Friction Between Wheel and Rail: A Pin-On-Disc Study of Environmental Conditions and Iron Oxides

The coefficient of friction between railway wheels and rails is crucial to railway operation and maintenance. Since the wheel-rail system is an open system, environmental conditions, such as humidity and temperature, affect the friction coefficient. Pin-on-disc testing was conducted to study the influence of environmental conditions and iron oxides on the coefficient of friction between the wheel and rail. The iron oxides were pre-created in a climate chamber. The surfaces of the tested samples were analysed using X-ray diffraction, scanning electron/focused ion beam microscopy, and Raman spectroscopy. Results indicate that the coefficient of friction decreases with increasing relative humidity (RH) up to a saturation level. Above this level, the coefficient of friction remains low and stable even when the RH increases. In particular, when the temperature is low, a small increase in the amount of water (i.e., absolute humidity) in the air can significantly reduce the coefficient of friction. At high humidity levels, a water molecule film can keep the generated haematite on the surfaces, counterbalancing the effect of rising humidity.