Effect of Braking Condition on Residual Stress of Locomotive Wheel

A two-dimensional elastic-plastic model was established, and ANSYS finite element software was used to analyze the residual stress of the manufacturing state of newly manufactured locomotive wheels with an outer diameter of 1066 mm and locomotive wheels worn to the limit (worn wheels). The residual stress in the arc section of the wheel plate was measured with X ray diffraction method, and was compared with the calculated result of the model to verify the effectiveness of the model. On this basis, the residual stress distribution of new and worn wheels after normal and abnormal braking was simulated and analyzed, and the fatigue assessment status of the wheel during service was evaluated.The results show that excluding the influence of machining, the distribution trend of the finite element calculation value is consistent with the measured value, the feasibility of the finite element model has been verified. The residual stress of the new wheel remains unchanged under different braking conditions. The worn wheel undergoes plastic deformation during the braking process, and the residual stress of the wheel changes significantly. The radial and circumferential residual stresses in the plastic deformation area become tensile stresses, which are greater than the residual stresses in the original manufacturing state. During the braking process, with the increase of heat input, the circumferential residual tensile stress area of the worn wheel tread increases, and the radial residual compressive stress of the spoke plate increases. Therefore, the regular maintenance of the wheel tread is required in the later stage of service to prevent tread cracks caused by braking.