A methodology for estimating rolling contact fatigue damage in urban rail transport systems

One of the most important problems for tramcar operators is track degradation, since it leads to high maintenance costs and serious impact on urban mobility. In this paper a methodology is illustrated which allows to perform an estimation of track degradation associated with wear and rolling contact fatigue, considering all the principal parameters involved (vehicle configuration, axle loads, track and wheel irregularity, wheel/rail profiles and material combination). This methodology involves vehicle multi-body simulations, wheel-rail contact finite-element calculations and lab tests on rolling specimens. Reference is made to a modern tramcar in typical operating conditions, showing results of the performed calculations and tests. The entire research activity was developed within the Project SPURT, co-funded by the European Commission under the Sixth Framework Programme.