Designing of railway wheels. Part 1: Finite element method

Current design processes can be simplified and accelerated if computer simulation based on finite element method (FEM) is used. FEM numerical calculations of different wheels of railway wheelsets are investigated in the Department of Railway Engineering. The justification for undertaking this issue is that there is no methodology in the design of railway wheelsets both in Poland and abroad; there is no possibility of optimizing wheelsets' construction characteristics depending on manufacturing process and service parameters. The analysis of this problem has made possible: (a) comparison of software used so far in strain calculation of railway wheelsets; (b) elaboration of design methodology for railway wheelsets; (c) increase in durability of railway wheelsets; (d) increase in the safety of rail transport; (e) decrease in manufacturing and service costs of railway wheelsets.