Effect of Wheel-Rail Interface Friction Coefficient on Wheel Wear Evolution of Heavy Haul Locomotive

Aiming at the serious problem of wheel wear of six-axle heavy haul locomotive, the wheel-rail interface friction theory is introduced to study the influence of different friction coefficients on wheel wear. The heavy haul locomotive-track coupling dynamic model and wheel wear model are established by UM software, and the rail top/rail side lubrication simulation conditions are set to analyze the evolution law of wheel profile and the change of wear amount. The results show that: The higher the friction coefficient of the rail top will reduce the tread wear of the first and third wheelset, but increase the flange wear rate. Under the friction coefficient of 0.40 at the rail top, the wear rates of the flanges of the first-to-third wheelset are 0.72, 0.41, and 0.52 mm/10,000 km, respectively. When the friction coefficient of the rail top is 0.40, the wear reduction rates of the flanges of the first-to-third wheelset are 16.88%, 9.97% and 9.11%, respectively, but the wear reduction of the flanges of the second wheelset is 0.20 mm under the friction coefficient of the rail top of 0.20. The research results provide a reference for wheel wear reduction of heavy haul locomotives, and provide a new idea for the research of locomotive wheel-rail interface friction management.