Estimation of Vibration Limit Cycles from Wheel/Rail Mobilities for the Prediction of Curve Squeal Noise

A novel method for the approximate estimation of curve squeal sound levels is proposed. The method directly targets the stationary regime by using wheel/rail mobilities at contact instead of modal characteristics of the structures. The condensation allows a more general description of the dynamics of the structures, in particular the behavior of the rail for which a modal representation is not very suitable. The method is first validated in the case of a reduced modal description of the system by comparing results to a reference cycle obtained by numerical integration in the time domain. It is then applied to realistic cases for which the wheel/rail mobilities are obtained from more elaborated models. The model can be used to carry out parametric studies allowing to design squeal noise mitigation solutions.