Safety Margin Evaluation of Railway wheel Based on Fracture Scenarios

Derailment due to wheel failure would cause a tremendous social and economical cost in service operation. It is necessary to evaluate quantitatively the safety with respect to high-speed train. Although the safety of railway wheel has been ensured by an regular inspection, all critical defects cannot be detected in inspection cycles and the wheel has been replaced because a defect quickly become critical for safety. Therefore, it is important to calculate quantitatively the fracture limit and remnant life of damaged railway wheel in wheel-rail system. In present paper, the critical crack size of wheel for high-speed train is simulated based on fracture scenario and the safety of wheel is evaluated.