ABSTRACT
Railroad wheel tread radial profile (runout) errors produce high dynamic loads at the wheel/rail interface that can often exceed 400 kN in peak amplitude. These impact loads are propagated into the bogie components (bearings, suspension) and into the track structure, where fatigue and fracture damage can occur. Studies have been conducted to measure the loads at the rail, to measure the wheel profiles, and to validate a mathematical vehicle/track interaction model, using the wheel profiles as geomtry inputs to the model. The effects of structural bending modes on model results have been explored in an effort to provide an accurate and dependable simulation.
