Study of fatigue crack initiation location of wheel and rail under rolling contact using finite element method

The rail transit system is widely used for freight and passenger transportation. Due to the fact that its economic worthiness and high safety mode. Maintenance and damage prevention of wheel and rail are important factors affecting the safety of the system. The previous studies show that the most damage of wheel and rail is fatigue cracking, which is caused by the contact stress resulting from wheel and rail interaction. This article presents the study of the fatigue crack initiation location of wheel and rail under rolling contact at the wheel speed of 80 km/h using Finite Element Method (FEM). The three dimensional finite element models were created using the UIC60E1 wheel profile and BS100 rail profile. The Dang Van criteria was applied to analyse the fatigue crack initiation location in case of the wheel's position was changed along the rail lateral direction while the rail inclination angle was also varied at 0, 1/40, 1/30 and 1/20, respectively. The analysing results show that the fatigue crack initiation, determined by the Dang Van stress ratio, tends to increase when the wheel is moved from gauge side to field side. Additionally, the fatigue crack damage is likely to decrease when the rail inclination increases up to the inclination of 1/30 and the fatigue crack initiation locations were found underneath the wheel and rail surfaces. The obtained result can be a primary guideline for maintenance planning

A study on dynamic response of functionally graded sandwich beams under different dynamic loadings

In this research, free and forced vibration of functionally graded sandwich beams is considered using Timoshenko beam theory which takes into account the significant effects of transverse shear deformation and rotary inertia. The governing equations of motion are formulated from Lagrange's equations and they are solved by using The Ritz and Newmark methods. The results are presented in both tabular and graphical forms to show the effects of layer thickness ratios, boundary conditions, length to height ratios, etc. on natural frequencies and dynamic deflections of the beams. According to the numerical results, all parametric studies considered in this research have significant impact on free and forced behaviour of the beams; for example, the frequency is low and the dynamic deflection is large for the beams which are hinged at both ends

Design of natural-rubber panel railroad crossing using finite element method

Thailand has a railway system that is available throughout the country, so there are several railroad crossings. These crossings are generally made of concrete or logs with multiple constraints. There are some disadvantages of concrete railroad crossing, such as, crack, noise during car passing over. To overcome these disadvantages, the softer materials should be used instead. Therefore, this research proposes the natural rubber, widely grown throughout Thailand, panel railroad crossing. However, the natural rubber alone is not enough to withstand the harsh condition. Thus, it is necessary to have some addition ingredients that will enhance the natural rubber properties. The material used in this research is a rubber compound between Chloroprene Rubber (CR) 75% and Natural rubber (NR) 25% blend with additives such as carbon black (CB), magnesium oxide (MgO) and sulfur (S8). The objectives of this article were to analyze the deformation of the natural rubber panel railroad crossing and to evaluate its safety factor, defined as the ratio of strain at break and the maximum equivalent strain, using finite element method. In the analysis, the applied loading of the model was obtained from the State Railway of Thailand. The analyzed results reveal that the deflection of rubber panels passes the standard from State Railway of Thailand. Safety factor of external rubber panel is 27.03 and for internal rubber panels are 9.12 and 15.29. The metal pads had elastically deformed and concrete railroad sleeper deformation was very small

Tooth profile modifications for optimum dynamic load in spur gears based on pseudo-interference stiffness estimation method

A systematic methodology combining an optimization technique, three dimensional analytical rigid body dynamics and a novel method for non linear stiffness analysis, namely Pseudo-Interference Stiffness Estimation method (PISE), is proposed to aid engineers and gear designers to dramatically reduce gear design time and improve the existing spur gear system performance. One of the major concerns in gear design is the reduction of gear dynamic load. Minimizing gear dynamic load will decrease gear noise, increase efficiency, improve pitting fatigue life, and help prevent gear tooth fracture. Therefore, the proposed method is aimed at minimizing this force by utilizing tooth profile modification techniques, tooth crowning and shaving. The main aim of this methodology is to search for the optimum profiles of tooth crowning and shaving that eventually lead to the optimum dynamic tooth load in the gear mesh. Additionally, this method is easy to implement and computationally inexpensive. To validate the proposed method, a detailed design study is numerically investigated and compared with experimental data from NASA and other sources as reported in the literature. The results have shown that the dynamic tooth load can be reduced up to 50 percent of its original value. However, this reduction is only valid at the operating ranges of the design load and design speed When the optimized gear system is operated at of design speed and off-design torque, its dynamic load may change significantly. It is also found that the effect of profile modification on the dynamic response of the gear system was mostly observed to be a reduction in the peak dynamic tooth load at the resonance speed. ^ Later, the investigation of gear tooth durability was conducted to validate an improvement of gear life. The rating factors given in AGMA publication, Hertzian contact stress, bending fatigue stress, flash temperature and PV index are employed in gear durability determination. The values of these quantities along the line of action were evaluated and plotted to illustrate their distribution. The results show that, with the reduction of 50 percent in dynamic tooth load, the reductions in PV index, bending fatigue, Hertzian contact stress, and flash temperature can be achieved up to 64, 58, 28 and 39 percent, respectively. Thus, this guarantees that the risks of pitting failure, scoring failure and tooth fracture are greatly improved. Besides, the variation of these quantities along the line of action explicitly indicates that pitting failure is likely to occur around pitch point and points in tip and dedendum zones are prone to scoring failure.

