Comparison of wheel wear models for the simulation of railway wheels subjected to plastic deformation

In this paper, using bi-linear, multi-linear, and non-linear plastic strain models, the applicability of four typical wear models is studied to assess rail wheel wear, which include the Archard, Pearce, Usfd, and Braghin models. Firstly, the instantaneous wear of four models is calculated within a contact area, and an equivalent wear coefficient is used to express the proportional relationship between wear models quantitatively. A uniform expression of the wear models has been derived analytically, and the instantaneous wear rate based on the different wear models is evaluated under harmonic excitation. The rapid wear rate fluctuation for different wear models is then calculated under harmonic excitation, and the influence of speed on the wear fluctuation is studied. The results show that the four wear models have a similar result in calculating the instantaneous wear. In addition, the frequency characteristics of excitation can be accurately reflected in a general sense, and the degree of fluctuation is similar. However, the wear model does not fit the bi-linear plastic model well. It is observed that speed significantly affects the frequency and amplitude of wear fluctuation, the wear model can adapt well to the plastic model at high speed, and the wear depth increases with an increase in speed. This work has demonstrated that the wear model has poor adaptability with the bi-linear plastic model but can be successfully combined with multi-linear and non-linear plastic models to predict rail wheel wear during plastic deformation.