CREEP FORCE LAWS FOR WHEEL/RAIL CONTACT WITH

TEMPERATURE-DEPENDENT COEFFICIENT OF FRICTION

Martin ERTZ
Institut für Luft- und Raumfahrt
Technische Universität Berlin
D-10587 Berlin, Germany
E-mail: martin.ertz@tu-berlin.de

Received: November 11, 2002

ABSTRACT
Measured creep force curves often decrease at high creepages. This phenomenon cannot be explained
with common theories of rolling contact that are based on Coulomb’s law with a constant coefficient
of friction. Due to sliding friction, one gets high contact temperatures. If the coefficient of friction is
assumed to be decreasing at high temperatures, the calculated creep force curves agree well with
measurements. This is investigated in detail for line contact. The exact description with local
distributions of temperature and coefficient of friction is compared with a more simple approximation
based on Carter’s classical solution. The approach can be extended to three-dimensional contact
problems using the well-known creep force law of Shen, Hedrick and Elkins.

Keywords: dry friction, contact temperature, creep force law

1. INTRODUCTION

(a) (b)
Fig. 1 Measured creep force curve [9] (a), calculation (b)

The creep forces between railway wheels and rails can be calculated with different
methods. Kalker has developed the programs CONTACT and FASTSIM for the numerical
solution of rolling contact problems, but these are not fast enough to be used in the
simulation of railway dynamics [7]. The analytical solution for the simplified model of
line contact was found by Carter already in 1926 [3]. Based on his work, Vermeulen
and Johnson approximated the solution for point contacts with an elliptical area of
contact [14]. Shen, Hedrick and Elkins used the linear theory of Kalker to improve the
accuracy of the solution of Vermeulen and Johnson. Their creep force law is fast and
efficient while the results agree well with CONTACT computations [13].
 The coefficient of friction has a strong influence on the creep forces in wheel/rail
contact. Measured creep force curves often decrease at high creepages and the initial
slope is much lower than in calculations (cf. Fig. 1a). For creep force calculations, the
coefficient of friction is usually assumed to be constant and independent on operating
conditions. With this assumption, the decrease of creep force curves cannot be
explained. It is well-known that one gets high contact temperatures due to sliding
friction [5,6]. In this work, a temperature-dependent coefficient of friction will be
introduced into usual creep force models. With this extension, the calculated creep
force curves agree well with measurements at high creepages. The consideration of
surface roughness yields a reduced initial slope (cf. Fig. 1b).

2. CONTACT TEMPERATURE
The power dissipation due to friction between wheel and rail causes high contact
temperatures which are confined to a very thin surface layer. During the very short
time period that every point on the surfaces of wheel and rail is in contact, heat
conduction occurs only perpendicular to the contact plane. For the general three-
dimensional contact problem, the frictional power dissipation is
(
Pfriction = v0 Tξ ν ξ + Tη ν η + M ζ ν ζ ) (1)

with the vehicle speed v0 , the longitudinal and lateral creep forces Tξ and Tη , the spin
moment M ζ and the creepages ν ξ , ν η and ν ζ . The average contact temperature in an
elliptical area of contact (cf. Fig. 2a) can easily be calculated under the assumption that
the distribution of power dissipation is proportional to the normal pressure. As an
analytical approximation we get
(3D ) 4 Pfriction
Θ mean = (2)
25b av0 λρc
with the semi-axes a (in rolling direction) and b of the contact ellipse and the heat
conduction properties λ (thermal conductivity), ρ (density) and c (specific heat
capacity) [5]. In the two-dimensional case of a cylinder rolling on a plane, the average
contact temperature is
(2D) av0
Θ mean = 0.426 µ ν ξ p0 (3)
λρc
with the maximum Hertzian pressure p0 and the coefficient of friction µ that is
assumed to be constant within the area of contact. Contact temperatures for arbitrarily
distributed moving heat sources can be calculated numerically [5].
Furthermore we assume that the surfaces of both wheel and rail are at ambient
temperature before entering the area of contact. But after long periods at constant
operating conditions, the wheel temperature increases due to the continuous frictional
heating [6]. For the investigation of the long-term behaviour of the wheel temperature,
convection at the wheel surface as well as heat conduction through the contact patch
from the hot wheel into the cold rail have to be taken into account. The average contact
temperature can be at the utmost twice as high as in the case of equal initial
temperatures of wheel and rail [5].

3. TEMPERATURE-DEPENDENT COEFFICIENT OF FRICTION

The coefficient of friction is the most important parameter for the calculation of
creep forces. We expect that the contact temperature should have a significant
influence on the coefficient of friction:
µ = f (Θ) (4)
According to Bowden and Tabor, friction is a process of continuous destruction and
regeneration of microscopic contacts on the roughness peaks (asperities) [1]. This
process depends mainly on the strength of the material. We assume that the
temperature-dependence of the coefficient of friction is similar to that of the yield
strength of steel (cf. Fig. 2b). This assumption has been used first by Rick for the
investigation of wheel/rail contact [12].

