Stress homogenized rail wheel having a wheel disc connecting wheel hub and wheel rim

• US 5,899,517 A
• Filed: 06/06/1997
• Issued: 05/04/1999
• Est. Priority Date: 12/10/1994
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: VSG Verkehrstechnik GmbH
• Original Assignee: VGS Verkehrstechnik GmbH
• Inventors: Bittner, Wilfried, Schneider, Jurgen, Murawa, Franz
• Primary Examiner(s): Stormer, Russell D.
• Application Number:
  US08/860,349
• Time in Patent Office: 697 Days
• Field of Search: 295/1, 295/8, 295/21, 295/22, 295/24, 295/27, 295/28, 295/29, 295/31.1, 295/34
• US Class Current: 295/21
• CPC Class Codes: B60B 17/00 Wheels characterised by rail-engaging elements wheel-axle combinations B60B37/00; of model railways A63H19/22

Abstract

A stress-homogenized track wheel with a wheel disk (3) which connects the wheel hub (1) and wheel rim (2) and decreases in thickness from the hub (1) towards the rim (2), the disk'"'"'s outer surfaces merging via three-center curves as radial generatrices tangentially with the adjacent outer surfaces of the hub (1) and rim (2) is shown. In order to suppress stress peaks and reduce the stress across the radial width of the wheel disk, the two outer surfaces of the wheel disk (3) are defined in the radial central area (1) geometrically by radial straight generatrices (Z3*,Z3**) which intersect in the area between the three-center curves on the wheel rim (2).

Claims

1. A rail wheel, comprising:

a wheel hub and a wheel rim;

a wheel disc which connects the wheel hub and the wheel rim, each of the wheel hub and the wheel rim including outer sides adjacent the wheel disc, the wheel disc including a central radial zone in which the wheel disc has a thickness which decreases from the wheel hub to the wheel rim, the wheel disc further including an inner transition zone adjacent the wheel hub and an outer transition zone adjacent the wheel rim, outer sides of the wheel disc in the inner and outer transition zones presenting curved surface configurations which merge tangentially into respective ones of the outer sides of the wheel hub and the wheel rim adjacent the wheel disc, said curved surface configurations being defined by compound curves determined geometrically by radially extending generatrices, a surface configuration of outer sides of the wheel disc in the central radial zone being determined geometrically by radially extending straight generatrices which intersect one another on the wheel rim in the outer transition zone between the curved surface configurations of the outer sides adjacent the wheel rim.

2. A rail wheel according to claim 1, wherein a central plane of the wheel disc lies perpendicularly to a rotational axis of the rail wheel.

3. A rail wheel according to claim 1, wherein a central plane of the wheel disc is inclined in relation to a rotational axis of the rail wheel up to a maximum angle of about 5°

.

4. A rail wheel according to claim 1, wherein the outer sides of the wheel hub adjacent the wheel disc are conical and which are determined by straight generatrices, an intersecting point of the straight generatrices of said outer sides of the wheel hub determining a radial location of the wheel hub side foot.

5. A rail wheel according to claim 1, characterized in that the outer sides of the wheel rim adjacent the wheel disc are conical and which are determined by straight 2generatrices, an intersecting point of the straight generatrices of said outer sides of the wheel rim determining a radial location of the wheel rim side foot.

6. A rail wheel according to claim 1, wherein a radial distance measured relative the wheel hub side foot at which position the wheel disc has a minimum thickness lies in the range of about 2/3 to 4/5 of the distance between feet on.

7. A rail wheel according to claim 6, characterized in that the radial distance is determined by the formula:

space="preserve" listing-type="equation">C≈

1.67 D/LD·

B.

where C is the radial distance, D is the distance of the foot of the wheel disc on the wheel rim from a wheel axis, B is the distance between feet and LD is a running circle diameter of the rail wheel.

8. A rail wheel according to claim 1, wherein an axial distance between the radially extending straight generatrices which determine the surface configuration of outer sides of the wheel disc in the central radial zone at the radial position of the wheel hub side foot is determined by the formula;

space="preserve" listing-type="equation">A≈

15+8.5(f.sub.F).

where f_D +f_F) are correctional factors, and wherein f_D =LD;

920, where LD is a running circle diameter of the rail wheel, and wherein f_F =Q;

500+Y;

120 where Q is a wheel force representing axial loading and Y is a rail force representing axial force at the wheel rim.

9. A rail wheel according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the inner and outer transition zones extends over a radial width of the wheel disc determined by the formula:

space="preserve" listing-type="equation">E,F≈

0.34B.

where E and F are the respective radial widths of the inner and outer transition zones measured relative the wheel hub side foot and the wheel rim side foot, respectively, and B is the distance between feet.

10. A rail wheel according to claim 1, wherein a portion of the inner transition zone adjacent the wheel hub has a radius of curvature G=1.25 to 2.5·

A, where A is an axial distance between the radially extending straight generatrices which determine the surface configuration of outer sides of the wheel disc in the central radial zone at the radial position of the wheel hub side foot.

11. A rail wheel according to claim 1, wherein a portion of the outer transition zone adjacent the wheel rim has a radius of curvature H=0.75 to 2.0·

A, where A is an axial distance between the radially extending straight generatrices which determine the surface configuration of outer sides of the wheel disc in the central radial zone at the radial position of the wheel hub side foot.

12. A rail wheel according to claim 1, wherein a portion of the inner transition zone radially outward from the wheel hub side foot satisfies the functions;

space="preserve" listing-type="equation">Y.sub.1 =E(2.292·

10.sup.-10 x.sup.5.sub.1 -4.229·

10.sup.-8 X.sup.4.sub.1 +2.930·

10.sup.-6 x.sup.3.sub.1 -8.646·

10.sup.-5 x.sup.2.sub.1 +1.070·

10.sup.-3 x.sub.1).

13. A rail wheel according to claim 1, wherein a portion of the outer transition zone radially inward from the wheel rim side foot satisfies the function:

space="preserve" listing-type="equation">Y.sub.2 =F(4.870·

10.sup.-10 x.sup.5.sub.2 +6.229·

10.sup.-6 x.sup.3.sub.2 -2.561·

10.sup.-4 x.sup.2.sub.2 +1.656·

10.sup.-3 x.sub.2).

14.

14. A rail wheel according to claim 1, further comprising a wheel hub side foot and a wheel rim side foot radially separated from each other by a distance between feet.