Field investigation of Rail Corrugation effect on Rolling Noise

Environmental pollution caused by noise is one of the most adverse consequences of railways operation. In spite of the vast amount of studies on railway noise, little attention has been paid to the effect of rail corrugation on rolling noise. Corrugation on the wheel tread and the railhead causes vibrations within the vehicle and the track, causing different ranges of noise. There is a need for a thorough investigation into rail corrugation effect on rolling noise. Inresponse to this need, present research concentrates on rolling noise and investigates rail corrugation effects on rolling noise. For this purpose, a thorough field investigation into the noise and corrugation measurements was carried out in this research. Measurements of the noises generated in the track by the passage of railway vehicles in a tangent track and a curve with small radius, were recorded by field tests. Rail corrugation measurement was performed in an indirect method by EM50 track recording car. Results obtained from the field tests were analyzed leading to new findings in rail corrugation effect on rolling noise. The effects of rail corrugation types on rolling noise were indicated. According to the research findings, the formation and occurrence of rail corrugation in curves is much more than that in tangent tracks. Rolling noise is so sensitive to the short-pitch rail corrugation in the tangent track. Moreover, it was noticed that the short-pitch rail corrugation in the tangent track is the most controlling factor because of having higher rate of rolling noise in the test site which leads to dissatisfaction of train passengers and residents of nearby residential areas. However, the lowest effect of rolling contact fatigue corrugation on rolling noise was observed for the curve.