Study of rolling contact fatigue, rolling and sliding wear of class B wheel steels against R350HT and R260 rail steels under dry contact conditions using the twin disc setup

There is an increased demand for railway services, which has resulted in an increase in speeds and axle loads. The increase in axle loads and speeds have resulted in an increase in severity of wheel and rail wear. The aim of this work was to investigate wear and rolling contact fatigue (RCF) performance of class B wheels against R350HT and R260 rail under different slip ratio using a twin-disc setup. The results showed that severity of wear was heavily dependent on slip ratio. It was found that class B wheels' wear rate was better against R260 rail than against R350HT rail. Three wear regimes were identified from plots of wear rate versus wear index (T gamma/A) being mild, severe and catastrophic.

Automated summary

The demand for railway services has increased, leading to higher speeds and axle loads. As a result, wheel and rail wear severity has increased. This study aimed to investigate the wear and rolling contact fatigue performance of class B wheels on R350HT and R260 rails under different slip ratios. The findings showed that wear severity was heavily influenced by the slip ratio. Additionally, the wear rate of class B wheels was found to be lower on R260 rail compared to R350HT rail. Three wear regimes, namely mild, severe, and catastrophic, were identified based on wear rate and wear index (T gamma/A).