Abstract
Generally, a multibody dynamics tool is used for railway vehicle running analysis, and the contact force between wheel and rail is generally given by a theoretical equation derived from contact theory. However, since the contact shape is assumed to be elliptical in this theory, the application of running on discontinuous rails such as rail joints is limited. In the running experiment, the contact force is obtained by converting from a strain in the vehicle wheel-set. When the discontinuous rail and the wheel contact each other, there is a possibility that the measurement accuracy may be deteriorated because the contact position and the number of contact points are different from the assumed.
In this research, we constructed a numerical analysis model using the explicit finite element method considering the dynamic interaction between the railway wheel and the track that can be applied to the running of the discontinuous part of the rail. As a result, the contact force analyzed by the constructed model is good agreement with verification tests and the validity of the constructed model was confirmed.
