A NEW WHEEL-RAIL CONTACT ELEMENT FOR VEHICLE DYNAMIC CALCULATION

Abstract Since the beginning of the 80's, a lot of innovations on the vehicles and the track have been carried out. Progress in mechanical modeling and numerical calculus made it possible to develop efficient and integrated tools to be able to continue with innovation. The Research Department of the SNCF has chosen MECANO to be the core of a new simulation package based on SAMCEF software. The integration of a wheel rail contact element was necessary to link some track models to multi-body ones representing railway vehicles. First, this new element will be described and compared to other software contact models. Its precision and its opening will be underlined and will make it possible to study some new architectures as well as some effects of train circulation on the track. Finally, some results of dynamic calculation concerning train circulation in curves will be presented and analyzed. Some future studies with SAMCEF will also be introduced.