Thermal Elasto-Plastic FEM Analysis of the New Heavy-Haul Freight Car Wheel Plate

Increasing the axle loads is becoming one of the solutions to meet the increasing demands of transportation, which makes the wheel bear larger heat loads and suffer worse heat damage. Therefore, it is necessary to simulate the thermal stress of the 30 t axle-load wheel and reveal the influence law between the braking power and the thermal damage in order to support the design of operating and braking. And a new method that simulates the braking working conditions based on the results of the heat treatment is put forward. According to the thermal elasto-plastic theory, this paper simulates the distribution of the residual stress generated in the heat treatment process and the thermal stress of the residual deforming wheels using the time-history of the thermal braking power on Datong-Qinhuangdao railway, which is based on the real working conditions. The paper proves that the new 30 t wheel plate will bear larger thermal and residual stress and suffer more heat damage.