SOLVING A SYSTEM OF NONLINEAR EQUATIONS WITH THE USE OF OPTIMIZATION METHODS IN PROBLEMS RELATED TO THE WHEEL-RAIL CONTACT

The article presents the methods for defining the geometry of the contact surface between a rigid wheel and a rigid rail. The calculation model that has been developed allowed for any arrangement of the wheel in relation to the rail. This allowed for the creation of a system of nonlinear equations, the solution of which allows one to determine the presumable wheel-rail contact points. The search for the solution of the system of strongly nonlinear equations was conducted using a few optimization methods. This allowed one to study both the selection of the starting point and the convergence of the method.