Experimental and numerical assessment of vibro-acoustic behavior of rubber-damped railway wheels

The reduction of noise and vibrations is very important task in many industrial and transport applications. The sources of intensive noise and vibrations are also tram and railway wheels at high speeds. Therefore the modern types of steel railway wheels contain the visco-elastic paddings. The first problem treated in this contribution is concerned with the theoretical and experimental investigation of the thermo-mechanical properties of rubber-like damping elements loaded with prestress by harmonic force. The dynamic modal and spectral properties of the whole railway wheel with damping elements will be investigated by the 3-D FEM model as the second problem.