Abstract
The numerical results on the stress distributions of rail-wheel contact problems are presented for three models in a high-speed rail system. These models which have straight and tapered (1:40 and 1:20) contact geometries between the wheelset and rail are analyzed using the finite element approach. From the simulation results we found that the tapered geometry (1:20) of railwheel contact base line showed very stable contact stress distributions for a whole contact position between the wheel and rail in a curved rail section. The FEM computed results may present an optimized slope geometry of rail-wheel contact in a high-speed railway system.