Short pitch corrugation has been a problem for railways worldwide over one century. In this paper, a parametric investigation of fastenings is conducted to understand the corrugation formation mechanism and gain insights into corrugation mitigation. A three-dimensional finite element vehicle–track dynamic interaction model is employed, which considers the coupling between the structural dynamics and the contact mechanics, while the damage mechanism is assumed to be differential wear. Various fastening models with different configurations, boundary conditions, and parameters of stiffness and damping are built up and analysed. These models may represent different service stages of fastenings in the field. Besides, the effect of train speeds on corrugation features is studied. The results indicate: (1) Fastening parameters and modelling play an important role in corrugation formation. (2) The fastening longitudinal constraint to the rail is the major factor that determines the corrugation formation. The fastening vertical and lateral constraints influence corrugation features in terms of spatial distribution and wavelength components. (3) The strengthening of fastening constraints in the longitudinal dimension helps to mitigate corrugation. Meanwhile, the inner fastening constraint in the lateral direction is necessary for corrugation alleviation. (4) The increase in fastening longitudinal stiffness and damping can reduce the vibration amplitudes of longitudinal compression modes and thus reduce the track corrugation propensity. The simulation in this work can well explain the field corrugation in terms of the occurrence possibility and major wavelength components. It can also explain the field data with respect to the small variation between the corrugation wavelength and train speed, which is caused by frequency selection and jump between rail longitudinal compression modes.

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Polygonal wear is a type of damage commonly observed on the railway wheel tread. It induces wheel-rail impacts and consequent train/track components failure. This study presents a finite element (FE) thermomechanical wheel-rail contact model, which is able to cope with the three possible generation and development mechanisms of polygonal wear: initial defects, thermal effect, and structural dynamics. The polygonal wear-induced impact contact and further development of wear are simulated. The simulated elastic contact solutions are verified against the program CONTACT. Different material properties (elastic, elasto-plastic and elasto-plastic-thermo, i.e. with thermal softening) and initial polygonal profiles are then applied to the FE model to investigate the influence of wheel/rail material and wear amplitude on wheel-rail contact stress and wear development. The simulations indicate that the wheel-rail impact-induced temperature may reach up to 362 ℃ at the contact interface, and the high temperature at the contact area influences wheel-rail contact stress and wear depth.

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The mechanism of rail short pitch corrugation has remained elusive in the past. The damage mechanisms of the corrugation are reported to be differential wear or plastic deformation. The former has been extensively studied, while the plastic deformation, especially under multiple wheel passages has been seldom studied. To uncover the facts behind it, an integrated dynamic vehicle-track model with the rail material treated in elasto-plasticity is developed. Further, a novel method which can simulate the material deformation under cyclical axle loads is proposed. This method is used to study the rail material response at corrugation. Our research found that for the cases studied, the rail material undergoes cyclic plastic deformation at corrugation peaks only for a limited number of cycles (2–4 cycles) before reaching the elastic shakedown limit. After that, no further residual stresses and strains accumulate. The plastic deformation at corrugation peaks weakens the corrugation amplitude, serving as an early corrugation attenuation mechanism. Conversely, work-hardening at corrugation peaks increases wear resistance at those peaks, promoting corrugation in the long term. The explanation of the corrugation development process under the interplays of the plastic deformation and wear has been validated by field corrugation data. Additionally, we propose a wear coefficient in the wear model to account for the work-hardening and change in the wear resistance. Experimental results of the hardness distribution show the similar characteristics to the numerical results.

