Wear rate testing in relation to airborne particles generated in a wheel-rail contact

This study examines the relationship between generated airborne particles and wear rate in the wheel-rail contact. The wheel-rail contact is experimentally simulated by using pin-on-disc testing to determine the difference in wear rate between selected contact conditions. Wear is discussed both in tribological terms and by using the wear categories prevalent in the railway industry, namely, mild, severe and catastrophic wear. The discussion is based on wear depth, the coefficient of friction, topographical measurements and measurements of airborne particles generated in the contact. The tests were performed under selected loading conditions representative of different contact conditions in a real wheel-rail contact. The results indicate that wear rates vary with the contact conditions arising from different types of triggered wear transitions. This is emphasised by the number and size of the airborne particles generated. Copyright (C) 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.