In recent years wheel impact loads have become a very important topic in the railroad industry due to operational and safety concerns. Much attention has been given to the level of condemnable wheel impact load as determined by wayside detection systems, and to the root causes of tread defects that lead to these wheel impacts. This paper describes physical testing of a wheelset in an instrumented drop hammer system to examine the effects of impact loading on resultant stress levels at various locations on a wheel’s surface. The drop hammer, typically used for evaluation of draft gears, is located at ASF-Keystone in Camp Hill, PA, and can impart dynamic loads up to a maximum of 2,000 kips, which is well in excess of typical wheel impact loads recorded by wayside impact detection systems. Impact loads for drop hammer wheel testing were generally confined to a maximum of approximately 200 kips. Finite element analysis (FEA) modeling using only mechanical tread loading was conducted to determine the high stress locations for the wheel design and to correlate strain gauge results for static loading on the wheel. The instrumented drop hammer used for wheel impact testing is described, and wheel strain gauge issues are discussed. Vertical split rim wheel failures are described and are briefly reviewed. The implications of impact loading for vertical split rim wheel failures are discussed and recommendations for future work are offered.
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2009 Joint Rail Conference
March 4–5, 2009
Pueblo, Colorado, USA
Conference Sponsors:
- Rail Transportation Division
ISBN:
978-0-7918-4338-3
PROCEEDINGS PAPER
Research to Understand the Effects of Wheel Impact Loads on Wheel Stress Levels
Cameron Lonsdale,
Cameron Lonsdale
Amsted Rail, State College, PA
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Thomas Rusin,
Thomas Rusin
Rusin Consulting Corp., Hasbrouck Heights, NJ
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Thomas Hay
Thomas Hay
Waves In Solids Inc., State College, PA
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Cameron Lonsdale
Amsted Rail, State College, PA
Thomas Rusin
Rusin Consulting Corp., Hasbrouck Heights, NJ
Thomas Hay
Waves In Solids Inc., State College, PA
Paper No:
JRC2009-63026, pp. 99-105; 7 pages
Published Online:
August 20, 2009
Citation
Lonsdale, C, Rusin, T, & Hay, T. "Research to Understand the Effects of Wheel Impact Loads on Wheel Stress Levels." Proceedings of the 2009 Joint Rail Conference. 2009 Joint Rail Conference. Pueblo, Colorado, USA. March 4–5, 2009. pp. 99-105. ASME. https://doi.org/10.1115/JRC2009-63026
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