Wheel–rail adhesion: laboratory study of “natural” third body role on locomotives wheels and rails

This article describes how the wheel–rail adhesion phenomena take place. The work is based on data obtained with an experimental device to simulate the sliding velocity, the adhesion coefficient, the maximum hertzian pressure encountered on site, using real rail specimens and its natural third body. The paper shows that the mechanism of adhesion creation can be explained on the basis of the third body rheology changes as a function of the rolling velocity, hertzian pressure, and mechanical characteristics of the third body. These results complete the physical view of adhesion observed on site by the authors by the activation of three news rheological behaviours of the third body in the contact.0.0