Wear and damage behaviours of wheel and rail materials: Effects of friction modifier and environmental temperature

• Published in: Wear Vol. 523; p. 204796
• Main Authors: Li, J.X., Wu, B.N., Ding, H.H., Galas, R., Omasta, M., Wen, Z.F., Guo, J., Wang, W.J.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier B.V 15-06-2023
• Subjects: Friction modifier; Low temperature; Rolling contact fatigue; Wear; Wheel and rail; Wheel and rail; Friction modifier; Rolling contact fatigue; Wear; Low temperature
• ISSN: 0043-1648; 1873-2577
• DOI: 10.1016/j.wear.2023.204796

Low temperature conditions can aggravate the wear and fatigue damage of the wheel and the rail materials. Friction modifier (FM) is used to control the adhesion and alleviate the wear and damage. However, the wear and damage behaviours of wheel and rail with the application of FM under low temperature have not been revealed. Therefore, the present study aims to investigate the effect of FM on the wear and the rolling contact fatigue (RCF) damage of the wheel and the rail under low temperature conditions. Tests were conducted on a rolling-sliding wear testing apparatus with the samples enclosed in a temperature-controlled chamber. The results indicated that the effect of FM on the wear and the RCF damage of the wheel and the rail was influenced by the temperature significantly. Compared with the dry condition, the wear rate of the wheel decreased obviously at all temperature conditions when using FM. Meanwhile, the RCF damage of the wheel was relatively slight. Besides, there was no significant difference among the RCF damage of the wheel at different temperatures both under the dry and the FM conditions. At room temperature, the application of FM could alleviate the RCF damage of the rail. Under the low temperature condition, the performance of FM would fail, which would result in a severe oil wedge effect on the rail specimen. Therefore, the application of FM could induce a higher wear rate and severe RCF damages on rail material at the low temperature condition. The results of the present study could provide guidance for the development and design of FMs used in cold regions.
•The effects of the friction modifiers on wheel-rail wear and damage under low temperature were studied.•Low temperature conditions significantly reduced the adhesion control performance of friction modifiers.•The use of friction modifiers under low temperature conditions can significantly aggravate wheel-rail RCF damage.•The reason for severe RCF damage of wheel-rail with friction modifier under low-temperature is explored.