A comprehensive modeling strategy for studying the thermomechanical tribological behaviors is proposed in this work. The wear degradation considering the influence of temperature (T) is predicted by Archard wear model with the help of the UMESHMOTION subroutine and arbitrary Lagrangian–Eulerian (ALE) remeshing technique. Adopting the proposed method, the thermomechanical tribological behaviors of railway vehicle disc brake system composed of forged steel brake disc and Cu-based powder metallurgy (PM) friction block are studied systematically. The effectiveness of the proposed methodology is validated by experimental test on a self-designed scaled brake test bench from the perspectives of interface temperature, wear degradation, friction noise and vibration, and contact status evolution. This work can provide an effective way for the investigation of thermomechanical tribological behaviors in the engineering field.

A full explicit FEM simulation of wheelset passing through switch panel is presented. The real 3D geometry of the switch panel is used, both vertical and lateral response are taken into consideration. The dynamic interaction is analysed and it is found that the damage mechanism on the switch blade and stock rail is a complex interaction of wear, fatigue and impact, which can be well described by explicit FEM simulation. Parametric analysis of running speed, traction coefficient and the friction coefficient between switch blade gauge surface and wheel flange indicate that decreasing running speed can help to reduce the damage on switch panel. The traction coefficient has little influence on the maximum impact response, but a higher traction coefficient is beneficial for eliminating the dynamic response after the maximum impact response point. The influence of the friction coefficient on the dynamic impact response is not significant, but a lower friction coefficient is favourable for decreasing the wear damage on the switch blade and increasing running safety. This work can provide a good understanding of the interaction on switch panel and give theoretical support for maintenance and improving the design.