Impact of Wheel Hollow Wear on Heavy-Haul Vehicle Components

The impact of worn wheel profile evolution on vehicle components' stress for heavyhaul wagons were investigated using multibody dynamic simulation.A broad gauge GDU-Ride Control wagon, a Brazilian heavy-haul three-piece bogie with 37.5 tons per axle, was modelled.Four wheel profiles were examined, with 1, 2 and 3 mm of hollow wear and the new wheel profile.The effects of wheel hollows on vehicle components in terms of vertical, longitudinal, and lateral forces, vertical and lateral acceleration of the pedestal and wagon body, and lateral displacement of the wheelset, were examined and discussed.The result shows that the hollow is critical for the forces in the primary suspension (pad) and centre plate.Increasing the hollow wear to 2 mm results in larger lateral displacement; however, a 3 mm hollow wear wheel does not enhance this behaviour due to the false flange.Besides, there was a 48% increase in longitudinal forces at the pad for the 1-mm hollow wheel, and 53% for the 2-and 3-mm, when compared to the effect of new wheels.Conversely, the forces of the secondary suspension were not affected.Finally, for the centre plate, increased hollows amplified the friction force and resulted in uneven wear.