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Machines
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Wheel–Rail Contact: Mechanics, Wear and Analysis
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Wheel–Rail Contact: Mechanics, Wear and Analysis

A special issue of Machines (ISSN 2075-1702). This special issue belongs to the section "Friction and Tribology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 May 2025 | Viewed by 2187

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Andrea Bracciali

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Industrial Engineering, University of Florence, Via di Santa Marta 3, 50145 Florence, Italy
Interests: railway engineering; machine design and testing
Dr. Gianluca Megna

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Industrial Engineering, University of Florence, Via di Santa Marta 3, 50145 Florence, Italy
Interests: wheel–rail interactions; railway track smoothness; finite element analysis mechanical behavior of materials; railway vehicle design

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Wheel–rail contact still represents a challenging topic for research as it involves nearly all aspects of railway operations, including the safety, maintenance and management of railways.

We are pleased to invite you to submit the results of your research to this Special Issue on “Wheel–Rail Contact: Mechanics, Wear and Analysis”, with the aim of collecting state-of-the-art contributions in this field.

Original research articles and reviews are welcome. Research areas may include (but are not limited to) the following:

  • Wheel–rail friction research and management (adhesion, lubrication, friction modifiers, sanding);
  • Transverse wear (wheel flange, rail gauge face) research and management;
  • Longitudinal wear (wheel flats, wheelburns, rail corrugation, wheel out-of-roundness);
  • Rolling contact fatigue classification, characterization and research (both wheel and rail damages);
  • Steel metallurgy and heat treatments, welding technologies;
  • Maintenance of the wheel–rail pair (wheel reprofiling, rail grindind/milling/planning);
  • Wheel–rail parameters’ measurements (profiles, hardness, geometry);
  • Basic research on the mechanical behavior of materials (lab results);
  • Feedback from service (real life results);
  • Wheel–rail management related to noise and vibrations (rolling, squeal and groundborne N&V);
  • Rolling stock and track/rail geometry interactions (profile design, track geometry quality, running dynamics and rolling stock friendliness);
  • Traction chain impact on wheel–rail behavior (traction control, running gear influence).

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Prof. Dr. Andrea Bracciali
Dr. Gianluca Megna
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Machines is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • wheel–rail contact mechanics
  • wheel–rail wear
  • friction management
  • rolling contact fatigue
  • wheel–rail maintenance
  • wheel–rail noise

