Analysis of Heat Partitioning in Wheel/Rail and Wheel/Brake Shoe Contact: An Analytical Approach

An analytical model is developed for assessment of the steady-state temperature distribution in a wheel undergoing heating in contact with the rail and the brake shoes as well as nonuniform cooling in its periphery. The heat partitioning coefficients in the rail and the brake-shoe contacts with the wheel are incorporated in the model. These heat-partitioning coefficients can be used to evaluate the temperature field in the wheel and the brake shoes. It is shown that the wheel contact temperature is confined to a very thin depth within the surface layer (approximately 6% in the radial direction), but the rest of wheel is at the bulk temperature.