(a) (b)
Fig. 2 Surface temperature for elliptical area of contact (a),
temperature-dependent coefficient of friction (b)

4. CREEP FORCE LAW FOR LINE CONTACT

4.1 Carter’s solution

In the case of line contact with a constant coefficient of friction, the tangential
contact problem can be solved exactly. The solution was found already in 1926 by
Carter [3]. If the coefficient of friction is assumed to be dependent on temperature, this
solution cannot be used for the exact local description of the problem. Nevertheless, it
is possible to use Carter’s solution with the coefficient of friction being equal in the
whole area of contact and depending only on the average contact temperature as given
in Eq. (3). Since the contact temperature depends on the power dissipation, this yields a
feedback loop between average surface temperature, coefficient of friction and power
dissipation. If the coefficient of friction depends linearly on temperature (cf. Fig. 2b),
the problem can still be solved analytically. Otherwise, a non-linear equation in terms
of the average contact temperature has to be solved by means of numerical methods.
4.2 The approach of Nielsen
Nielsen presented a general approach for the exact solution of the tangential line
contact problem that can be used whenever it is possible to approximate the coefficient
of friction to a polynomial of arbitrarily high order [10,11]. From this point of view,
Carter’s solution is only the special case for a constant coefficient of friction.

(a) (b)
Fig. 3 Tangential stress distribution (a) and local creep (b) for Carter’s solution

(a) (b)
Fig. 4 Tangential stress distribution (a) and local creep (b) for Nielsen’s solution

(a) (b)
Fig. 5 Local temperature (a) and local coefficient of friction (b) for Nielsen’s solution

If the tangential stress distribution is known, the local creep can be calculated by
solving a system of algebraic equations [10]. Then, the distribution of contact
temperature has to be calculated numerically for the frictional power rate resulting
from tangential stress and local creep. The temperature-dependent coefficient of
friction can be evaluated at a specific number of data points and an approximation
polynomial can be used to interpolate these values. Finally, the tangential stress
distribution follows from normal pressure and coefficient of friction (cf. Figs. 4 and 5).
Thus, we have a coupled problem which has to be solved within some iteration steps.
4.3 Comparison of both methods
Comparing the creep force curves calculated with the two different methods, it is
obvious that the differences are only very small (cf. Fig. 6). Although the local
distributions of tangential stress and creep are different (cf. Figs. 3 and 4), the resulting
creep forces are nearly equal. Therefore it seems to be sufficient to use average values
of contact temperature and coefficient of friction for the calculation of creep forces. It
must be emphasised that the assumed influence of temperature on the coefficient of
friction has been exaggerated in this section in order to demonstrate the differences
between the results based on Carter’s resp. Nielsen’s solution more explicitly. Using
realistic assumptions of the friction law (cf. Fig. 2b), the differences will be even
smaller.

(a) (b)
Fig. 6 Creep force curves based on Carter’s and Nielsen’s solution (a), detail (b)

5. THE CREEP FORCE LAW OF SHEN, HEDRICK AND ELKINS

Shen, Hedrick and Elkins proposed a heuristic non-linear creep force law for
railway vehicle simulation [13]. It is a combination of Kalker's linear theory [7] and the
non-linear saturation curve of Vermeulen and Johnson [14]. In a first step, the
tangential forces from the linear theory are calculated:
ν 
Tξlin  C11 0 0  ξ 
 lin  = Gab  ν  (5)
Tη   0 C22 ab C23   η 
ν ζ 
While the influence of the spin ν ζ on the lateral force Tη is taken into account, the
spin moment M ζ is neglected. As the linear theory is a non-slip theory, the coefficient
of friction does not appear in this calculation. The resultant tangential force of the
linear theory is

T lin = (T ) + (T ) .
ξ
lin 2
η
lin 2
(6)

Then, a non-linear reduction factor depending on the coefficient of friction is

calculated according to the theory of Vermeulen and Johnson,
 1  T lin  1  T lin 
2

