Study and analysis of stress and pressure

variations on Indian railway wheel

Cite as: AIP Conference Proceedings 2283, 020058 (2020); https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0024912
Published Online: 29 October 2020

C. H. Veera Kishore, V. Dhinakaran, and T. Jagadeesha

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AIP Conference Proceedings 2283, 020058 (2020); https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0024912 2283, 020058

© 2020 Author(s).
 Study and Analysis of Stress and Pressure Variations on
Indian Railway Wheel

C.H. Veera Kishore1, V. Dhinakaran2 and T.Jagadeesha 1, a)

1
Department of Mechanical Engineering, National Institute of Technology, Calicut India
2
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Chennai Institute of Technology, Chennai India

a)
Corresponding author: jagdishsg@nitc.ac.in

Abstract. The railways being the most used mode of transport anywhere in the world, the safety of the passengers is a
primary concern for the engineering field. A main component of the train, its wheels must be intact. Wheels have to
withstand the mechanical loads from rolling operation and thermal loads from the braking process in wheel tread braked
systems. In this project, an axis-symmetric model of wheel is created to estimate the residual stresses generated due to
mechanical loads. We have done the static loading test for three different compositions of steel to find the best material to
withstand the loads. We have considered only mechanical stress in our work and along with mechanical stresses, there
will be thermal and manufacturing stresses induced in the material.The axisymmetric model is created in solidworks and
the analysis for stresses is done in abaqus software.The factor of safety is found with the induced stresses and ultimate
strengths of the material. Wheel steel is found out to be the best material as it has a factor of safety of 3.29 as compared
with manganese steel and molybdenum steel.The maximum pressure induced is same in wheel steel and manganese
steel.But as the deciding factor is factor of safety,we chose wheel steel over manganese steel.The concentration of the
maximum stresses is at a very small region which can be viewed in zoomed views of different materials

INTRODUCTION
The number of railway freight cars currently in use throughout the world is estimated at several million; each one is
carried by eight wheels. The wheel-rail interaction has become increasingly one of the most attractive and important
topics in the field of rail transport. The current move towards higher train speeds and axle loads has created a
demand for deeper knowledge in the field of wheel design. The stresses experienced by the railway wheel during
service are due to mechanical and thermal loads. Passenger and payload of the coach along with the dynamic
augmentation contributes part of the mechanical load. The reminder of the mechanical load is caused by track
irregularities, perturbations and skidding in curves. The finite element model that has to be considered for analytical
evaluation of a rail wheel shall consider elastic-plastic stresses and shall also be able to predict the failure locations
or regions at the design stage itself

LITERATURE SURVEY
The failure in the disc region is found to be more common than the failure in the tread region failures. [1] It is
necessity to quantify the stress distribution due to mounting of the axle into the wheel[2]. The need for
understanding the significance of these stresses under coupled thermal and mechanical loads and also the need for
knowing the criteria for failure at different points on the wheel.[3]

Proceedings of International Conference on Recent Trends in Mechanical and Materials Engineering

AIP Conf. Proc. 2283, 020058-1–020058-6; https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0024912
Published by AIP Publishing. 978-0-7354-4013-5/$30.00

020058-1
Contact region fatigue of railway wheels under combined mechanical rolling pressure and thermal loads has been
extensively studied by considering the problem using an axisymmetric model. The mechanical load acting on the
wheel was approximated as a time-variant axisymmetric pressure. This pressure was calculated based on the
Hertzian contact between the wheel and the rail. Mechanical load calculations do not account for the lateral load that
is realized by the wheels due to track irregularities and perturbations. The effects of friction between the wheel and
rail during contact and the contact region stress which promote plastic deformation in the tread surface have not
been considered in Hertzian methods.[4]

The various features that determine the shape of the contact patch were found to be the geometrical features of
wheel tread and rail surface, axle load, contact position. The maximum values of total strain were found to occur on
the surface and subsurface of contact region. [5]Multiaxial fatigue models are also dependent on material properties
and mathematical modelling for the same was understood and the dependence of various parameters like wheel
diameter, vertical loads, material hardness, fatigue strength and material ductility.[6]

