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Temperature-dependent wear of tread-braked railway wheels

Kazuyuki Handa, Katsuyoshi Ikeuchi, Fumiko Morimoto

PII: S0043-1648(19)31512-1
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wear.2020.203265
Reference: WEA 203265

To appear in: Wear

Received Date: 18 October 2019

Revised Date: 13 February 2020
Accepted Date: 11 March 2020

Please cite this article as: K. Handa, K. Ikeuchi, F. Morimoto, Temperature-dependent wear of tread-
braked railway wheels, Wear (2020), doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wear.2020.203265.

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 AUTHORSHIP STATEMENT

Manuscript title: Temperature-dependent wear of tread-braked railway wheels

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Kazuyuki Handa: Conceptualization, Methodology, Writing - Original Draft

Katsuyoshi Ikeuchi: Investigation
Fumiko Morimoto: Formal analysis
Temperature-dependent wear of tread-braked railway wheels

Kazuyuki Handa, Katsuyoshi Ikeuchi, Fumiko Morimoto

Railway Technical Research Institute, 2-8-38 Hikari Kokubunji, Tokyo185-8540, Japan

Abstract
The paper describes the results of brake dynamometer experiments conducted to
evaluate the influence of the tread temperature caused by tread braking on the wear rate of
railway wheel tread. Employing a full-scale tread brake dynamometer composed of a brake
block, a wheel, and a railwheel, wheel-rail rolling contact was imposed on the wheel tread
surface heated under several braking scenarios. In dynamometer tests simulating the braking
patterns of an actual vehicle exposed to unexpected hollow tread wear, no tread wear was
observed after repetitive station stop braking, whereas tread wear was observed only for the
rolling contact region after repetitive holding braking for load cases in which the internal tread
temperature reached 300 °C. The wear rate of the rolling contact region was determined for
various temperatures by performing experiments in which rolling contact was imposed at a
constant tread temperature. The wear rate of the wheel tread increased rapidly with
temperature at the tread surface for internal temperatures of 200 °C to 300 °C. The wear
volume obtained in the experiment was converted and generalized to determine the
temperature dependence of the wear rate of the wheel tread as a function of the travel
distance. The surface temperature of the tread and the internal temperature distribution were
computed by FEM. The maximum temperature on the tread surface was estimated to range
from 240 °C to 380 °C. The hollow wear of tread-braked railway wheels is primarily attributed
to plastic deformation of the tread surface caused by hot rolling, i.e., rolling under a softened
state with an increased temperature of the wheel steel on the tread surface. Verification of
thermally activated process using Arrhenius equation confirms this conclusion.

Keywords:
Railway wheel, Tread brake, Plastic deformation, Thermally activated process
1. Introduction

