ON THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN WHEEL AND RAIL SURFACE ROUGHNESS AND ROLLING NOISE

Theoretical models linking rolling noise and surface roughness have been available for some 20 years. The qualitative link, has been acknowledged between the presence of visibile corrugation on rail or wheel surfaces and increased noise generation. This roughness, or undulation in the surface profile, has wavelengths of most importance between about 10 and 300 mm, and amplitudes from between about 0.1 micron and 30 micron - greater for severe corrugation. An important open question in relation to roughness excitation is the validity of the assumed linear relation between roughness and noise. In part, the answer to this question depends on the quality and completeness of the roughness measurements. This is illustrated by comparisons of different rail roughness systems. Special care must also be taken with the processing of roughness data before a representative excitation spectrum can be derived. In this paper experimental evidence from a number of sources is presented to confirm the linear relation between roughness and noise, at least for roughness amplitudes which are not too severe. Attention is also given to the validity of the assumption made in the models that the wheel and rail roughness spectra may be added on an equal basis to give the total roughness spectrum. (A) For the covering abstract see IRRD 890682.

• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/issn/0022460X
• Corporate Authors:

  Academic Press Incorporated

  24-28 Oval Road
  London NW1 7DX,   England 
• Authors:
  • THOMPSON, D J
• Publication Date: 1996-5-30

Language

• English

Media Info

• Features: References;
• Pagination: p. 149-60
• Serial:
  • Journal of Sound and Vibration
  • Volume: 193
  • Issue Number: 1
  • Publisher: Elsevier
  • ISSN: 0022-460X
  • EISSN: 1095-8568
  • Serial URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/0022460X

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Conferences; Correlation analysis; Friction; Noise; Railroad tracks; Railroad transportation; Wheels
• ITRD Terms: 8525: Conference; 6527: Correlation (math, stat); 5452: Friction; 2492: Noise; 1173: Rail bound transport; 1372: Wheel
• Subject Areas: Data and Information Technology; Environment; Railroads; Vehicles and Equipment;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00740192
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: Transport Research Laboratory
• Files: ITRD
• Created Date: Sep 26 1997 12:00AM