Abstract: A model of rail corrugation calculation is put forward. The model considers a combination of a Non-Hertzian rolling contact theory of wheel/rail system, rail material wear model and a coupling dynamics of rail vehicle/track in the vertical and lateral directions. A corresponding numerical method is developed to analyze evolution of the initial rail corrugation with different wavelength with an increase of passenger car passage. When the 4 wheels of a same bogie roll over the rails with the same initial corrugation, the wave-depth, passing fre-quencies and phases of the initial corrugation in development are calculated. The numerical results obtained indicate that: ①The wave-depth of the initial corrugation with an fixing wave-length decreases with an increase of the passenger car passage, the initial corrugation passed by the leading wheelset decays much more than that passed by the trailing wheelset. ② The evolution of the initial corrugations has a tendency to move forward. ③ After the leading wheelset rolls over the rails with the initial corrugation with a fixing wavelength repeatedly the initial corrugation gradually changes. The new corrugation gradually forms and presents two wavelengths. ④ Under the condition of the passenger car passage increase, the smaller the wavelength of the initial corrugation is, and the faster the wave-depth of the initial corrugation attenuates.

Key words: Material wear, Evolution, Rail corrugation, Rolling contact, Vehicle/track dynamics