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Short pitch corrugation is a quasi-periodic rail defect that induces a high level of noise and accelerates track degradation. This paper proposes a methodology to mitigate short pitch corrugation by rail constraint design, including four steps. In Step 1, corrugation is numerically reproduced by employing a three-dimensional (3D) finite element (FE) vehicle-track model with degraded fastenings. In Step 2, the corrugation initiation mechanism is identified by the operating deflection shapes (ODSs) approach. In Step 3, different types of rail constraints are designed and their effects on rail vibration modes are analysed. Then FE models of these rail constraints are built up and validated. In Step 4, rail constraint models from Step 3 are applied to the 3D FE vehicle-track interaction model and their effectiveness on corrugation mitigation is evaluated. The results indicate rail longitudinal compression modes and the induced longitudinal dynamic contact force dominate the initial differential wear and corrugation initiation. Based on this mechanism, a new rail constraint is designed in this work that can completely suppress longitudinal compression modes and significantly reduce the fluctuation amplitude of the longitudinal contact force so that corrugation can hardly initiate. This paper first points out a direction for field corrugation mitigation by strengthening the rail longitudinal constraint.

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This paper proposes a new hypothesis for the formation process of short pitch rail corrugation. An FE wheel-track dynamic model is utilized to verify the hypothesis by reproducing corrugation initiation and consistent growth. It is found longitudinal compression modes are responsible for corrugation initiation with necessary initial excitation that allows flexibility for longitudinal vibration. Consistency between longitudinal compression and vertical bending eigenfrequencies of the wheel-track system is required for consistent corrugation growth, which also determines maximum corrugation amplitude. Corrugation initiates by frequency selection instead of wavelength fixing. The proposed mechanism can explain field observations including the wavelength and periodicity of corrugation in the Netherlands, why corrugation forms on continuously-supported tracks where pinned-pinned resonance does not exist, and the small variation between the corrugation wavelength and train speed.

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Polygonal wear is a common type of damage on the railway wheel tread, which could induce wheel-rail impacts and further components failure. This study presents a finite element (FE) thermomechanical model to investigate the causes of wheel polygonal wear. The FE model is able to cope with three possible causes of polygonal wear: thermal effect, initial defects, and structural dynamics. To analyse the influences of the three causes on wheel-rail contact stress and wear depth, different material properties (i.e., elastic, elasto-plastic, thermo-elasto-plastic with thermal softening), and wheel profiles (i.e., round and polygonal) were used in the FE model. The simulation indicates that a high temperature up to 264.20 ℃ could be induced by full-slip wheel-rail rolling contact when the polygonal profile is used. The thermal effect, similar to that induced by tread brake, may then have a significant influence on wheel-rail contact stress and wear depth. In addition, the involvement of initial defects, i.e., polygonal profile, causes wheel-rail impact contact and remarkably increases the contact stress and wear. By reliably considering all the three possible causes, the proposed FE model is believed promising for further explaining the generation mechanisms of wheel polygonal wear.

