Research on the Safety Limit of Rail Corrugation on Small-Radius Curves of Heavy-Haul Railways

This study investigates the safety limits of rail corrugation on small-radius curves of heavy-haul railways. A heavy-haul vehicle-track coupled dynamics model was developed using multibody dynamics software. The rail corrugation was simulated as continuous harmonic excitation, and track irregularities were modeled using a cosine function. By applying the corrugation as an input excitation, the dynamic response of the wheel-rail system was computed. The analysis focused on the influence of corrugation wavelength and wave depth on the wheel-rail interaction. Based on this analysis, safety limits for rail corrugation on the specific small-radius curve were proposed. The results show that for a fixed wavelength, the damage severity increases with the wave depth. Conversely, for a given wave depth, shorter wavelengths cause more severe damage. For the small-radius curve of heavy-haul railways, the recommended rail grinding limits are 0.70 mm within 100～160 mm wavelength, 0.90 mm for 160～200 mm, 1.00 mm for 200～260 mm, 1.20 mm for 260～280 mm, and 1.30 mm for wavelengths above 280 mm.