ABOUT MULTI-HERTZIAN-CONTACT HYPOTHESIS AND EQUIVALENT CONICITY IN THE CASE OF S1002 AND UIC60 ANALYTICAL WHEEL RAIL PROFILES

In a previous paper [1], a new method using 'multi-Hertzian' elasticity for identifying equivalent parameters of railway wheelsets rolling on defined tracks was presented. Another method also using Hertzian elasticity [2] has produced different results. Without knowing the origin of these discrepancies, the question was asked whether any of these methods could adequately describe actual non-Hertzian contacts. This paper, using as a basis Kalker's 'Contact' software which solves the non-Hertzian case for normal and tangential forces, answers this question, demonstrating that the assumption of summing Hertzian contacts is realistic provided that enough ellipses are considered. On this basis, the 'equivalent conicity' of the standard wheelset equipped with S1002 profiles rolling on UIC60 (1/40) rails is analysed in the range of small lateral displacements: around 2 mm it amounts to between 0.13 and 0.16. It is demonstrated that, due to actual wheel and rail elasticity, linearization of rigid profiles conicity, whatever method being used, is not realistic in practice.