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Short pitch corrugation is a (quasi-) sinusoidal rail vertical defect on rail surface, and it was first found more than one century ago. The wavelength of short pitch corrugation is 20-80 mm, and its amplitude can be up to 100 µm. It mainly develops on straight tracks or at gentle curves with comparatively light axle loads. Due to short pitch corrugation, dynamic wheel-rail contact forces increase considerably, and hence the degradations of vehicle-track components are accelerated. In addition, the corrugation excited vibration is a source that radiates “roaring” noise. Because of those negative aspects, researchers have spent many efforts to understand and theoretically explain the problem. At present, the corrugation phenomenon is usually understood through a damage mechanism and a wavelength-fixing mechanism. Based on the explanation, almost all types of corrugations can be explained with their corresponding mechanisms, and countermeasures were confirmed to be capable of effectively mitigating them. Nevertheless, there has been yet no consensus on the mechanisms of short pitch corrugation due to: 1) it only appears at some tracks and some locations, 2) different from other types of corrugation, short pitch corrugation (after this shortened as “corrugation”) changes minorly with the change in train speed.In this dissertation, a three dimensional (3D) dynamic finite element (FE) vehicle-track frictional rolling contact model, which was initially used to research rail squats, is extended to understand the corrugation enigma. The goal is to investigate if the model can explain the root causes of the corrugation. A second goal is to characterize the rail material damages from rail corrugation metallurgically. After an introduction, the 3D dynamic FE vehicle-track frictional rolling contact model is applied to rail corrugation research. The damage mechanism evaluated is differential wear, and it is considered proportional to the frictional work. Nominal parameters and boundary conditions are used in the model. Corrugations with different phase angles are added to the rail model to investigate whether they can consistently grow. Similar to conclusions from previous research, the obtained differential wear is in phase with the corrugation, which means the corrugation will be worn off and not grow. Nevertheless, it is found that the longitudinal track vibration modes may be dominant for short pitch corrugation initiation, and the vertical modes become dominant at certain stages. The consistency of longitudinal and vertical contact forces, differential wear, and corrugation should determine the development of short pitch corrugation.Then in the second part of this thesis, through the variation of fastening modeling, an initial differential wear with large amplitudes is identified to form from the smooth rail. This differential wear is found to be correlated to the rail longitudinal dynamics. The corrugation explained by this differential wear can consistently initiate and grow up to 80 µm. Additionally, the corrugation from the numerical analysis agrees well with a rail corrugation recorded from the field. Consistency is shown during the corrugation growth between the vertical and longitudinal contact force, the differential wear, and the corrugation. Besides, a corrugation wavelength selection phenomenon can also be explained by this consistency. These results confirm the insights from the first part of the thesis, reveal the whole development process of corrugation, and explain its root cause.The third part of this thesis is a study of the rail material structural damage from a corrugation. A metallurgical study was performed to analyze the rolling contact fatigue damage of a rail sample with corrugation. Besides the well-known white etching layer (WEL), an extra layer called the brown etching layer (BEL) was identified with distinctly lower hardness and brown colour contrast. It bears some similar properties as the WEL, such as brittle though much softer. Compared to WEL, the cracks formed in the BEL were found to propagate downwards without branching and can lead to rail fracture in the end. It is unknown if the BEL is a transitional state from the pearlite structure to the WEL, if it forms after the WEL, or if it is a different layer formed under certain thermomechanical conditions. In conclusion, this thesis extends a 3D dynamic FE vehicle-track rolling contact model for the mechanism of corrugation study. Based on the research results, the root cause of the corrugation found on the Dutch railway network is identified. This finding opens the possibility to design methods to avoid or mitigate corrugation by optimising track structure parameters. Finally, the finding of BEL brings a new concept that will help to understand the rail material damage mechanisms from rail corrugation. The understanding of BEL will provide insight into crack development mechanisms, as BEL can lead to rail fracture. A complete understanding of rail material is crucial for the development of new rail technologies. @en

The continuous homogeneous rail constraint of embedded rail system (ERS) is realized by the encapsulation of rails with the elastic poured compound (EPC) which is a composite material. Previous treatment of EPC as linear elastic material was insufficient in the failure analysis of ERS. In this work, a hyperelastic model is developed to describe the mechanical properties of the EPC with engineering strain up to 150%. Physical tests of uniaxial tension, planar tension and quadruple shear are conducted. A 4-parameter Ogden model is determined by curve fitting and validated with a progressive validation strategy, and then is applied to the failure analysis of ERS. It is found that the material nonlinearity of EPC contributes noticeably to the decrease of the longitudinal stiffness of ERS. The 2^nd debonding is more probably caused by the failure of adhesive at the interface between EPC and rail rather than EPC itself.

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Based on the measured spectra of rail roughness and track structures longitudinal roughness, the rail grinding limit is studied with the help of an established coupled dynamic metro vehicle–track model and a rolling contact fatigue model. The results indicate that metro rail grinding control should be regulated according to corrugation wavelength range and operating speed. Based on the rolling contact fatigue model, longer wavelength of rail corrugation has less influence on the wheel rolling contact fatigue. For the metro lines with a maximum operating speed of 80 km/h, the average levels of rail corrugation in the wavelength ranges of 30–65 mm, 65–125 mm, and 125–250 mm should be less than 5.4, 24.8, and 33.8 dB re 1 μm, respectively; for the ones with the operating speed of 80–120 km/h, the corresponding average corrugation levels in the three wavelength ranges should be less than 4.4, 9.8, and 29.8 dB re 1 μm, respectively.

