Gears are one of the most important means of mechanical power transmission. Even though the efficiency is high for a gear pair today, further decrease in friction can contribute to lower the fuel consumption. A barrel-on-disc machine (same setup as ball-on-disc) to simulate a rolling/sliding gear contact was used to study the impact of manufacturing method, grinding and superfinishing, on friction. To evaluate the extent to which friction and wear can be diminished by reducing surface roughness and changing surface orientation. Measurement results showed that the change of lubricant had an impact on friction in the mixed to boundary lubrication regimes similar to that of the change of main surface orientation. The results were compared with those from a parallel study involving a twin-disc machine, also used to simulate rolling/sliding contacts (see Figure). Measurements and simulations showed that the barrel-on-disc and twin-disc setups reflected the same friction trends. However, the friction coefficient using the barrel-on-disc setup was almost twice as large as that found using the twin-disc machine. The wear mechanisms also differed: micropits occurred on discs used in the twin-disc set-up whereas normal or no wear was found on the barrel-on-disc specimens. The difference in contact geometry is believed to be the main reason for the higher friction level in the barrel-on-disc machine. A computer contact analysis was used to clarify the differences using perfectly smooth and computer-generated textured surfaces.

The coefficient of friction between railway wheels and rails is crucial to the railway adhesion, further greatly affecting railway operation and maintenance. Since the wheel-rail system is an open system, the coefficient of It is significantly influenced not only by various types of contaminants but also by environmental conditions. This paper conducted a set of pin-on-disc tests measuring the coefficient of friction focusing on the influence of environmental conditions (relative humidity and temperature). In addition, influences of iron oxides, leaves and glycol/water mixtures on the coefficient of friction were also studied. The friction results are shown in the form of friction maps. Results indicate that it oxides on the surfaces can prevent the samples from large friction reduction particularly at the low temperature. The friction mechanism is also discussed with the help of scanning electron microscopy photos. On the other hand, effects of leaves in reducing the coefficient of friction become limited with the presence of the glycol/water mixture.

Railways operate in an open environment where temperature, humidity, and the oxidation conditions are subjected to change. An experimental investigation used a pin-on-disc machine to examine the influence of environmental conditions and iron oxides on the wear performance of the wheel-rail contact. The wear mechanisms were analyzed using scanning electron microscopy and found to be highly dependent on the environmental conditions. On clean contacts, adhesive wear is predominant under low-moisture conditions, becoming more serious with decreasing temperature. With high moisture and at room temperature (i.e., 20. °C and 10. °C) oxide flakes would self-produce and protect the pins from severe wear, as oxidative wear is the main wear mechanism. Samples experienced a transformation of the wear mechanism from adhesive to oxidative with increasing humidity on clean contacts. Complex three-body wear in abrasion form has been determined to dominate oxidized contacts. Under dry conditions, pins underwent severe wear appearing as delamination at 20. °C and crushed wear debris at 3. °C. Raising the moisture level helps the pins to avoid severe wear.

Leaves on railway tracks affect the level of adhesion between the wheel and rail, especially in autumn. When crushed by wheels, leaves form a tarnished, low level of adhesion layer that sticks to the railhead and often requires mechanical removal. A Stockholm local traffic track with a long history of adhesion problems was subjected to field tests on railhead contamination. On five occasions under different conditions, spaced over a year, the friction coefficient was measured using a tribometer and samples of the rail were taken. The techniques of electron spectroscopy for chemical analysis and glow discharge optical emission spectrometry were conducted to determine the composition of the top layer of rail contaminants and hardness was measured using the nano-indentation technique. The tarnished layer contains much higher contents of calcium, carbon and nitrogen than do leaf residue layers and uncontaminated samples. These high element contents are generated from the leaf material, which chemically reacts with the bulk material. The hardness of the tarnished layer is one-fifth that of the non-tarnished layer of the same running band. A chemical reaction occurs from the surface to a depth of several microns. The thickness of the friction-reducing oxide layer can be used to predict the friction coefficient and extent of leaf contamination.