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

20 pages, 7512 KiB  
Article
Fatigue Crack Growth Simulation of R260 Grade Pearlitic Rail Steel Using the Discrete Element Method
by Hamed Davoodi Jooneghani, Klaus Six, Saham Sadat Sharifi, Maria Cecilia Poletti and Gerald Trummer
Machines 2025, 13(4), 305; https://doi.org/10.3390/machines13040305 - 9 Apr 2025
Viewed by 243
Abstract
Fatigue-induced crack initiation and propagation are a major concern in pearlitic railway rails and wheels. Rails and wheels undergo significant plastic deformation on their near-surface layers during service, leading to the initiation and propagation of cracks within the deformed region. Existing models typically [...] Read more.
Fatigue-induced crack initiation and propagation are a major concern in pearlitic railway rails and wheels. Rails and wheels undergo significant plastic deformation on their near-surface layers during service, leading to the initiation and propagation of cracks within the deformed region. Existing models typically use finite element models (FEMs) to describe these kinds of fatigue phenomena. However, they fail to establish a strong connection between the microstructure of the undeformed and the deformed materials and their corresponding fatigue properties. Therefore, a model based on the soft-contact discrete element method (DEM) was developed that considers microstructural details such as prior austenite grains (PAGs), pearlite blocks, pearlite colonies, and lamellar orientation of the ferrite–cementite structure of the pearlite. The Voronoi Tessellation method was used to generate a hierarchical mesh to represent these microstructural details, considering the distribution of microstructural details. Crack propagation is simulated by applying damage laws on the microstructural interface level that degrade the stiffness of the fibers connecting the mesh elements. The model’s crack growth predictions are compared with experimental results from the literature to validate its accuracy for different deformation degrees. The developed model can be used in the designing and material selection phase in the railway industry to help select the material with optimum microstructural features. Also, it can be used for the selection of the optimum heat treatment process considering materials resistance to the fatigue crack growth. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Wheel–Rail Contact: Mechanics, Wear and Analysis)
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18 pages, 4098 KiB  
Article
The Effect of Top-of-Rail Products Incorporating Environmentally Acceptable Solid Particles on Friction, Retentivity, Wear and Airborne Particle Emissions of Wheel–Rail Contact
by Rahma Boukhris, Ellen Bergseth, Ulf Olofsson, Johan Leckner and Roland Ardai
Machines 2025, 13(3), 200; https://doi.org/10.3390/machines13030200 - 28 Feb 2025
Viewed by 444
Abstract
Excessive friction at the wheel–rail contact can limit the lifespan of the wheels and rails. Meanwhile, insufficient friction can lead to increased braking distance, risking safety. Top-of-Rail (TOR) products are recognised for their potential to achieve intermediate friction levels at the wheel–rail contact [...] Read more.
Excessive friction at the wheel–rail contact can limit the lifespan of the wheels and rails. Meanwhile, insufficient friction can lead to increased braking distance, risking safety. Top-of-Rail (TOR) products are recognised for their potential to achieve intermediate friction levels at the wheel–rail contact and mitigate wear damages. However, the impact of these products on the airborne wear particles emitted from wheel–rail contact is not thoroughly evaluated. High particle concentration levels, particularly on underground train platforms, raise respiratory and cardiovascular health concerns. This research employs a pin-on-disc to study the effect of laboratory (environmentally acceptable) and commercial TOR products on friction, retentivity, wear, and airborne particle emissions at the wheel–rail interface. The results indicated that TOR products with higher retentivity offered a wider interval of desired intermediate friction levels. The TOR products significantly reduced particle emissions compared to the dry condition. TOR products can, therefore, be promising in controlling friction and mitigating wear and particle emissions at the wheel–rail interface. However, to achieve the benefits of these products, it is essential to tailor their chemical composition carefully. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Wheel–Rail Contact: Mechanics, Wear and Analysis)
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16 pages, 5706 KiB  
Article
Wear and Plasticity in Railway Turnout Crossings: A Fast Semi-Physical Model to Replace FE Simulations
by Hamed Davoodi Jooneghani, Kamil Sazgetdinov, Alexander Meierhofer, Stephan Scheriau, Uwe Ossberger, Gabor Müller and Klaus Six
Machines 2025, 13(2), 105; https://doi.org/10.3390/machines13020105 - 28 Jan 2025
Viewed by 748
Abstract
Severe changes in the profiles of the crossing nose are caused by large dynamic contact forces. To predict these forces as well as the profile evolution, the Whole System Model (WSM) was developed. However, it uses computationally expensive FE simulations. As a replacement, [...] Read more.
Severe changes in the profiles of the crossing nose are caused by large dynamic contact forces. To predict these forces as well as the profile evolution, the Whole System Model (WSM) was developed. However, it uses computationally expensive FE simulations. As a replacement, the semi-physical plasticity and wear model (SPPW) has been developed, thus majorly enhancing the overall performance of the WSM. The SPPW considers the influence of wear, plasticity, and wheel-profile-related effects. Its results have shown an overall good correlation with FE results, laboratory data for different materials, and field data from a real crossing. Due to the semi-physical nature of the model, the required computational time for the predictions was significantly reduced compared to FE simulations: minutes instead of weeks. The SPPW will be useful for time-efficient rail damage prediction, like wear and plastic deformation, and, as part of the WSM, contribute to a fast holistic track damage prognosis. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Wheel–Rail Contact: Mechanics, Wear and Analysis)
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