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In this paper, we present a solution method based on finite element (FE) modeling to predict multimodal dispersive waves in a free rail. As well as the modal behaviors and wavenumber-frequency dispersion relations, the phase and group velocities of six types of propagative waves are also derived and discussed in detail in the frequency range of 0–5 kHz. To experimentally distinguish different types of wave modes, the operating deflection shape (ODS) measurement approach is employed in the laboratory. ODS is measured from the spatial distribution of imaginary parts of the FRFs. We also propose a synchronized multiple-acceleration wavelet (SMAW) approach to experimentally study the propagation and dispersion characteristics of waves in a free rail. The group velocities in the vertical, longitudinal and lateral directions are estimated from the wavelet power spectra (WPSs). The good agreement between the simulation and measurement in terms of mode shapes and ODSs, wavenumber-frequency dispersion curves, and group velocities indicates that the ODS and SMAW approaches are capable of distinguishing different wave modes and measuring wave propagation and dispersion characteristics. In situ experimental results further demonstrate the effectiveness of the ODS measurement for coupled modal identification and the SMAW approach for wave dispersion analysis of the rail in a field track.

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This paper investigates three-dimensional (3D) rail vibrations under fastening constraint up to 5000 Hz and provides insights into rail vibration control by fastening parameters. A methodology is proposed, including experimental investigation and numerical simulations of rail vibrations. Three steps are considered: 1) experimental investigation of rail vibrations under fastening constraint; 2) validation and analysis of 3D finite element (FE) modeling of rail-fastening systems; 3) rail vibration control by fastening parameters. In Step 1, operating deflection shape (ODS) and synchronized multiple-acceleration wavelet (SMAW) measurements are applied to identify rail vibration modes and measure wave propagation characteristics under fastening constraint. In Step 2, a 3D FE model capable of reproducing the dynamic behaviors of rail-fastening up to 5000 Hz is developed to analyze rail vibrations and validated using measurements from Step 1. In Step 3, insights into the control of rail vibrations are gained by sensitivity analysis of fastening parameters using the validated 3D FE model from Step 2. The results indicate that (1) under fastening constraint, ODS measurement identifies vertical bending modes, longitudinal compression modes, and lateral bending modes of the rail with shifted frequencies and significantly reduced vibration amplitude compared to that of free rail. (2) Vertical wave attenuation of rail-fastening is relatively small between 1800 and 3600 Hz, and lateral wave attenuation presents a dominant peak at about 3800 Hz. (3) Compared to the vertical and lateral directions, the fastening system constrains the longitudinal rail vibrations less strongly. (4) The change of fastening stiffness and damping can control rail mode frequencies and their vibration amplitude, and influence the wave propagation velocities and attenuation along the rail.@en

Embedded rail system (ERS) is a new type of track structure with many advantages due to its continuous rail support. The rapid development of urban rail transit all over the world renders its application prospect broad. However, the cracks and debonds in ERS present a threat to the traffic safety and a possibility for high maintenance costs. In this work, a longitudinal pushing experiment was designed to explore the damage development process in ERS in order to help structural optimization and performance maintenance. The first order derivative of displacement-longitudinal force curve indicates that the damage process of ERS could be divided into three stages: linear elasticity, damage initiation and damage acceleration stages. The surface deformation of the elastic poured compound (EPC) was analyzed with the particle velocimetry and it is shown that the damage is possibly localized in a small EPC part. Statistics of the absolute displacements of a large number of interrogation areas show that their percentage distribution changes in agreement with the increment of rail displacement, which could be the basis for monitoring of EPC deformation in the breathing zone of continuous welded rail. The analysis of the deformation of EPC from side views, together with the qualitative analysis with finite element method, reveals that the large shear strain of rubber strip and the intense shear strain of EPC at rail foot are the main causes of damage initiation and growth in ERS under longitudinal force.

