Innovative method of rolling railcar axles using segmented tool assemblies

This paper presents a novel method for rolling railcar axles using wedge tools of considerable length (about 8 m). The tools are divided into 28 components which are mounted in a tool assembly that moves in a way resembling caterpillar drive. The advantages of the proposed method include no tool idling and relatively low forming loads. A design of a segmented rolling mill with two identical tool assemblies is presented. The feasibility of the proposed solution is verified via numerical simulations conducted in Simufact.Forming. A rolling process for producing a BA3002 type railcar axle from both a cylindrical and a rectangular billet is analysed in detail. Maps of effective strain, temperature and damage function in the workpiece are shown for both cases considered. These maps clearly show that a rail axle of good quality is obtained in both rolling processes. In addition, by analysing the forming load distributions, the power of the rolling mill drive system was also estimated, which was found to be significantly higher in the case of rolling from a rectangular billet.

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Opracowanie rekordu ze środków MNiSW, umowa nr POPUL/SP/0154/2024/02 w ramach programu "Społeczna odpowiedzialność nauki II" - moduł: Popularyzacja nauki (2025).