Abstract
Wheel /rail interaction has been known as a major source of railway noise. In this paper, a low noise wheel structure is developed and its effect on noise reduction is investigated. The developed low noise wheel employees a rubber material inserted into a steel rim or mounted on the wheel surface. Since the low noise wheel has low stiffness and high damping ratio compared to a solid wheel, the measurement results show that it reduces the rolling and squeal noise. It turns out that the proposed wheel could reduce interior noise level by 4∼5dB(A) and vehicle vibration level by 7∼10 dB. Although the proposed structure seems to be promising in noise reduction of railway vehicles, the low noise wheel is to be verified in endurance and cost effect.
