Abstract:
The development and application of heavy haul railways in China and other countries were reviewed. Typical wheel-rail wear that occurred on heavy haul railway lines was elaborated, including the wheel flange wear, hollow wear on the wheel tread, wheel ovalization, eccentric wear of wheels, side wear at rail gauge corner, rail corrugation, wheel flats, and rail burns. Then, the wheel-rail wear of heavy haul railways was studied mainly from two aspects: the mechanical behavior of the wheel-rail interaction system; and the mechanism and development of the wheel-rail wear, influences of factors and possible counter measures. Moreover, effects of wheel-rail wear on the wheel-rail contact, the vehicle-track interaction, and the running stability and comfort of trains were discussed. Finally, research methods and technical routes were proposed to study the derailment safety problems of heavy haul trains under different worn conditions. With them, the derailment mechanism of heavy haul trains, key influential factors, and their rules under different worn conditions are expected to be worked out using numerical simulation.