Numerical and experimental investigation of the wheel/rail interaction and dynamics for a high-speed gauge-changeable railway vehicle.

For a high-speed rail vehicle with gauge-changeable wheelsets, wheel/rail interactions and vehicle dynamics were numerically and experimentally studied within 600 km/h. Matching among four treads, three rail profiles, two gauges, and two rail cants are analysed by examining the wheelset conicity, contact points distribution, and stress. It shows that the conicities of the S1002 and LMA become smaller than the permitted minimum when rail cant 1/20 is used instead of 1/40 when matching with any of the three rail profiles. The conicity of S1002 decreases by up to 95% while that of LMA drops by about 30%. Whereas the RUS and LMB10 are compatible with two cants. Worn treads are more sensitive to the rail cant than new ones. Wheelback distance error leads to a conicity change, especially for worn profiles. A multi-body vehicle system dynamics analysis indicates that a 0.6 mm wheel-axle clearance leads to running instability at low speeds, but will not have an obvious effect on running safety and ride comfort. The vehicle dynamics behaviour on the standard- and broad-gauge tracks shows a slight difference. This has been validated through lab tests performed on a full-scale roller rig. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]