A Study on Effects of Axle Misalignment of a Vehicle with Independently Rotating Wheels

This paper deals with the effects of axle misalignment of a truck with independently rotating wheels (IRWs) on the wheel lateral force and the flange wear. Since the truck with IRWs lacks for self-steering ability, it is concerned that the wheel continues flange contact with rail due to the effects of axle misalignment in parallelity and the flange wears rapidly under the continuous flange contact condition. Numerical simulations are carried out, using an analytical vehicle model with the axle misalignment. Obtained results are as follows : Even if misalignment is a little, the vehicle with IRWs which dose not have self steering ability tends to run under the flange contact condition, and then continuous lateral force acts between the flange and the rail. The vehicle with IRWs, which has axle misalignment only in the lateral setting, does not have tendency of continuous flange contact. In the range of misalignment in parallelity considered in this paper, the wheel lateral force increases with the increase of the misalignment, and the wheel lateral force of IRW increases more than that of the solid wheelset. The wheel lateral forces generated due to the misalignment are equivalent to the ones generated in the curved tracks, the radii of which make the attack angles corresponding to the misalignment.