The methodology for comparison between two materials was understood and the parameters for comparison are
corrosive resistance and contact stresses developed. [7]The modelling of the rail wheel and the effect of rolling
contact forces on the wheel, which can cause abrasion, wear and crack propagation were understood. [8]The joint
stresses are better modeled in this paper and total deformation and von mises stress are more exact

PROBLEM DEFINITION
To reduce the computational efforts 2D axisymmetric model is selected for the analysis. It is believed that this
approximated two dimensional model will reflect those main phenomena which are important in fatigue design. The
axis-symmetry means that only four non-zero strain components and four non-zero stress components are
considered. Small strains and displacements are assumed. The contact parameters such as contact width, pressures
are calculated by hertz theory. The contact area is elliptical with major axis.The design of this wheel is done on
SOLIDWORKS. It is then imported into ABAQUS for analysis. It is to be noted that it the railway wheel is modeled
as a 2D axisymmetric model. Static and dynamic loading analysis was carried out.

MODELLING OF WHEEL
Simulation of the rail wheel using finite element is not new and has been standardized by the American Association
of Railroads. This standard describes the finite element model that should be used for designing a wheel and is
shown. As can be seen from this figure, the model does not consider the axle and it exploits symmetry about the
third direction. The bore nodes are fixed in both radial and axial directions and the vertical and lateral loads are
applied at the gauge point as shown. In this work, wheel is modeled as per the above standard with5496 hexahedron
elements and 6978 nodes. Care is taken to bring out all the geometric details of the wheel.

Wheel set with axle on rail

The AAR model does not recognize the axle and hence the corresponding bending action on the wheel whilst the
entire reaction forces are received at the bore location. While the Chalmers University model takes into account the
bending action of the axle, neither model simulate the horizontal load accurately. The horizontal force is due to the
sway of the coach and has been correctly attributed as a force, which is passed from the frame to the axle

Modelling details
1. Plane 183 for structural analysis is used.
2. Higher order 2-D,8-node or 6-node element. The no of elements and nodes are 5496 hexahedron elements
and 6978.
3. 2 degrees of freedom at each node; translations in nodal X and Y directions

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 4. Has quadratic displacement behavior and is well suited to model irregular meshes. The hub was constrained
to properly model rigid motion as the wheel rim is the portion of the wheel that takes the load. The vertical
and horizontal forces experienced by the wheel in static loading are shown in the Figure 1

FIGURE 1.Meshing of The Railway Axle with Wheel

Mathematical Model
When two bodies are in contact, under the compressive forces large compressive stresses are generated. Similarly at
wheel-rail contact high compressive stresses are generated. Contact pressures are calculated from the hertz theory. In
the current study two cylinders with parallel axis are in contact. Pressure distribution is elliptical over the contact
region.

For two cylinders with parallel axis, the area of contact is no longer circular but a rectangular area that the
magnitude depends on the material values and the load applied. The half width of the rectangle is
1
4𝑅𝑒 3
𝑏=( )
𝜋𝐿𝐸 ∗
The maximum pressure is

2𝐹
𝑝0 =
𝜋𝑏𝐿

And the principal stresses are generated along the Z-axis and are
1
𝑧2 2 𝑧2
𝜎1 = 𝜎𝑥 = −2𝑣𝑝0 [( 2 ) − | 2 |]
𝑏 𝑏
1
−1
𝑧2 𝑧2 2 𝑧
𝜎2 = 𝜎𝑦 = −𝑝0 [(2 − ( 2 + 1) ) ( 2 + 1) − 2 | |]
𝑏 𝑏 𝑏

−1
𝑧2 2
𝜎3 = 𝜎𝑧 = −𝑝0 [( 2 + 1)]
𝑏

And the shear stress becomes

020058-3
 𝜎2 − 𝜎3 𝜎1 − 𝜎3 𝜎2 − 𝜎2
𝜏1 = | | , 𝜏2 = | | , 𝜏3 = | |
2 2 2

Finite Element Model

All finite element models used in this work predominantly use solid 8-node linear brick element with reduced
integration and hourglass control. Some 6-noded linear triangular prisms are used at the axle locations. ABAQUS’s
sparse solver has been used for the contact analysis and frontal solver for the rest of the analysis. Different Table 1
gives the material properties of wheel steel, manganese steel and molybdenum steel with their compositions
specified

TABLE 1. Properties of different materials.

