Contact Thermal Analysis and Wear Simulation of a Brake Block

Abstract

The present paper describes an experimental test and a coupled contact-thermal-wear analysis of a railway wheel/brake block system through the braking process. During the test, the friction, the generated heat, and the wear were evaluated. It was found that the contact between the brake block and the wheel occurs in relatively small and slowly moving hot spots, caused by the wear and the thermal effects. A coupled simulation method was developed including numerical frictional contact, transient thermal and incremental wear calculations. In the 3D simulation, the effects of the friction, the thermal expansion, the wear, and the temperature-dependent material properties were also considered. A good agreement was found between the results of the test and the calculations, both for the thermal and wear results. The proposed method is suitable for modelling the slowly oscillating wear caused by the thermal expansions in the contact area.

Simulation of Temperature Distribution in a Brake Pad Ceramic Composite Material

“…The temperature distribution of the brake pad was measured by applying the analytical frictional heat generation function using numerical analysis. [22]. The temperature distribution of the brake pad against the disc is analysed with the help of the COMSOL Multiphysics software.…”

Simulation of the Thermal Behavior of Cast Iron Brake Block during Braking Maneuvers

“…The author performed several simulations to find optimal values of different design properties of the system, including friction coefficient and thermal and mechanical properties of the block. Békési and Váradi [20] carried out an experimental-numerical activity, first performing drag braking tests on a 1:4 scaled rig, measuring the temperatures of the block and wheel and the block wear, and then developing a 3D FE coupled thermo-mechanical model of the scaled system, considering the mutual influence between thermal stresses and contact pressure, as well as the dependency of the wear coefficient on temperature. To save the computational time, the wheel was modeled as a rigid body, and only half of the block was modeled, superimposing a symmetry condition with respect to a plane perpendicular to the wheel axis.…”