Comparison of non-Hertzian modeling approaches for wheel-rail rolling contact mechanics in the switch panel of a railway turnout

Due to the complicated wheel-rail contact relation of railway turnouts, it is necessary to select a reasonable rolling contact model to simulate the vehicle-turnout dynamics and wheel-rail damages. This paper mainly aims to evaluate the calculation accuracy and efficiency of different non-Hertzian modeling approaches in solving normal and tangential wheel-rail contact problems of railway turnouts. Four different non-Hertzian approaches, namely CONTACT, Kik-Piotrowski, Ayasse-Chollet, and Sichani methods are compared and analyzed. The above four models are built considering the relative motion of stock/switch rails. A wheel profile called LMA contacting with stock/switch rails (head width 35 mm) of CN60-1100-1:18 turnouts is selected as the object of analysis. The normal contact problems are evaluated by the wheel-rail contact areas, shapes, and normal contact pressures. The assessment of tangential contact problems is based on the creep curves, tangential contact stresses, and distribution of the stick/slip region. In addition, a contrast analysis is performed on the calculation efficiencies of the four approaches. It is found that the normal and tangential contact results calculated based on the Sichani method coincide well with those obtained according to CONTACT, and the calculation efficiency is about 262 times that of CONTACT. The conclusions can provide some guidance to the selection of wheel-rail rolling contact approach in the simulation of vehicle-turnout dynamics and wheel-rail damages.