A vibroacoustic model of the stationary railway wheel for sound radiation prediction through an axisymmetric approach

Abstract

[EN] In the literature, different dynamic models of the railway wheel have been developed to predict its sound radiation; however, there are still certain aspects that can be improved. Specifically, the high computational cost of these models, either because they solve the fluidstructure interaction or because they solve the dynamics and acoustics of the three-dimensional wheel, makes it difficult to carry out numerous simulations with the aim of achieving quieter designs. In the present work, a vibroacoustic model of the stationary wheel is developed through an axisymmetric approach, yielding an efficient and comprehensive acoustic prediction tool. The calculation methodology consists of, firstly, adopting an axisymmetric approach to solve the vibratory dynamics of the wheel from its cross-section, using finite element techniques; subsequently, the acoustic radiation of the three-dimensional wheel is calculated from the dynamics of the aforementioned section through an analytical formulation. Finally, the vibroacoustic model developed is validated via comparison with commercial software that solves the fluid-structure interaction, showing the aforementioned computational advantages that the former has over the latter.