Property Wheel steel Manganes Molybdenum steel
e steel
Nickel content (%) 4.5-6.5 11.1 8-10
Manganese content (%) 2 24.2 2
Density(Kg/m^3) 7850 7800 7900
Young’s Modulus(N/m2) 210 190 190
Poisson ratio 0.28 0.29 0.29
Yield Strength(MPa) 570 330 240
Ultimate Tensile Strength(MPa) 900 590 430

Load and boundary conditions

Pressure is applied on the trend surface of the wheel. DOF of hub face of the wheel constrained
in all directions. Peak pressure=1475MPa

2
(𝑥 − 𝑥1 (𝑡)) 𝑦2
𝑝̂ (𝑥, 𝑦, 𝑡) = 𝑝̂0 [1 − 2
− 2]
𝑎 𝑏
2 (𝑡) 2
𝑥1 𝑦
𝑝(𝑦, 𝑡) = 𝑝̂0 [1 − 2 − 2 ]
𝑎 𝑏
𝑆𝑡𝑒𝑝 1: 𝑎𝑡 𝑥 = −𝑎/2

𝑦2
𝑝(𝑦, 𝑡) = 𝑝 [0.75 − ]
𝑏2

𝑆𝑡𝑒𝑝2: 𝑎𝑡 𝑥 = 0

𝑦2
𝑝(𝑦, 𝑡) = 𝑝 [1 − ]
𝑏2

𝑎
𝑆𝑡𝑒𝑝3: 𝑎𝑡 𝑥 =
2

𝑦2
𝑝(𝑦, 𝑡) = 𝑝 [1 − ]
𝑏2

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 RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS
The maximum stress involved in the wheel steel is 482.2MPa(Compressive). (Figure 2)

FIGURE 2. Variation of Stress S11 along Wheel Radius (Wheel Steel)

FIGURE 3. Variation of Stress S11 Along Wheel Radius (Molybdenum Steel)

The maximum stress involved in molybdenum steel is 203.4MPa (Compressive). (Figure 3)

FIGURE 4. Variation of Stress S11 Along Wheel Radius (Manganese Steel)

The maximum stress involved in the manganese steel is 583MPa(Compressive). (Figure 4)

Table 2 shows the maximum pressure induced in wheel steel, molybdenum steel and manganese steel with ultimate
failure strength at 900 MPa,430MPaand 590MPa.

020058-5
 TABLE 2. Stress and pressure values obtained from Abaqus Analysis.
Stress values Wheel steel Manganes Molybdenum steel
e steel
Max S11(MPa) 183.7 11.8 18.4
Max S22(MPa) 68.2 29.3 68.2
Max S33(MPa) 28.5 19.1 46.8

Table 3 shows the Maximum pressure, Ultimate tensile stress and Factor of safety for the three different materials

TABLE 3. Calculationof Factor of safety in the three specimen

Stress values Wheel steel Manganes Molybdenum steel
e steel
Max pressure ( MPa) 273 229 273
Ultimate Tensile strength ( MPa) 900 430 590
Factor of Safety 3.29 1.88 2.16

CONCLUSION
The stress analysis on the three different compositions of steel used in railway wheels which are wheel steel,
molybdenum steel and manganese steel has been carried out. Hertz theory of contact assuming the type of contact to
be line contact is done using abaqus software. The maximum pressure induced in wheel steel, manganese steel and
molybdenum steel are 273MPa,273MPa and 229MPa.The factor of safety for the three materials are 3.29,2.16and
1.88As the factor of safety is more for Wheel steel, compared to manganese and molybdenum steel, hence wheel
steel can be recommended for manufacture of railway wheels. Residual and thermal analysis of the railway can be
taken as future work.

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Licentiate Thesis TRITA AVE 2004:19 ISSN 1651-7660 ISBN 91-7283-806-X

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