Selected Simulation and Experimental Studies of the Heat Transfer Process in the Railway Disc Brake in High-Speed Trains

The effectiveness of railway brakes strongly depends on their thermal condition. A computer simulation and experimental investigations on a full-scale dynamometric stand were chosen as an adequate analysis of the heat transfer process in brakes. The article introduces a two-dimensional, axisymmetric numerical model of the tested disc brake. Boundary conditions related to the heat generated in the friction brake and heat transferred to the environment are also presented. The transient heat transfer problem was solved using the in-house computer program of the finite element method. The article presents simulations and experimental investigations of the intensive braking of a train with an initial high speed. Temperature responses of the disc brake on the friction surface and at other selected points are shown. In addition, a thermal imaging camera was used to assess the temperature distribution on the friction surface of the disc. The results of experimental and simulation tests were preliminarily compared. Similar maximum temperature values were obtained at the end of braking with a particular discrepancy in temperature responses during the analyzed process.