Abstract: In order to clarify the relation between rail cant and wheel/rail rolling contact behavior of LM and LMA wheelsets, the contact geometry parameters, creepage of them and CHN60 rail in rolling contact are investigated under different rail cants of 1/20 and 1/40 with an improved numerical method. Kalker’s theory of three-dimensional elastic bodies in rolling contact with non-Hertzian is utilized to analyze the normal pressure and tangential traction in the contact surface of the wheels and rails. Using the normal pressure and tangential traction as a prescribed boundary condition, the fields of stress, strain and elastic displacement in the wheel and rail are calculated with the force/displacement formulations of Bossinesq-Cerruti and the method of Gaussian numerical integration. Two wheel radii of 420 mm and 460 mm are taken into account in the present investigation. Numerical results indicate that the contact stress under the condition of rail cant of 1/20 is smaller than that under the rail cant of 1/40 for LM wheelset. The situation for LMA wheelset is in reverse. Therefore, rail cant 1/20 is better than rail cant 1/40 for LM-CHN60 in rolling contact and rail cant 1/40 is better than rail cant 1/20 for LMA-CHN60. The effect of wheel radius on rolling contact behavior of LM-CHN60 and LMA-CHN60 is insignificant. The results obtained are useful for the optimum of profile match of wheel and rail and the rail cant design.

Key words: Contact stress, Creep force, Creepage, Rail, Rail cant, Rolling contact, Wheelset