Numerical simulation of two-dimensional laminar unsteady flow past a right trapezoidal cylinder at low Reynolds number: study of sharpening angle, time step, grid independence and domain size

Numerical simulation of two-dimensional laminar unsteady flow past a right trapezoidal cylinder at low Reynolds number (Re = 100), zero of the flow approaching angle and sharpening angle of the right trapezoidal of 22.5° with a side ratio B/A = 1 are carried out to provide moreapplicable data for engineering design of barred tee in aspect of structural integrity. A finite volume method, non-uniform meshing with second-order implicit time discretization into eight-node quadratic quadrilateral finite elements is employed. An incompressible flow SIMPLEC code with constant fluid properties is used. The convective terms using a third-order QUICK scheme. The numerical simulation result is compared against the published results of flow past a square cylinder. The effect of sharpening angle on the response of the right trapezoidal cylinder is investigated. A special study of the effects of flow on significant factor for time step, grid independence, blockage ratio, domain size, upstream and downstream extents, size domain next to cylinder and size domain extent are performed systematically. The Strouhal number and RMS lift coefficients of fully saturated flow are calculated. The result shown that increasing of sharpening angle, the Strouhal number is negligible changed whilst the RMS lift coefficients significantly increased

Railway Axle and Wheel Assembly Press-Fitting Force Characteristics and Holding Torque Capacity

Nowadays, press-fitting is widely used in the manufacturing industry because it allows easy and fast installation and is repetitive, strong, and inherently reliable. The quality of a press-fitting assembly can be verified from the press-fitting curves and forced monitoring. This study aims to investigate the characteristics of the press-fitting curve with various interference railway wheelset models and determine the interference limit that axles can withstand at the maximum holding torque without slipping and without plastic deformation. A three-dimensional finite element analysis examined the maximum press-fitting force and stress distributions using Abaqus FEA software. The press-fitting curves of the railway wheel and axle assembly obtained from finite element simulation were classified following European Standard EN 13260. The press-fitting curves showed whether they fell within the boundary limits in the EN standard to allow their practical application. This study also showed when plastic deformation would occur, within the recommended interferences in the EN standard. Moreover, the effect of interference was numerically simulated for the maximum holding torque capacity within the EN standard interference range. Numeric simulation was compared with the theory: the deviation was 15–6%

Design of natural-rubber panel railroad crossing using finite element method

Thailand has a railway system that is available throughout the country, so there are several railroad crossings. These crossings are generally made of concrete or logs with multiple constraints. There are some disadvantages of concrete railroad crossing, such as, crack, noise during car passing over. To overcome these disadvantages, the softer materials should be used instead. Therefore, this research proposes the natural rubber, widely grown throughout Thailand, panel railroad crossing. However, the natural rubber alone is not enough to withstand the harsh condition. Thus, it is necessary to have some addition ingredients that will enhance the natural rubber properties. The material used in this research is a rubber compound between Chloroprene Rubber (CR) 75% and Natural rubber (NR) 25% blend with additives such as carbon black (CB), magnesium oxide (MgO) and sulfur (S8). The objectives of this article were to analyze the deformation of the natural rubber panel railroad crossing and to evaluate its safety factor, defined as the ratio of strain at break and the maximum equivalent strain, using finite element method. In the analysis, the applied loading of the model was obtained from the State Railway of Thailand. The analyzed results reveal that the deflection of rubber panels passes the standard from State Railway of Thailand. Safety factor of external rubber panel is 27.03 and for internal rubber panels are 9.12 and 15.29. The metal pads had elastically deformed and concrete railroad sleeper deformation was very small

