EFFECT OF RIM THICKNESS ON WHEEL STRESSES CAUSED BY SIMULATED SERVICE CONDITIONS

An analytical solution is presented for the stresses in both thin and thick rim CH-36-in. wheel designs under rail loads applied at the tape line and 3/4 of an inch from the front rim face. Octahedral stress mapping is employed to display the stress fields generated in the wheels under rail loading. The effect of the variation in rim thickness is evaluated through application of the octahedral shear stress concept. Accuracy of the analytical stress field solution was determined by comparison of computed and experimentally measured principal strain values on the surface of a wheel. The measured strains were obtained using strain gages bonded along both top and bottom plate and fillet surfaces. The results were in good agreement with the computed values.