In rail vehicles, tread brakes, i.e., brake blocks that are applied to the wheel tread to
decelerate the train, are often used. With the increase in absorbed energy due to the higher
speeds of trains, disc brakes have become more common. However, tread brakes have been
re-evaluated in recent years from the viewpoints of noise and vibration reduction due to the
weight reduction of unsprung mass, improved wheel/rail adhesion achieved by the cleaning
effect of the tread, and a reduction in life-cycle costs.
Wheel treads are subjected to damage or wear due to rolling contact with the rails [1,
2], and thus, proper control measures are necessary to maintain safety and comfort in train
operation. For tread-braked wheels, the wheel tread is exposed to the thermal load of the
friction brake in addition to the effects of rolling contact with the rail. For this reason, wear and
fatigue of the tread-braked wheel occur in a state where mechanical and thermal influences
are coupled [3, 4]. One of the notable results of the coupling effect is thermal cracking.
Previous experiments by our group showed that rolling contact involving tangential force and
tensile residual stress caused by tread braking are major factors of the cracks generation [5,
6]
By focusing on the microstructure in the vicinity of the wheel tread, the influence of
the rolling contact and the related effect of the temperature increase can be examined. The
surface layer, less than approximately 100 μm from the tread surface, presents
microstructure evolution from the initial ferrite-pearlite to ultrafine ferrite and spheroidized
cementite [7]. The ferrite grain refinement without phase transformation is unique to
high-strain-rate deformation in a warm temperature range (severe warm deformation) [8].
This microstructure evolution suggests that the temperature increase due to tread braking
and rolling contact induces plastic deformation in the vicinity of the tread surface.
In addition to the deterioration of the tread surface mentioned above, hollow wear of
the wheel tread, a phenomenon in which the central portion of the tread is worn in a hollow
shape as shown in Fig. 1, is a significant issue from industrial and scientific viewpoints [9, 10].
With regard to the passenger multiple units having the axle load of less than 12 tons, hollow
tread wear is usually observed only in tread-braked wheels and not in disc-braked wheels [11].
Accordingly the engineers in charge of wheel maintenance are likely to regard it as a result of
the friction between the brake block and the wheel tread. The previous microstructural
investigations have demonstrated the occurrence of plastic deformation due to the coupling
of thermal and mechanical effects in the vicinity of tread surface. Nonetheless, little has been
reported on the influence of the temperature-induced plastic deformation on the hollow tread
wear of railway wheels.
The principle aim of this study was to clarify the influence of tread temperature on
the evolution of tread wear of railway wheels, responding to the previously reported results of
the analysis on the surface and the microstructure of the wheel tread. The difference of the
wear evolution of the tread surface between with and without rolling contact equally heated
by tread braking was investigated in order to confirm that the tread wear is caused by plastic
deformation. Furthermore, generalized criteria of tread wear rate as a function of tread
temperature was derived from experimental observation. The tread surface temperature in
the experiments, which directly affect the decrease of steel strength and the consequent
plastic deformation, was numerically computed.

Fig. 1 Examples of hollow wear of tread braked wheels observed in operation.

2. Methodology

2.1 Framework
Because size effects are inevitable in experiments on wear and friction, a full-scale
experiment is a reasonable methodology for quantitatively evaluating the wear of actual
equipment. In the present study, to obtain information that is pertinent to practical applications,
we applied a full-scale approach. The experiment was conducted in two stages. First, to
confirm whether the actual phenomena could be reproduced, reproduction tests with
simplified load conditions were performed, and the dominating factors were estimated. Then,
we conducted a verification experiment to extend the influence of the dominating factors to
general criteria.
A full-size tread brake dynamometer owned by the Railway Technical Research
Institute, as shown in Fig. 2, was used in the experiments. In this apparatus, the wheel axle
does not have its own driving device but rather rotates by rolling contact with the rail wheel.
Hertz contact stress corresponding to a vertical load is generated in the area of contact
between the wheel and the rail wheel. For details regarding the test equipment and the tread
profile of the wheel and the rail wheels, we refer the reader to reference [5].
Temperature is an important factor to consider in evaluating the condition of a
tread-braked wheel [4]. The surface temperature of a solid can generally be measured by
infrared sensors. However, for the tread surface of a wheel, the surface conditions
continuously change due to the friction of the brake blocks and rolling contact with the rails;
thus, it is not possible to determine the correct emissivity during the test, resulting in
fundamental difficulties in measuring the temperature. In the present study, thermocouples
were embedded 10 mm below the surface of the wheel tread and 40 mm from the rim surface
to determine the tread temperature. In addition, a series of numerical simulations was
performed to estimate the internal temperature distribution and the surface temperature,
which cannot be obtained by thermocouples.
Fig. 2 Formation of the full-scale block/wheel/railwheel dynamometer.

