Analysis of Freight Wagon Wheel Failure Detection in Lithuanian Railways

The authors of this paper analyze the freight wagon wheel rolling surface damage detection process in Lithuanian Railways. The wagons were selected for this study in consideration of the Wheel Impact Load Detector (WILD) database. The results gained by experimental measurements of wheel rolling surface defects were compared with the data recorded by WILD. Distribution of failures of wheel types and dependence of the influence of the wheel-set location in a wagon on the occurrence of different defects of wheels was defined. The authors examined the reliability of WILD read-outs and wheel defect types influence on the dynamic coefficient value. Finally, basic conclusions and recommendations are given.