Effect of high-frequency vertical vibration of track on formation and evolution of corrugations

The effect of high-frequency curved track vibrations in the vertical direction on the formation and development of rail corrugation was analyzed. Kalker's non-Hertzian rolling contact theory was modified and used to calculate the frictional work density on the contact area of the wheel and rail in rolling when a wheelset is steadily curving. The material loss unit area was assumed to be proportional to the frictional work density to determine the wear depth of the contact surface of the rail. The combined influences of the corrugation and the coupled dynamics of the railway vehicle and track were taken into consideration in the numerical simulation. For simplicity, the model considered one fourth of freight car without lateral motion, namely, a wheelset and the equivalent one fourth freight car body above it. The Euler beam was used to model the rails with the track structure under the rails replaced with equivalent springs, dumpers, and mass bodies. The numerical results show that the high-frequency track vibration causes formation of the initial corrugation on the smooth contact surface of the rail when a wheelset is steadily curving. The corrugation wave length depends on the frequencies and the rolling speed of the wheelset. The vibration frequencies also affect the depth and increase the corrugation.