Addressing perceptions regarding the influence of relative hardness on wheel/rail performance

An age-old debate amongst railway practitioners has revolved around the potential effects of increased wheel and/or rail steel hardness on corresponding wear rates. In specific, whether raising the hardness of one partner in the wheel-rail system will have a deleterious impact on the wear rate of the other. This paper addresses this question based on an literature review, as well as a survey that was sent to railway practitioners around the world. The key findings (perceptions) are discussed, and it is shown that in some cases these intuitive perceptions do not reflect the actual rail-wheel system behaviour.

• Record URL:
  • http://www.railknowledgebank.com/Presto/pl/MTk4MTRjNDUtNWQ0My00OTBmLTllYWUtZWFjM2U2OTE0ZDY3LjEwMDgw
• Authors:
  • Stock R
  • Oldknow K
  • Magel E
• Conference:
  • 12th International Conference on Contact Mechanics and Wear of Rail/Wheel Systems, 4-7 September 2022, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
• Publication Date: 2022

Media Info

• Pagination: 9p.; PDF
• Monograph Title: 12th International conference on contact mechanics and wear of rail/wheel systems (CM2022): advancing the science and practice of the wheel/rail interface to improve railway operation efficiency

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Hardness; Railroad rails; Rolling contact; Wear
• ATRI Terms: Hardness; Railway track; Wear

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01878994
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: ARRB Group Limited
• Files: ATRI
• Created Date: Apr 10 2023 4:54PM