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Gauge widening failures of wagon wheels in Indian Railways: Finite element modeling and observed statistics

There were many gauge widening cases identified in wagon wheels of Indian Railways during the past decade, but no investigation was conducted to analyse the failures. The present work aims to investigate the main cause of failures in wagon wheels due to gauge widening. A train running model is used to estimate heat generation at wheel and brake block interface. A finite element model is used to estimate temperature and stress state in the wheel during heat treatment, wheel and axle fitment, and braking. Heat partition between brake blocks and wheel is considered for the analysis. Further, heat losses to the environment because of convection and radiation are also incorporated in the model. The wheel gauge reduces during the braking process and the permanent wheel gauge increases during the cooling process. Permanent wheel gauge increases with non-uniformity in braking and a higher frequency of braking.