EURAXLES — Numerical analysis recommendations for the calculation of railway axles

Current European standards for axle calculations (EN 13103 and EN 13104) are based on an analytical method applying flexural beam principle for critical sections selected by the designer. The method bases on works performed in the 1960s that were introduced to different international reports and recommendations before being adopted by the mentioned European standards. The present procedures for design, production and maintenance of axles lead to reliable products, as shown by the accumulated experience along the last decades. These methods are widely accepted and applied to axle designs in common usage. However, in order to look for optimized products, more accurate modelling techniques like finite element analysis should be adopted, especially for complex structures like powered axles. The characteristics of the finite element models to be applied to railway axles have been analyzed. The numerical models generated have been validated through the comparison with experimental results coming from full scale fatigue. Finally, a methodology to design axles using modelling tools as a complement to current European norms is proposed looking for a compromise between the computational effort and the attained results.