Squeal Prediction for a Bogied Vehicle in a Curve

Curve squeal is an intense high pitched noise generated by railway wheels when traversing tight curves. In this paper, a general squeal model is presented, which is based on the interrelationship between the wheel/rail contact forces and their responses, in the longitudinal, lateral, vertical and spin directions. Using the parameters of steady-state curving behaviour of a passenger vehicle for a range of curve radii, the general curve squeal model can predict the occurrence of squeal at all four wheel/rail contacts in a bogie. The effectiveness of conventional control methods for curve squeal, i.e. wheel damping treatments and friction modification, are investigated.