 1 −  +   for T lin ≤ 3µN

α= 3  µN  27  µN  (7)
 µN lin

for T > 3µN
T lin
and therewith the non-linear creep forces are
Tξ = αTξlin
(8)
Tη = αTηlin
According to Kalker, this creep force law is suitable for all values of the creepage and
small values of the spin such as occur in non-flanging contact of wheel and rail [7].
Real surfaces are always rough. Contact occurs only in the asperities. Compared to
the smooth case, this results in a smaller area of contact while the maximum values of
local pressure can be much higher than in the Hertzian case. The initial slope of the
creep force curve is reduced by the same ratio as the area of contact. This has been
investigated in detail for line contact by Bucher, Theiler and Knothe [2,8]. For three-
dimensional contact problems, the influence of roughness on creep forces can be
considered approximately by introducing the ratio of real to nominal area of contact as
a reduction factor into the linear theory of Kalker (Eq. (5)). For typical rough surfaces
in wheel/rail contact, this ratio can be in the order of magnitude of 20 % [4].
In order to be able to consider the temperature-dependent coefficient of friction with
the creep force law of Shen/Hedrick/Elkins, the average contact temperature, Eq. (2),
is used to find the average coefficient of friction in the area of contact. Like in the case
of line contact, the temperature-dependent coefficient of friction yields a non-linear
equation for the average contact temperature. This is the consequence of the feedback
loop between creep forces, power dissipation, temperature and coefficient of friction.
Anyway, this equation can easily be solved within a few steps [4]. The curves
calculated with the extended model have a maximum and decrease with further
increase of creepage (cf. Fig. 1b).
For a constant coefficient of friction, the creep forces depend only on the creepages.
Since the contact temperature is proportional to the amount of power dissipation, the
temperature-dependent coefficient of friction causes a direct influence of the vehicle
speed v0 with Eqns. (1) and (2). Therewith the creep forces decrease at higher values
of v0 with equal values of the creepages (cf. Figs. 7 and 8).
(a) (b)
Fig. 7 Longitudinal (a) and lateral (b) tangential forces with the creep force law
of Shen, Hedrick and Elkins, including the influence of surface roughness and
the temperature-dependent coefficient of friction ( v0 = 5 m/s, Areal / AHertz = 20 % )

(a) (b)
Fig. 8 Longitudinal (a) and lateral (b) tangential forces with the creep force law
of Shen, Hedrick and Elkins, including the influence of surface roughness and
the temperature-dependent coefficient of friction ( v0 = 50 m/s, Areal / AHertz = 20 % )

6. CONCLUSIONS
The influence of a temperature-dependent coefficient of friction on wheel/rail
contact mechanics has been investigated in detail for line contact. It has been shown
that an approximate consideration, using average values of contact temperature and
coefficient of friction, is sufficient for the determination of creep forces. The approach
can therefore be introduced in all common procedures for creep force calculation and it
is not necessary to use complicated numerical methods for the coupled solution of the
thermo-mechanical problem.
The presented model for the three-dimensional case is an extension of the well-
known creep force law of Shen, Hedrick and Elkins. Therefore it has the same range of
validity. It can be used for arbitrary longitudinal and lateral creepages and for small
values of the spin. The numerical effort for the extended creep force model is not
significant, it is still very fast and easy to implement. The temperature-dependent
coefficient of friction yields a better agreement with measurements, especially in the
range of full sliding, i.e. at high creepages. The approximate consideration of surface
roughness results in more realistic values of the initial slope.
Future research in this area should concentrate on the investigation of friction under
realistic railway operating conditions, including high contact temperatures. Theoretical
models as well as measurements are required for a better understanding of friction.
From a practical point of view, this seems to be much more important than
improvements in numerical methods for creep force calculation.

7. REFERENCES
[1] Bowden, F.P. - Tabor, D.: The Friction and Lubrication of Solids. Clarendon
Press, Oxford, 2nd Ed., 1954.
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surfaces with measured roughness. Wear 253 (2002). (p.204-218)
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Society (1926), A112. (p.151-157)
[4] Ertz, M. - Bucher, F.: Improved creep force model for wheel/rail contact
considering roughness and temperature. To appear in: Proc. of the 17th IAVSD
Symposium held at DTU, Lyngby (Copenhagen), Denmark in August 2001.
[5] Ertz, M. - Knothe, K.: A comparison of analytical and numerical methods for the
calculation of temperatures in wheel/rail contact. Wear 253 (2002) 3-4. (p.498-508)
[6] Gupta, V. - Hahn, G.T. - Bastias, P.C. - Rubin, C.A.: Calculations of the
frictional heating of a locomotive wheel attending rolling plus sliding. Wear 191
(1996). (p.237-241)
[7] Kalker, J.J.: Three-Dimensional Elastic Bodies in Rolling Contact. Kluwer
Academic Publishers, Dordrecht, Boston, London, 1990.
[8] Knothe, K. - Theiler, A.: Normal and tangential contact problem with rough
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Rail/Wheel Systems, Budapest, August 1996. (p.34-43)
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[10] Nielsen, J.B.: New Developments in the Theory of Wheel/Rail Contact
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