This study, based on long-term tracking tests of wheel polygon in subway vehicles, aims to reveal the formation mechanism of the eighth-order wheel polygon.
This study develops vehicle-track system rigid-flexible coupled dynamics model and wheel-rail contact model. By examining stick-slip vibrations at the wheel-rail interface, this paper reveals the formation mechanism of wheel polygons on the test vehicle. In addition, a method is proposed to quantify wheel-rail stick-slip vibration intensity using the coefficient of variation, which allows for the evaluation of how track conditions influence wheel-rail stick-slip characteristics.
Results show that small-radius curves trigger wheel-rail stick-slip vibration, exciting the wheelset torsional mode and causing eighth-order polygonal wear. Track irregularities amplify vibration intensity in the inner wheel, resulting in higher levels of polygonal roughness.
Through the integration of field measurements and numerical simulations, the intrinsic relationship between wheel-rail interface stick-slip characteristics and the formation of wheel polygon is revealed.
The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/ILT-01-2025-0013/
