Abstract: A 3-D transient wheelset-rail rolling contact model has been developed using the explicit finite element method, with which the continuum vibrations of the wheel, axle and rail are considered together with the structural vibrations of the vehicle-track system. Such a model, which numerically reproduces the rolling behavior of a whole wheelset on a track in the time domain, is employed in this work to analyze the transient wheel-rail interactions in the presence of a rail corrugation. Compared to the previous half-wheelset model, the lateral creepage and spin of the wheelset are taken into account in the present model. The corrugation is only applied on one rail, i.e. unilateral corrugation is simulated, as observed on a Chinese metro line. It is found that a higher speed would lead to more severe uneven wear on the corrugated rail; at 30 and 120 km/h, the vibrations excited by the corrugated rail are transmitted more efficiently to the other, stimulating the occurrence of corrugation there; the larger the lateral shift of wheelset is, the more severe the uneven wear on the corrugated rail is, while the uneven wear on the smooth rail changes reversely, i.e. the unilateral corrugation on a curve, corresponding to a larger lateral shift than that on a tangent track, less possibly stimulate the occurrence of corrugation on the smooth rail.

Key words: explicit finite element method, rail corrugation, transient wheel-rail rolling contact, uneven wear, unilateral corrugation