Influence of Sleeper Distance on Rail Corrugation Growth

Rail corrugation is commonly found in most railway tracks worldwide. However, there is no solution to stop corrugation from growing. Therefore, to minimise corrugation growth, this paper aims to model, analyse, and predict rail corrugation growth under the influence of sleeper distance. A wheel-rail interaction model was developed based on three-dimensional finite element method in considerations of wheel-rail contact patch and vehicle-track dynamics. By applying Archard's wear law to the wheel-rail interaction model, rail wear was calculated and rail surface profile was updated. Subsequently, rail corrugation growth was predicted using nonlinear regression technique. Simulated axle box acceleration signals were also analysed during the growth of rail corrugation. Results reveal that sleeper distance of 700 mm yields higher corrugation growth rate, with steeper exponential relationship between average wear depth and number of wheelset passages, than 500 mm sleeper distance. Rail corrugation dominant wavelengths for 700 mm and 500 mm sleeper distances also increase with corrugation growth. As such, sleeper distance of 500 mm is recommended to reduce rail corrugation growth, thereby lowering maintenance costs and improving reliability, maintainability, availability, and safety of rail transportation.