Thermal capacity of tread-braked railway wheels. Part 1: Modelling

Tread brakes are still a common frictional braking system used on metro and suburban trains. Here the wheels are safety-related components and there is a need to develop design specifications and guidelines to ensure that the wheels perform properly under the service conditions to which they are exposed. In the present paper, a model is proposed and developed that represents typical conditions in metro and suburban operations, in particular during sequential stop braking. The analysis also considers drag braking, mechanical loading, residual stresses and wheel-axle interference fit. Finite element modelling, with an advanced temperature-dependent material model, together with a fatigue analysis is employed to quantify the wheel's performance. An application example demonstrates the method for a typical metro wheel. In a companion paper, further applications are presented that demonstrate important aspects of the thermal capacity of tread-braked railway wheels