Improved Safety of Railroad Car Wheels.
Abstract
The work described in this report was directed at the improvement in the safety of rail transportation by reducing the failure rate of railroad car wheels. Changes in design, materials, or operating limits need to be considered. Before such changes can be recommended, however, one needs to have a better understanding of the factors which lead to wheel failures. Railroad freight car wheels must be designed to fulfill a wide range of service requirements. They must transmit the high mechanical loads accompanying modern high speed train operations and also serve as a heat sink for the energy dissipated by the tread brake system. Railroad wheels are generally expected to provide at least 160,000 km (100,000 miles) of service. A high reliability against failure is necessary because failure of a wheel is likely to result in a train derailment with serious consequences. Railroad wheels must also be tolerant to a considerable amount of wear which results in large cross-sectional changes in the wheel rim over the lifetime of the wheel.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Dec 01, 1981
- Accession Number
- ADA110441
Entities
People
- Milton R. Johnson
- Rhees R. Robinson
Organizations
- IIT Research Institute