The mechanism of polygonal wheel wear considering a three-dimensional profile

Wheel polygonal wear is one of the most serious problems in the railway industry nowadays. To study the mechanism of wheel polygonal wear, the wear prediction model was established. The three-dimensional wheel profile model and the improved USFD wear prediction algorithm were used to research the wear state of the wheel. The vehicle system dynamic characteristics and wheel wear state under different running speeds are studied. The results show that the vibration state of the wheel will be affected by the vertical and lateral coupling vibration of the wheel when considering the three-dimensional wheel polygonal wear. Due to the influence of coupled vibration, the wheel will appear larger wheel-rail force fluctuation points at different phase angles. The large wheel-rail force fluctuation at these different phase angles is one of the reasons for the formation of wheel polygonal wear. At the same time, the natural mode of the vehicle system will also affect the order of the wheel polygon and the amplitude of the wheel polygon. This study provides a new idea for the research of the wheel polygon mechanism.