Fretting fatigue of railway axles - a review of predictive methods and an outline of a finite element model

The primary aim of this study is to investigate possibilities and difficulties in a computer-based prediction of fretting fatigue of railway wheel-axle assemblies. The study sets out with a review of predictive models of fretting fatigue with an emphasis on computer-based numerical methods of relevance to wheel-axle assemblies. Based on the review, a finite element (FE)-based numerical framework to predict fretting fatigue of wheel-axle assemblies is outlined. The benefits and drawbacks of the approach are discussed.