Use of real time creep force estimation data for assessment of low adhesion in the wheel/rail contact

Low adhesion in railway vehicle wheel/rail contact can create large cost and punctuality issues for train operators and users. There is currently a lack of real time knowledge of the running conditions on networks, therefore the work reported here proposes a method of detecting dynamically the adhesion conditions underneath a rail vehicle using modest cost sensors and advanced model based monitoring of the creep forces. The estimated creep forces are then post processed to give an estimation of the current adhesion condition.