Analysis of the wear performance of with thin flange wheel for high-speed trains

Purpose The wheel wear of high-speed trains is the main concern in the operation process of the high-speed trains. Wheel reprofile usually adopts the thin flange wheel profiles for the economic wheel reprofile strategy; however, the wheel wear evolution law of the thin flange wheel profile is not clear. The purpose of this paper mainly researches the wheel wear evolution law of thin flange wheel profile and the influence factors of thin flange wheel. Design/methodology/approach To solve this problem, this paper analyzed the wheel-rail contact relationship and established a vehicle dynamic model of high-speed train. The Jendel wheel wear model was used to analyze the evolution of thin flange wheel wear and rail deviation affecting wheel wear under thin flange wheel profiles. Findings Due to the consistency of the tread area, the distribution of wheel-rail contact points for thin flange wheels in the tread area is close. As the wheel flange increases, wheel wear also increases. Thin flange wheel profiles reduce wheel wear to a certain extent. The maximum wheel wear depths with rail deviations of −0.4 mm, 0 mm and 0.4 mm are 0.9844 mm, 1.077 mm and 1.142 mm, respectively. The negative rail deviation suppresses wheel wear, but the positive rail deviation increases wheel wear. Originality/value The evolution of wheel wear for thin flange wheels after reprofiling is not clear. This paper analyzed the wear characteristics of thin flange wheel wear and rail deviation affecting wheel wear under thin flange wheels. Peer review The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/ILT-10-2024-0401/