A New Design for Low Flange-wear Railroad Wheelset

Background: The wear of wheelsets on curves has always been a problem for rail vehicles; it is of great significance to research and develop radial components with excellent curve negotiating performance. Objective: This paper aims to study and design a wheelset with excellent curve negotiating performance to reduce wear on the flange. In addition, the dynamic simulation performance of the wheelset is studied. Methods: The wheel is divided into the flange part and the tread part; bearings are mounted between the two, allowing them to rotate at differential speeds, while the tread part maintains a rigid connection with the axle. Modeling and dynamics simulation of the wheelset is carried out by SOLIDWORKS and SIMPACK. Results: Based on the Archard wear model, it is found that the flange wear amount of the designed wheelset is significantly reduced compared with the traditional wheelset. Conclusion: The results show that the structural design of the wheelset is reasonable, has good curve negotiating performance, and can greatly reduce the wear of the flange; however, there is still room for further optimization of the structural design.