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This research presents a coupled thermomechanical modelling procedure for the wheel-rail contact problem and computes the flash-temperature and stress-strain responses when thermal effects are present. A three-dimensional elasto-plastic finite element model was built considering the wheel-track interaction. When the wheel is running on rail, frictional energy is generated and converted into heat. To evaluate the contribution of thermal effects and plasticity, five different material models were studied among them TEPS was nonlinear and temperature-dependent including thermal softening. Discussions were made on the effect of solution type and material type. The rail temperature, calculated for a critical creepage case, confirmed the potential of martensitic phase transformation. Thermal effects were also important at lower creepages, where a synchronization effect causes earlier damage.

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A three-dimensional (3D) finite element (FE) dynamic frictional rolling contact model is presented for the study of short pitch corrugation that considers direct and instantaneous coupling between the contact mechanics and the structural dynamics in a vehicle-track system. In this study, we examine the system responses in terms of vibration modes, contact forces and the resulting wear with smooth rail and corrugated rail with progressively increasing amplitude to infer the conditions for consistent corrugation initiation and growth. Wear is assumed to be the damage mechanism, and short pitch corrugation is modeled using wavelengths from field observations of a Dutch railway. The contribution of this paper is a global perspective of the consistency conditions that govern the evolution of short pitch corrugation. The main insights are as follows: (1) the longitudinal vibration modes are probably dominant for short pitch corrugation initiation; (2) during short pitch corrugation evolution, the interaction and consistency between longitudinal and vertical modes should determine the development of short pitch corrugation, and once a certain severity is reached, vertical modes become dominant; and (3) in the case simulated in this paper, corrugation does not grow probably due to not only the different resulting main frequencies of the vertical and longitudinal contact forces, but also the inconsistency between the frequencies of the vertical and longitudinal vibration modes and the resulting wear. It is inferred that in the continuous process of initiation and growth of the corrugation, there should be a consistency between them, and this could be done by the control of certain track parameters. @en

Rail joints are a weak component in railway tracks because of the large impact and wheel-rail contact forces. Every train passage contributes to the deterioration of rail joints, causing visible (e.g. battered rails) and invisible (e.g. loose bolts) damages. The invisible damage cannot be detected by the commonly performed visual inspection, which is labor intensive, unreliable, intrusive and unsafe. In this paper, a vehicle-borne monitoring system is used to automatically detect and assess the tightness condition of bolts at rail joints. The monitoring method is developed based on field Axle Box Acceleration (ABA) measurements using different bolt tightness conditions. The suitability of the method is assessed by bolt tightness prediction and verification of a set of rail joints in the tram network of Sheffield, United Kingdom. The results show that ABA system can be employed to monitor bolt tightness conditions at rail joints.With this information better planning for selective preventive maintenance actions can be taken over rail joints. @en

A field sample of rail steel was metallurgically examined to characterize its rolling contact fatigue (RCF) damage. In addition to the well-known white etching layer (WEL), a possible different type of surface modification layer was identified in parallel. The layer has some similar features as the WEL but exhibits a significantly different etching response to 3 vol% Nital etchant. After etching, the new layer exhibits a brown color under the same light reflection. This layer was named as “brown etching layer” (BEL) to distinguish it from the WEL. Similar to the WEL, cracks are observed to be closely related to the BEL. The cracks are found to penetrate deeper than those initiated by the WEL reported in existing publications. Further, they are found to propagate downwards without branching, which may eventually cause rail fracture. Although its formation mechanism is not yet clear, WEL has been considered by some authors in the literature as a possible RCF initiation source. It is therefore of critical importance to understand the characteristics of the BEL and its formation mechanism. This may also lead to better understanding of the formation mechanism of the WEL. To this end, microstructural features of the BEL were studied using micro-hardness tests, optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy. The BEL was found to be distinctly softer than the WEL and lamella-type features are found within the BEL. The microstructural features of the BEL were compared with the WEL reported in the literature. Finally, the formation mechanism of the fatigue damage was discussed based on the comparison, observations and material characterization.@en