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The effect of Subzero temperature and snow on the tribology of wheel-rail contact

Lyu, Y. LU orcid ; Bergseth, E. and Olofsson, U. (2016) Third International Conference on Railway Technology: Research, Development and Maintenance In Civil-Comp Proceedings 110.
Abstract

The wheel-rail system operates in an open environment where the weather condition varies constantly. In this laboratory study, an investigation using a pin-on-disc tribometer placed in a temperature-controlled room was conducted to examine the effect of subzero temperature and snow on friction and wear at the wheel-rail contact. In temperature range from 3 to-15 °C (without snow) friction and wear were dominated by low temperature brittleness, which led to an increase in friction and wear. When temperature decreased down to-25 °C, an ice layer condensed on the pin and disc surfaces, which then melted during sliding and acted as a lubricant, leading to the sharp decrease of friction and wear. When snow crystals were added into the... (More)

The wheel-rail system operates in an open environment where the weather condition varies constantly. In this laboratory study, an investigation using a pin-on-disc tribometer placed in a temperature-controlled room was conducted to examine the effect of subzero temperature and snow on friction and wear at the wheel-rail contact. In temperature range from 3 to-15 °C (without snow) friction and wear were dominated by low temperature brittleness, which led to an increase in friction and wear. When temperature decreased down to-25 °C, an ice layer condensed on the pin and disc surfaces, which then melted during sliding and acted as a lubricant, leading to the sharp decrease of friction and wear. When snow crystals were added into the contact they melted into water droplets during sliding because of pressure melting and reduced the friction and wear following the boundary lubrication mechanism. With increasing temperature from-25 to 3 °C, friction performed monotonously decreasing because of the increasing thickness of the water layer. A large area of oxide flakes generated on the worn surfaces also significantly protected the contacting wheels and rails from severe wear.

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Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
; and
publishing date
type
Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Brittleness, Friction, Oxides, Pearlite, Pin-on-disc, Precipitation, Saturation vapour pressure, Snow, Steel, Temperature, Wear, Wheel-rail contact
host publication
PROCEEDINGS OF THE THIRD INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON RAILWAY TECHNOLOGY: RESEARCH, DEVELOPMENT AND MAINTENANCE
series title
Civil-Comp Proceedings
volume
110
publisher
Civil-Comp Press
conference name
Third International Conference on Railway Technology: Research, Development and Maintenance
conference location
Cagliari, Italy
conference dates
2016-04-05 - 2016-04-08
external identifiers
  • scopus:84964381125
ISSN
1759-3433
ISBN
978-1-905088-65-2
DOI
10.4203/ccp.110.153
language
English
LU publication?
no
additional info
Publisher Copyright: © Civil-Comp Press, 2016.
id
6d25a38b-0345-45d6-9bad-c955dc7db3a9
date added to LUP
2021-10-18 21:46:58
date last changed
2022-04-19 17:17:12
@inproceedings{6d25a38b-0345-45d6-9bad-c955dc7db3a9,
  abstract     = {{<p>The wheel-rail system operates in an open environment where the weather condition varies constantly. In this laboratory study, an investigation using a pin-on-disc tribometer placed in a temperature-controlled room was conducted to examine the effect of subzero temperature and snow on friction and wear at the wheel-rail contact. In temperature range from 3 to-15 °C (without snow) friction and wear were dominated by low temperature brittleness, which led to an increase in friction and wear. When temperature decreased down to-25 °C, an ice layer condensed on the pin and disc surfaces, which then melted during sliding and acted as a lubricant, leading to the sharp decrease of friction and wear. When snow crystals were added into the contact they melted into water droplets during sliding because of pressure melting and reduced the friction and wear following the boundary lubrication mechanism. With increasing temperature from-25 to 3 °C, friction performed monotonously decreasing because of the increasing thickness of the water layer. A large area of oxide flakes generated on the worn surfaces also significantly protected the contacting wheels and rails from severe wear.</p>}},
  author       = {{Lyu, Y. and Bergseth, E. and Olofsson, U.}},
  booktitle    = {{PROCEEDINGS OF THE THIRD INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON RAILWAY TECHNOLOGY: RESEARCH, DEVELOPMENT AND MAINTENANCE}},
  isbn         = {{978-1-905088-65-2}},
  issn         = {{1759-3433}},
  keywords     = {{Brittleness; Friction; Oxides; Pearlite; Pin-on-disc; Precipitation; Saturation vapour pressure; Snow; Steel; Temperature; Wear; Wheel-rail contact}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  publisher    = {{Civil-Comp Press}},
  series       = {{Civil-Comp Proceedings}},
  title        = {{The effect of Subzero temperature and snow on the tribology of wheel-rail contact}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.4203/ccp.110.153}},
  doi          = {{10.4203/ccp.110.153}},
  volume       = {{110}},
  year         = {{2016}},
}