Study on the adhesion behavior of wheel/rail under oil, water and sanding conditions

The objective of this study is to investigate the adhesion behavior of wheel/rail under oil, water and sanding conditions using a JD-1 wheel/rail simulation facility, which consists of a small wheel roller serving as locomotive or rolling stock wheel and a large wheel roller serving as rail. The results indicate that the adhesion coefficient of wheel/rail decreases remarkably under oil condition compared with dry and water conditions. With an increasing speed, the adhesion coefficient of wheel/rail decreases under oil, water and sanding conditions. However, with the increase of axle load, the adhesion coefficient of wheel/rail increases under the conditions with mixed oil, water and sand. Sanding can increase adhesion coefficient but damage the wheel/rail surfaces. In addition, the effect of adhesion improving by sanding is better under water condition. The adhesion coefficient is smallest with mixed oil and water. Crown Copyright (C) 2011 Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.