The effect of track irregularity and wheel load on the dynamic response of a high-speed rail system

Abstract

In this paper, a computational study using the moving element method (MEM) was carried out to investigate the dynamic response of a high-speed rail (HSR). A new formulation for calculating the structural matrices of the moving element is proposed. Two wheel-rail contact problems will be examined. One is linear and the other nonlinear. A parametric study is carried out to understand the effects of various factors on the response of the train-track system such as the severity of railhead roughness and the wheel load. In particular, the effect of above factors on the occurrence of the jumping wheel phenomenon, which occurs when there is a momentary loss of contact between the wheel and track, is considered.