Railway axles are among critical components ensuring safe and efficient train operations. They are particularly susceptible to damage mechanisms such as fretting wear and fatigue. Fretting induced by high contact pressure and microslip between contact surface can significantly deteriorate fatigue strength at the contact edge of the press-fit section. Recent research has been conducted to enhance axle strength and reliability. However, fretting wear or microcrack formation at the wheel-press-fit zone of axles is still an active area of investigation. Accurately analyzing fretting wear is challenging due to its sensitivity to numerous factors such as changes in friction coefficient, influence of wear particles, and selection of an appropriate wear model. This paper aimed to establish a comprehensive analysis method for fretting wear in interference-fitted axles using finite element analysis (FEA) and numerical analysis techniques. Two wear models were applied in simulations: an Archard wear model and an energy-based wear model. Analysis results were compared with experimental data from rotating bending fatigue press-fit specimens. This comparison will help validate the proposed analysis method and assess the effectiveness and accuracy of different wear models in predicting fretting wear in press-fit axles.

The self-locking nuts that are used in high-speed railway-vehicle bogies and car-body connections are key components of the fastening system. These bogies and connection systems should withstand the high vibrations and shocks that are generated by high-speed operations. Since the first high-speed railway was developed, the antiloose nuts that are globally used in all of the high-speed rail-vehicle bogies and car-body connection systems are single-use limited to prevent nutloosening accidents during train operations. In this study, we developed a double reusable nut for the self-locking nuts of high-speed rail vehicles with a 100-% lifetime improvement. The proposed nut design was subjected to the KS R 9144 and NAS 3350 vibration-performance evaluation tests, and following the DIN 65151 method, a Junker test was performed for an impact-performance test. As the final step, a practical-application test was performed to assess the reusability of the proposed nut for which the self-locking nut of the HEMU-430X high-speed rail vehicle was utilized, and two reusability tests were subsequently carried out to evaluate the safety

In this study, fatigue life of the motor block bracket units for KTX-Sancheon trains was assessed. Design evaluation for railway structures was performed based on the UIC 566 regulation, and test and evaluation of fatigue life in welded parts was performed in accordance with standard ERRI B 12/RP17 and ERRI B 12/RP60. The actual vehicle dynamic stress testing was executed in KTXSancheon service line with the service operating speed. The dynamic stress was measured with commercial data acquisition system (MGC plus). The cumulative damage was evaluated by applying standard BS 7608 - Class F and cycle counting was used rain-flow counting method. As a result, the motor block bracket units for KTX-Sancheon trains was designed to fit the regulation and the safety of fatigue life for 30 years, assuming that KTX-Sancheon trains travels 600,000㎞ annually, were confirmed under current operating conditions.

Curve squealing of inter-city railway vehicle is a noise with high acoustic pressure and rather narrow frequency spectra. This noise turns out to be very annoying for the people living in the neighborhood of locations and the passenger in railway vehicle where this phenomenon occurs. Squealing is caused by a self-exited stick-slip oscillation in the wheel-rail contact. Curve squeal noise of railway vehicles that passed by a factor of the speed limit, so to overcome in order to improve running performance is one of the largest technology. In the present paper, characteristic of squeal noise behavior at the Hanvit-200 tilting train test-site. Curve squealing of railway wheels/rail contact occurs in R400~ R800 curves with a frequency range of about 4~11kHz. If the curve is less than the radius of wheel/rail contact due to |left-right| noise level difference (dBA) shows a significant effect of squeal noise were more likely.