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Thermal Models Of Railroad Wheels And Bearings, Kevin D. Cole, Constantine M. Tarawneh, Arturo A. Fuentes, B. M. Wilson, L. Navarro

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Faculty Publications

The rolling surface for railroad wheels can be a heat source that may have an impact on the performance of the wheel bearing. In this study, experimental data from an electrically-heated railroad wheel set is analyzed by constructing thermal models of the wheel set. A steady finite-element model, a steady-analytical model, and a transient lumped-parameter model are discussed. Model parameters are determined from careful comparisons with the experimental data. The lumped-parameter model given here is intended as a simple predictive tool for determining when wheel heating caused by rail operations will have an impact on bearing temperature. The model parameters …