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

In previous works [1,2], 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 fluid-structure interaction problem or because they solve the dynamics and acoustics of the three-dimensional wheel, make it difficult to carry out optimization simulations (involving a large number of computations) with the aim of achieving quieter designs. In the present work, a vibroacoustic model of the wheel is developed using an axisymmetric approach, yielding an efficient and comprehensive acoustic prediction tool. The calculation methodology consists of, firstly, adopting an axisymmetric approach to solve the vibrational dynamics of the wheel from its cross section, using finite element techniques [3]; subsequently, the acoustic radiation of the three-dimensional wheel is calculated from the dynamics of the cross section through an analytical formulation based on the harmonic nature of the response along the circumferential direction. Additionally, the wheel rotation is introduced in the model using an Eulerian approach [4], in order to consider the associated gyroscopic and inertial effects. Finally, the vibroacoustic model developed in the current work is benchmarked against commercial software that solves the fluid-structure interaction problem, showing an improvement in the computational performance.