Modelling wheel/rail rolling noise for a high-speed train running along an infinitely long periodic slab track

Around 35,000 km high-speed railways are in operation in China with a maximum speed of 350 km/h. The main track form on the high-speed lines is non-ballasted slab track. Measurements show that, at high speeds, rolling noise is still the dominant source for both interior and exterior noise. Although rolling noise modelling has been investigated for more than 30 years, a train running at 350 km/h or higher along a non-ballasted slab track introduces a number of new factors which have not been adequately addressed in the past. The aim of this paper is to describe an approach that brings together elements that have been developed recently to model rolling noise for a high-speed train running on a slab track. Features of the approach include modelling interactions between multiple moving and rotating wheelsets with an infinitely long periodic track, treating all the radiators as moving sources, and directly predicting sound pressure frequency spectra for observation points near the track. Results are produced for a typical Chinese high-speed train and track, including wheel andrail receptances, wheel/rail forces, comparison of rolling noise with measured pass-by noise, dependence on train speed, and contributions from the wheelset, rail and slab.