Wear and Fatigue Behaviour of Wheel and Rail under Operational Conditions and Consideration of Future Developments in Material Use

Abstract

This paper shows that ÖBB Infrastruktur AG operates a very diverse network of lines, ranging from straight sections to very tight curves across the Alps, which are subjected to very high loads. Rolling contact fatigue or wear can occur under different operating conditions. Due to the increasing shift of a wide variety of transports to rail, the requirements are increasing. For this reason, the effects of the material selection of wheel and rail have been analyzed several times, e.g. [1,2,3]. ÖBB Infrastruktur AG and the R&D service provider AC2T research GmbH have investigated the optimal rail quality depending on curve radii, load and wheel materials used. This should enable the infrastructure manager to develop a rail laying strategy during track maintenance that takes into account the change frequency of different wheel qualities.