WHEEL WEAR EVOLUTION CHARACTERISTICS OF ALPINE HIGH-SPEED EMU AND ANALYSIS OF ITS INFLUENCE

A long-term wheel wear tracking test of an alpine high-speed EMU was carried out on a certain line. The evolution rule of wheel wear was obtained. The measured wheel profiles matched with CHN60 rail and 60N rail profiles, respectively. The influence of wheel wear on wheel-rail contact geometrical relationship and contact mechanical characteristics was analyzed. A vehicle dynamic model was established by the multibody dynamic analysis software SIMPACK to study the evolution of vehicle dynamic performance with the evolution of wheel wear. The results indicates that the wheel tread wear increases linearly with the operation mileage, while there is little flange wear. The average tread wear rates of the motor and trailer cars are 0.0434 mm per 10000 km and 0.0398 mm per 10000 km, respectively. The equivalent conicity increases with operation mileage in a nonlinear way, which increases rapidly in the early stage and gently in the later period. When the measurement wheel profiles matched with CHN60 rail profile, the equivalent conicity is significantly higher than that for wheel profiles matching with 60N rail profile. The mechanical properties and dynamic performance decrease slightly under the measured wheel-rail profiles, and the vehicle has a better service when running on 60N rail.