Analysis of Polygonal Wear Characteristics of Chinese High-Speed Train Wheels

Wheel out-of-roundness (OOR), which is commonly observed on the wheels of Chinese high-speed trains, has a significant influence on the vehicle ride comfort and operation safety. From 2011 to 2020, 30500 wheels of nine types of high-speed trains were selected for tests and the wheel OOR was measured. The tested high-speed trains operated on 12 high-speed railway lines with different operating speeds, including operating speeds of 200, 250, 300, and 350 km/h. The characteristics of the wheel OOR were analyzed to determine the development rules for wheel polygonal wear of high-speed EMUs in China. The key factors that affect the wheel polygon wear were analyzed, including the wheelbase, track structure, and abrasive block. The test results show that the dominant harmonic orders of the wheel polygonal wear range from 10th to 30th order. The corresponding wavelengths of the 10th–30th-order polygonization are 90–288 mm, with a wheel polygonal wear of 100‒178 mm being the most severe. The analysis of the key factors that affect the wheel polygonal wear shows that the wheelbase, fastening stiffness, and ambient temperature are closely related to the formation of wheel polygonal wear. By improving the matching relationship between the abrasive block and the wheel tread, the transverse and circumferential wear is minimized and the roughness level of the high-order polygonal wear is reduced by 60% at most. © 2023 Science Press. All rights reserved.