Thermal evaluation of flow channels with perforated-baffles

The influences of perforated-baffles on the local Nusselt number (Nu) and thermo-hydraulic behaviors were comprehensively studied using thermochromic liquid crystal sheet. The perforated-baffles were designed in two forms: perforated-baffle (PB) and perforated-baffle with square wings (SW-PBs). Transverse solid baffles (TBs) were also tested for an assessment. All baffles had an identical height of 12 mm (e/H = 0.3). Experimental results showed that SW-PBs offered better Nu than PBs. It is also seen that PBs and SW-PBs caused lower pressure loss than TBs by around 20.49% and 13.98%, respectively. The reduction of friction loss was primarily due to the baffle perforation. In addition, the PBs yielded the thermal performance factors (TPF) up to 1.01 at the lowest Reynolds number of 6000

Thermal Visualization and Performance Analysis in a Channel Installing Transverse Baffles with Square Wings

The experimental examination of local heat transfer, thermal intensification, friction factors, and thermal performance factors (TPF) in a rectangular channel with square-winged transverse baffles (SW-TB) are presented in this paper. The purpose of this study is to modify the typical transverse baffles (TB) into square-winged transverse baffles (SW-TB) in order to improve the thermal performance and heat transfer rate of the channel. The effects of SW-TBs with various wing attack angles and Reynolds numbers on the heat transfer performance characteristics were examined using a thermochromic liquid crystal sheet. In the experiments, the SW-TBs were attached to the bottom wall of the channel, which had an aspect ratio (W:H) of 3.75:1. The SW-TBs had a width (w) of 150 mm, a square perforated cross-sectional area (a × b) of 8 × 8 mm2, and attack angles (θ) of 0° (solid transverse-baffle), 22.5°, 45°, 67.5°, and 90°. The bottom wall of the channel was evenly heated, while the other walls were insulated. The temperature contours on the heated surface were plotted using temperatures obtained through using the thermochromic liquid crystal (TLC) image-processing method. Experimental results revealed that the SW-TBs created multiple impinging jets, apart from the recirculation. At the proper attack angles (θ = 22.5° and 45°), the SW-TBs offered greater heat transfer rates and caused lower friction losses, resulting in higher TPFs than the solid transverse baffles. In the current work, channels where the SW-TBs display a θ = 45° presented the greatest TPF, as high as 1.26. The multiple impinging jets issuing by the SW-TBs suppressed the size of the recirculation flow and allowed better contact between the fluid flow and channel wall

Thermal Visualization and Performance Analysis in a Channel Installing Transverse Baffles with Square Wings

The experimental examination of local heat transfer, thermal intensification, friction factors, and thermal performance factors (TPF) in a rectangular channel with square-winged transverse baffles (SW-TB) are presented in this paper. The purpose of this study is to modify the typical transverse baffles (TB) into square-winged transverse baffles (SW-TB) in order to improve the thermal performance and heat transfer rate of the channel. The effects of SW-TBs with various wing attack angles and Reynolds numbers on the heat transfer performance characteristics were examined using a thermochromic liquid crystal sheet. In the experiments, the SW-TBs were attached to the bottom wall of the channel, which had an aspect ratio (W:H) of 3.75:1. The SW-TBs had a width (w) of 150 mm, a square perforated cross-sectional area (a × b) of 8 × 8 mm2, and attack angles (θ) of 0° (solid transverse-baffle), 22.5°, 45°, 67.5°, and 90°. The bottom wall of the channel was evenly heated, while the other walls were insulated. The temperature contours on the heated surface were plotted using temperatures obtained through using the thermochromic liquid crystal (TLC) image-processing method. Experimental results revealed that the SW-TBs created multiple impinging jets, apart from the recirculation. At the proper attack angles (θ = 22.5° and 45°), the SW-TBs offered greater heat transfer rates and caused lower friction losses, resulting in higher TPFs than the solid transverse baffles. In the current work, channels where the SW-TBs display a θ = 45° presented the greatest TPF, as high as 1.26. The multiple impinging jets issuing by the SW-TBs suppressed the size of the recirculation flow and allowed better contact between the fluid flow and channel wall