Investigation of vehicle dynamic influence on rolling contact fatigue on UK railways

This paper describes research undertaken to understand the influence of vehicle dynamic response in the formation of Rolling Contact Fatigue (RCF) in rails. The use of both quasi-static curving simulations and detailed dynamic simulations are described. Site-specific Vampire® dynamic simulations for a range of vehicles and wheel profiles are compared with the actual incidence of RCF at the sites. Good agreement was found between variations in the wheel/rail contact conditions and the presence of RCF through the site. This not only allows the underlying causes of the RCF at the specific sites to be identified with confidence, but also sheds valuable light on the mechanisms causing RCF on the UK rail network.