Analysis of high frequency vibration of tram monobloc wheel

European Environmental Agency estimates that about 120 million people in the EU (over 30% of the total population) are exposed to traffic noise above 55 Ldn dB. It is estimated that 10% of the EU population is exposed to noise associated with the rail traffic. The two main sources of traffic noise comes from vehicles engines and the noise generated in the contact between the wheel and the road. In the latter the considerable part the noise is due to phenomena occurring in a wheel tram – rail system. Therefore, the problem of reducing the noise generated by railway vehicles is the subject of many studies, both experimental and theoretical. Commonly used wheel trams so called "resilient wheels" are equipped with layer made of a resilient material, e.g. rubber, between the tread and the wheel disc. But the monobloc tram wheel is the standard design against which should be carried out the studies on reduction of noise in wheel-rail system. This paper presents the results of calculations related to eigenforms, eigenfrequencies and Frequency Response Function of a three-dimensional model of a monobloc tram wheel. The calculations were carried out using the finite element method. Vibration analysis was performed for the range to 5 kHz. Analysis carried out has shown that the wheel tread plays a more important role in the generation of high-frequency vibrations