Investigation of the generation mechanism of rail corrugation based on friction induced torsional vibration

Abstract Field measurements of Wuhan Metro Line 2 show that rail corrugation mostly occurs on the inner rail of curved tracks, and that the corrugation amplitude increases with the curvature of rail. To investigate this phenomenon, a theoretical model for the generation mechanism of rail corrugation based on friction induced torsional vibration is developed. This paper theoretically explains the reason why most rail corrugations occur on the inner rail. Furthermore, the simulation results of the model show that the torsional vibration amplitude of wheel axles increases with the curvature of rail, which can explain the reason why rail corrugation occurs on curved rail. In addition, it is found that vertical dynamics between wheel and rail is critical for the occurrence of torsional vibration for the case of large rail radius. Therefore, it seems that the generation mechanism of rail corrugation can be due to the friction induced vibration coupled with vertical dynamics.