A METHOD FOR THE EVALUATION OF ASYMMETRY OF HIGH-SPEED RAILWAY RAIL PROFILES
Keywords:
High-speed railway, Rail profile, Asymmetry, Evaluation indexAbstract
The rail head profile plays a crucial role in determining the wheel–rail contact geometry and the dynamics of railway vehicle systems. Existing methods for asymmetric rail profile design, as well as evaluation indices for rail profiles, mainly focus on one-sided rail deviation from the target profile. A quantitative measure of asymmetry between the left and right rails is still lacking in both design and inspection. Field tests indicate that the asymmetry of rail profiles may induce abnormal carbody vibration. To address this issue, three indices have been proposed to characterize the asymmetry of the rail lateral profiles based on their geometric characteristics. Furthermore, a method for calculating the combined index Aᵣ and evaluating rail profile asymmetry in the longitudinal spatial domain has been introduced. This proposed method provides a theoretical basis and an analytical tool for establishing asymmetry limits in both profile design and evaluating the longitudinal asymmetry state of tracks.References
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