Numerical Analysis of Slipping of the Wheel Under Rotation-controlled and Translation-controlled Motion on Railway Tracks

There has been recorded differences between a train spulled by a locomotive and a train unit with all the bogies moving simultaneously. This study aims at the slip of wheel on a railway track under these different movements using finite element simulation on a ballasted railway track. The railway track was subjected to a loaded wheel moving at different speeds using two modes: translation-controlled (wagons pulled by locomotive) and rotation-controlled (simultaneously moving bogies) motion. The results were obtained in the form of track vibrations and wheel slip under moving loads at changing speeds and wheel-rail friction. It was concluded that the force transferred to the substructure does not change much based on the tribology of the wheel. However, the reduced wheel-rail friction will cause significant slippage and less efficient traction.