Experimental simulation and prediction of wear of wheel flange and rail gauge corner

The experimental research on the wears of wheel and rail has been carried out using a large rolling-sliding contact test machine with the actual profiles of wheel and rail. Primarily, the effects of axle load, the angle of attack, rail hardness and lubrication on wear behaviors of wheel flange and rail gauge corner have been particularly focused in research. Based on those experimental results, the Archard wear coefficients of Japanese track were calculated under various conditions. A wear prediction model of rail profile taking into consideration contact stress, slip ratio at contact patch and material hardness was established based on the experimental results and the wheel–rail contact analyses. The prediction results were compared with the measured values of the actual rail and the effectiveness of wear prediction methodology was verified for the actual railway system.