dynamics analysis of wheel-rail contact at rails
turnouts was done by SIMPACK modelling software [12] to model the wheelset, track,
rail and simulate wheel-rail contact at railway turnout based on the specification of the
vehicle dimension as it moves along curved track. In this article, only results of
SIMPACK simulation are discussed.
374 Y. D. Jelila and H. G. Lemu

2.1 Wheelset Geometry Modelling

To analyze the wheel-rail contact simulation using the SIMPACK software, the
geometry of two wheelsets were modeled by considering that the wheel follows on a
curved track at the railway turnout when train diverges from stock rail to diverging
rails. To make the dynamic analysis of wheelset such as joint position, velocity,
acceleration, force and torque, based on AALRT vehicle specifications (Table 2), the
assembly of two wheelsets and track geometry were modeled (Fig. 2).

Table 1. Addis Ababa light rail transit wheel and rail steel alloys mechanical property
Material property Corresponding value
Density 7820 kg/m3
Poisons ration 0,3
Tensile/compressive yield strength 540 MPa
Ultimate tensile strength 880 MPa
Yield strength 500 MPa
Young modulus 210 GPa
Shear modulus 80 GPa
Tangent modulus 4000 MPa

Table 2. Addis Ababa light rail transit wheel and rail track specification [13]
Main parameters of lines Specification
Inclination at rail bottom 1/40
Lateral displacement/wheel clearance 7,5 mm
Maximum superelevation 120 mm
Minimum radius of horizontal curve 50 m
Minimum radius of vertical curve 1000 m
Track gauge 1435 mm
Type of rails for main lines and depot 50 kg/m
Wheel diameter (as new) 660 mm
Wheelbase 1900 mm

Fig. 2. Wheelset geometry assembly along a curved track

 Study of Wheel-Rail Contacts at Railway Turnout 375

2.2 Wheel and Rail Profile Setup

To set up the wheel and rail profile, the right- and left-hand wheel tread profile of S1002
at the contact location is settled. The maximum lateral displacement of wheel before
flange contact on the straight track and the curved track of 50 m horizontal radius were
set to 35 mm and 75 mm respectively. The moment of inertia of the cross-section rail
profile for the right and left track was used. Based on wheel profile, the rail profile of
UIC 60 was modeled and the SIMPACK preprocessor was used. The optimal wheel-rail
contact profiles of curved tracks is illustrated in Fig. 3, where the positive and negative
values represent a lateral displacement to the outer and inner side respectively.

Fig. 3. Left hand (LH) and right hand (RH) wheel and rail profiles

2.3 Set-up of Wheel-Rail Contact Pairs

The contact connection of wheel-rail pairs indicates the contact pressure distribution
between wheel-rails at the contact patch. The right and left corner of rail gauge and
flange root are subjected to high contact pressure distribution when the vehicle travels
on a curved track as shown in Fig. 4. On the straight track, only the wheel tread and
rail-head contact surface experience contact pressure at the contact patch.

Fig. 4. Illustration of left and right contact connection of the wheel-rail pairs
376 Y. D. Jelila and H. G. Lemu

3 Discussion of Results
3.1 Joint Position Result
At the wheel-rail interface, two joint positions, namely the lateral joint position along
the y-axis and the angular joint position of the wheelset, are used to indicate the lateral
and angular displacement of a wheel respectively when the wheels travel along various
tracks. From the joint position result shown in Fig. 6, when the wheel rolls over the
straight track, the joint position is at equilibrium and its value is zero, if the wheel rolls
over a curved or circular track, on the other hand, joint position is not constant or is not
at equilibrium. The plots also show that the joint position increases or decreases when
train wheel enters a curved or circular track. According to these results, it is observed
that a joint position of wheelset can be affected by the type of track and the railway
turnouts, hence the joint position of wheelset is not at equilibrium for a curved track.
Furthermore, Fig. 5 indicates that wheelset 2 (front wheelset) is subjected to maximum
fluctuating joint position for both lateral and angular joint position of the wheel. This is
because the front wheelset is steered more than rear wheelset to hunt motion along a
curved/circular track.

Fig. 5. Joint position result on front (wheelset 1) and rear (wheelset 2) with time (a) lateral and
(b) angular

3.2 Joint Velocity and Acceleration Result

As given in Fig. 6 and Fig. 7, when wheel travels along straight track, the change in
velocity and acceleration on the wheelset1 and wheelset 2 is constant or at equilibrium.
Along the straight or large horizontal radius of curvature, the lateral displacement of the
wheel is minimum and the vehicle can travel with maximum velocity and acceleration.
This maintains stability of vehicle, minimizes delay time or maximize train punctuality
and service life. If the wheel travels over curved or circular track, however, the change
in velocity and acceleration is not constant on both wheelsets. The change in velocity
and acceleration along lateral and radial direction increases in magnitude due to
geometry of railway turnouts and aggressive dynamic train turnout interactions.
 Study of Wheel-Rail Contacts at Railway Turnout 377

At curved/circular track, the lateral displacement of the wheel is maximum and

damage to wheel-rail component resulted due to tangential contact force. This indicates
that the train travels with minimum velocity and acceleration along sharp curve/edge,
hence train delay time is maximum, stability of vehicle is poor and service life of
wheel-rail component is minimum.

Fig. 6. Variation of (a) lateral (b) angular joint velocity results on front and rear wheelset with
time

Fig. 7. Variation of (a) lateral joint acceleration and (b) angular joint acceleration on front and
rear wheelset

The change in vertical force and lateral force (Fig. 8), as well as absolute torque on
left and right wheelset or on both wheelset or either on right or left wheelset are also
observed to be constant, but not equal to zero along straight track. On the other hand,
when the train travels on curved or sharp edge, the vertical force, lateral force and
absolute torque on both wheelsets on either right or left wheelset increase in magnitude,
but opposite in direction. This significant increase of force and absolute torque in
magnitude is due to geometry of railway turnout and high impact of vertical contact
force and lateral contact force between wheel-rail contact. Due to these forces and
torque increments at curved track, the wheel-rail component subjected to maximum
fluctuating loads which causes damage and instability of wheelset along curved track.
378 Y. D. Jelila and H. G. Lemu

Fig. 8. Variation of (a) vertical force rear axle and (b) lateral force on front axle with time.

4 Conclusion

The article presented part of a work done on modelling and simulation of the dynamics
of wheel and rail contact with focus on the turnout contacts that are the most critical. The
multibody dynamics simulation tool SIMPACK has been used to study the dynamics of
the wheel-rail contact based on the operational parameters of a railway company in
Ethiopia. The results indicate that the wheel-rail contact dynamics simulation parame-
ters such as joint position, velocity, acceleration, force and torque on right and left
wheelsets are constant for the straight tracks and not constant for curved/sharp edged
tracks. These results also show that the wheelset stability, train speed, acceleration and
life of wheel-rail surface are dependent on track type and affected by the track geometry.
The most important recommendation for the studied light rail transit company is to
design and construct the railway tracks and turnouts with large horizontal radius of
curvatures to improve the life of wheel-rail component, maximize train punctuality,
minimize loss of materials and resource in addition to good material property choice
(fatigue resistant material selection) and wheel-rail profile optimization.

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