2.2 Experimental procedures

For the experiments, we used the dynamometer shown in Fig. 2 equipped with an
actual wheel, an actual brake block, and a railwheel which simulates rolling contact with the
rails. In the testing setup shown in Fig. 2, a flywheel used for stop braking was installed on
the railwheel axle. Table 1 presents the specifications of the experimental apparatus and the
conditions. The brake blocks used are sintered alloy composite blocks with characteristics
similar to those of UIC K blocks [12]. The chemical composition of the wheel steel, yield
stress of the wheel steel, and the metallic composition of the brake block are presented in
Table 1. The initial profiles of the wheel tread and the rail wheel head have been described in
[5]. The tests were performed sequentially without reprofiling.
Dynamometer tests under practical usage conditions were conducted for two
braking pattern conditions: stop braking and holding braking. The test conditions are shown in
Table 2. The stop braking case represents the train operation in level ground, whereas the
holding braking case simulates the trains running on a long downslope track in mountainous
areas. They stop at intervals of approximately three kilometers in both cases. Based on the
results of the tests under practical usage conditions, the sole effect of temperature on hollow
wear evolution was verified by constant-temperature experiments in which the temperature
was held constant by automatic on/off control of the brake block action, based on the
thermocouple temperature of the wheel, to maintain the tread temperature within a target
range. The reference temperature was provided by a thermocouple embedded 10 mm below
the tread surface, as shown in Fig. 3 (a). The conditions of verification experiments at
constant-temperature conditions are given in Table 3.
 In the constant-temperature experiments, the vertical load (wheel load) of the
wheel/rail wheel was set to 60 kN. In some cases, a 30-kN test was also conducted to
examine the influence of the wheel load. Furthermore, surface hardness of the tread, inside
and outside the rolling contact region of the railwheel, was measured after the experiments
for each condition by using a rebound-type hardness tester at 20 points respectively. Both
measurement points were within the contact region of the brake block.
The tread profiles were measured by a contact-type wheel profile measuring
equipment (MiniProf manufactured by Greenwood Engineering A/S). The cross-sectional
wear areas of the tread were calculated from the difference between the initial and post-test
profiles of four cross sections at 90° intervals on the wheel circumference. Furthermore, the
wear volume of the wheel tread was determined by the following equation:

1 ฀
∆V ∑
฀ ฀ 1
∆฀฀ ฀฀

ΔV: wear volume, ΔS: cross-sectional wear area, Lc: circumference length

Table 1 Configuration of the experimental apparatus in the present study.

Table 2 Conditions of the Dynamometer tests under practical usage conditions.

Fig. 3 Dimensions of the wheel tread and the brake block; (a) Thermocouple position in the
wheel tread, (b) Side view of the brake block, and (c) Cross sectional microstructure of the
brake block.
Table 3 Conditions of the verification experiments at constant-temperature conditions.

2.3 Numerical analysis

Numerical analysis was conducted to investigate the temperature distribution inside
the wheel under constant-temperature conditions. The time history of the tread surface
temperature is particularly important because plastic deformation of the wheel tread is
considered to occur predominantly near the surface [13]. As described above, FEM was used
to assess the surface temperature because the infrared emissivity of the tread surface cannot
be accurately determined during testing.
Corresponding to a non-uniform contact pressure distribution in the lateral direction at
the braking frictional interface between brake block and wheel tread, the contact state
changes momentarily due to thermoelastic instability (TEI) effects [14]. For this reason, the
contact width actually functions at the frictional interface is smaller than the nominal width.
This localized contact (i.e., banded contact) can be visualized by infrared image processing
[15]. In the present study, a contact area based on half of the apparent contact width
functions was assumed for the effective contact. The numerical model is shown in Fig. 4, in
which the heat input area width was set to 35 mm. This assumed heat input area is located
immediately above the thermocouple position. The time history of the heat flux was set to the
power consumption calculated from the time history of the brake torque during the
experiment.
The analysis conditions are shown in Table 4. The thermocouple temperatures
measured in the experiment were compared with the obtained FEM temperatures for the
thermocouple position (10 mm below the tread surface, 40 mm from the rim face) and the
tread surface immediately above it (40 mm from the rim face).

Fig. 4 Numerical model employed in the finite element analysis (a) with nominal contact width
and (b) with consideration of localized contact of brake block.

Table 4 Conditions of the finite element temperature analysis.

