On the influence of conformity on wheel-rail rolling contact mechanics

The aim of this work is to assess the effects of conformity on local contact related quantities at the wheel-rail interface such as traction distributions, subsurface stresses and frictional work distributions. For this purpose conformal contact analyses are carried out by means of Finite Element (FE) models, and also with the exact rolling contact theory approach developed by Kalker, which has been appropriately adapted by the authors in order to take into account some of the effects of conformity. On the other hand, equivalent cases are analysed without taking into account the effects of conformity. In this way, the validity of the hypothesis of non-conformity is evaluated in different cases with varying degrees of conformity.