Frog Digital Model and Vibration Study to Extend Service Life

Since there is a gap in the running surface and thus discontinuous place at the frog, there are during the trip an additional load caused by this gap. For this reason, the local subsidence and wear in the area of the frog tip (also called crossing nose) are higher than in the undisturbed rail. Therefore, railroad switches with a rigid frog tip have a shorter service life in the centerpiece area. It is clear that a greater wear and fatigue are making an increased maintenance expenses necessary. Additionally, the shorter service life increases the renovation expenses. In this paper, using MATLAB to building the switch model and simulate the position change of the contact point between the wheel and the switch as it passes through the switch. In the comparison of acceleration and contact point position as the key data, the three simulated frog rails have the same basic trend as the real frog rails, with an 82% matching degree. Analyzing the distribution of touch down points and its influencing factors to prolong the service life of switch.