铁路论文；LP-BURSTOW（英文）.pdfVIP

A TOOL TO PREDICT ROLLING CONTACT FATIGUE M. C. Burstow AEA Technology Rail Jubilee House, 4 St. Christopher’s Way Pride Park Derby, DE24 8LY, UK mark.burstow@aeat.co.uk KEYWORDS: Rolling contact fatigue (RCF), Gauge corner cracking, Crack initiation, Vehicle dynamics ABSTRACT Over the last three years AEA Technology Rail (AEATR), with support from the Rail Safety and Standards Board (RSSB), have developed a fatigue model to predict rolling contact fatigue (RCF). Through participation in a number of industry projects it has been possible to test and validate the model against detailed observations and measurements of RCF at a number of sites. This paper describes the underlying principles of the material fatigue model, and how vehicle dynamics simulations are used to predict the forces at the wheel/rail interface, which are used as input to the model. Results are presented to show how the model has been used to predict and understand the causes of RCF at a number of sites, together with demonstrations as to how the model can be used to assess the affects of different RCF mitigation measures. Analyses are also presented to show how the model can be applied to long sections of routes to highlight the curves which are most likely to develop RCF and identify locations where improvements to track geometry can reduce the risk of RCF. INTRODUCTION Rolling contact fatigue (RCF) of rails has been an increasing problem on the UK rail network for a number of years. Although RCF occurs mainly on the high (i.e. outside) rail of curves and is most prevalent in high speed curves of moderate radius (1200-1500m), it very rarely occurs continuously through a site or curve, but tends to