The Experimental Determination of the Grease Amount to Effective Wear Reduction in the Wheel-Rail Contact

The wear mechanisms within the wheel flange and rail gauge contact affect safety and operating costs of railway transport. This contact occurs when a rail vehicle reaches a curved track. A low coefficient of friction (COF) is required. This COF and wear rate are influenced by operating conditions (load, velocity and temperature), lubrication and geometry (i.e. the track curvature radius). The damage to the contact surfaces can be decreased by using on-board lubrication systems. Grease is applied to the first wheelset of a driving car by a nozzle. The rate of wear reduction depends on the grease amount and its application intervals introduced by the on-board lubrication system into the contact. In this paper, the full-scale laboratory apparatus has been used to study friction, wear and lubricant film distribution under pure sliding conditions in the wheel flange contact. The grease amount and its appropriate application intervals were found.