Effect of cross brace length error on wheel wear in heavy-haul freight wagons

Numerous manufacturing errors have been exposed in freight wagons, including length errors in the cross brace rods connecting the side frame in heavy-haul freight wagons. This paper investigates the effect of cross-brace rod length errors on wheel wear. This paper establishes a dynamic model of the C80 heavy-haul freight wagon using Simpack. The Jendel wear model was used to investigate the effects of single rod error and double rod length error in the cross brace rods on wheel wear. The results show that when the cross brace rods have length errors, the second wheelset is misaligned, leading to an increase in wheelset lateral displacement as the rod length error increases. Compared to the lateral ride index and vertical ride index, the rod length error has a greater influence on the derailment coefficient and wheelset lateral force. The length error of the cross brace rods significantly affects wheel wear, with wheel wear increasing as the rod error increases. When the rod length error increases from 0 mm to 8 mm during train curve negotiation, the wear depth of the left wheel on the trailing wheelset increases from 1.03 × 10 −8 m to 1.84 × 10 −8 m, with an increase of 78.7%. When the length error of the cross brace rods exceeds 2 mm, wheel wear deteriorates severely. This paper provides a research foundation for manufacturing error control and wheel rail maintenance of heavy-haul freight trains.