Railway vehicles require a certain level of wheel-rail adhesion for efficient, reliable, and economical operation. A comprehensive wheel-rail contact model is useful for optimizing the adhesion, to simulate vehicle running conditions and to predict wear and rolling contact fatigue. A new contact model using measured 3D surfaces has been developed, comprising normal contact, rolling-sliding contact, flash temperature, and local friction coefficient models. This model can predict the local contact pressure, including the plasticity, local flash temperature, local tangential stress, local friction coefficient, and global adhesion coefficient. The influence of surface topography, creep, and speed on the adhesion coefficient, real contact area, and contact temperature is discussed. Results indicate that, due to increased contact area, the adhesion coefficient decreases with increased surface roughness, although the change is small. Furthermore, increasing speed reduces the adhesion coefficient due to the increasing contact temperature.

Adhesion between wheels and rails plays an essential role in the safe, efficient, and reliable operation of a railway network. Particularly under lubricated conditions, which can be a natural lubricant as water and an applied lubricant as rail oil, trains can experience adhesion loss. This paper presents an adhesion model constructed using the measured 3D wheel-rail surfaces. The numerical model comprises of three parts: a normally loaded contact model; an interfacial fluid model; and a rolling-sliding contact model. Simulation examples use the numerical model to investigate how water or oil contamination might affect wheel-rail adhesion in contacts with different surface roughness levels. Simulation indicates that adhesion peaks are almost at the same creep on different surfaces. The fluid load capacity is inversely proportional to the adhesion coefficient, both of which are clearly dependent on vehicle speed. Oil reduces adhesion coefficient more than water does. The adhesion coefficient on the low roughness surfaces is higher than that on the generated smooth surfaces under oil-lubricated conditions while it is the opposite for water-lubricated contact.

The coefficient of friction between railway wheels and rails is crucial to railway operation and maintenance. Since the wheel-rail system is an open system, environmental conditions, such as humidity and temperature, affect the friction coefficient. Pin-on-disc testing was conducted to study the influence of environmental conditions and iron oxides on the coefficient of friction between the wheel and rail. The iron oxides were pre-created in a climate chamber. The surfaces of the tested samples were analysed using X-ray diffraction, scanning electron/focused ion beam microscopy, and Raman spectroscopy. Results indicate that the coefficient of friction decreases with increasing relative humidity (RH) up to a saturation level. Above this level, the coefficient of friction remains low and stable even when the RH increases. In particular, when the temperature is low, a small increase in the amount of water (i.e., absolute humidity) in the air can significantly reduce the coefficient of friction. At high humidity levels, a water molecule film can keep the generated haematite on the surfaces, counterbalancing the effect of rising humidity.

Knowledge of wheel–rail interaction is crucial to wheel and rail maintenance. In this interaction, some of theworn-off material is transformed into airborne particles. Although such wear is well understood, few studiestreat the particles generated. We investigated friction modifiers' effects on airborne particles characteristicsgenerated in wheel-rail contacts in laboratory conditions. Pin-on-disc machine testing with a round-head pinloaded by a dead weight load 40 N simulated maximum contact pressure over 550 MPa. Airborne particlecharacteristics were investigated in dry contacts and in ones lubricated with biodegradable rail grease andwater- and oil-based friction modifiers. The number of particles declined with the grease; the number ofultrafine particles increased with the water-based friction modifier, mainly due to water vaporization.

The aim of this work was to find a quick, flexible and localised method for determining railhead adhesion. The proposed method is a pendulum rig, which has a rubber pad at the base of a swinging arm. The arm is released and as the rubber pad slides across the contact surface, energy is lost. This loss can be translated into a friction coefficient. Tests have been performed under dry and contaminated conditions, including water, oil and leaf layers both in the laboratory on extracted rail and in the field on live rail. Friction modifiers were also tested. The results of these tests are compared with data obtained using a hand-pushed tribometer. The performed study shows that the pendulum is a viable way to test adhesion levels in the field.