3. Results

3.1 Experimental results

3.1.1 Dynamometer tests under practical usage conditions

In repetitive stop braking, almost no change in tread height was observed, even for
the contact region of the rail wheel, as shown in Fig. 5. In contrast, for repeated holding
braking, a change in the tread surface profile was observed in the contact region of the rail
wheel as the number of braking applications increased, as shown in Fig. 6. For the region in
which only the brake block was in contact, a slight profile change was observed. Meanwhile,
for the region in which both the rail wheel and brake block were in contact, the wear showed a
substantial linear increase with respect to the number of brake applications.
The wheel temperature change was examined to verify the difference in the wear
evolution for the repetitive stop brake test and the repetitive holding brake test. Fig. 7 shows
the wheel temperature measured by the thermocouple embedded 10 mm below the tread
surface. In conventional dynamometer stop brake tests, the initial braking temperature (base
temperature, usually 60 °C) is provided, and the wheel tread is cooled to that temperature
before the next braking action is applied; in contrast, in this experiment, subsequent stop
braking was applied after a certain duration from the previous stop braking. Thus, a
temperature rise caused by the tread braking occurred before the wheel was completely
cooled. The wheel temperature reached approximately 300 °C in the case of repetitive
holding braking, whereas the wheel temperature was approximately 200 °C in the case of
repetitive stop braking.
Fig. 5 Change of difference in tread profile from the initial state in the repetitive stop braking
tests.

Fig. 6 Change of difference in tread profile from the initial state in the repetitive holding
braking tests.
Fig. 7 Change over time of wheel temperature during repetitive stop braking and repetitive
holding braking.

3.1.2 Verification experiments under constant-temperature conditions

The tread surface temperature may affect the wear of the tread surface exposed to rolling
contact with the rail wheel; thus, to investigate the effect of temperature alone, experiments
were conducted in which only the tread temperature was varied. The wear profiles
determined for four locations on the wheel perimeter after experiments for 200, 250, and
300 °C are shown in Fig. 8. Wear was observed in the rolling contact region of each cross
section, and the amount of wear increased with increasing temperature.
The wear volume after each test is shown in Fig. 9. The hardness values of the tread
surface of the rolling contact region and the brake block frictional region outside the rolling
contact region, as determined after each experimental step, are shown in Fig. 10.
Fig. 8 Change of difference in tread profile from the initial state for four locations on the wheel
perimeter in the constant-temperature experiment. The depth direction indicates the
accumulated test duration at constant temperatures of 200, 250, and 300 °C with contact load
of 60 kN and of 200 °C with 30 kN, for 60 minutes each. The total duration is 240 minutes.
Fig. 9 Tread wear volume of the rolling contact region after each experiment.

Fig. 10 Variation of surface hardness of tread during the experiment.

3.2 Numerical calculation results
The thermocouple temperature measured during the experiment, and the
temperatures simulated at the thermocouple location and the overlying tread surface are
shown in Fig. 11 for each target temperature. The saw-toothed shape of the temperature
waveform is a result of the on/off control of the tread braking, which was applied to maintain
the thermocouple temperature within a certain range.
For each target temperature, the thermocouple temperature and the calculated
temperature are in fairly good agreement. The maximum surface temperature in the plateau
region was higher than the thermocouple temperature by approximately 40 K for a constant
temperature of 200 °C, 60 K for a constant temperature of 250 °C, and 80 K for a constant
temperature of 300 °C. It should be noted that this analysis does not consider the
non-uniformity of the circumferential temperature distribution caused by the TEI.
Fig. 11 Change over time of the thermocouple temperature in the experiment along with the
temperatures simulated at the thermocouple location and the overlying tread surface for the
(a) 200, (b) 250, and (c) 300 °C constant-temperature experiments.
4. Discussion

4.1 Mechanism of tread wear

In all of the experiments, tread wear primarily occurred in the rail wheel contact area,
while little wear occurred for the region in which only the brake block makes contact. In
addition, as the tread surface temperature increased, the wear in the contact region of the
railwheel tended to increase. The brake block is composed of a sintered alloy, and in general,
the wheel wear caused by two-body friction between the wheel and block exceeds that of the
organic composite brake block. Thus, it is reasonable to conclude that the tread wear in a real
vehicle is not predominantly caused by friction of the brake block but is rather caused by
rolling with the rails with an accompanying temperature increase (i.e., strength decrease) in
tread braking, excluding the tread wear due to the formation of steel fragments in the
wheel-block interface, known as metal pickup or metal buildup [16].
In other experiments under similar conditions, ultra-fine ferrite grains and
spheroidized cementite unique to severe deformation in a warm temperature range have
been observed near the wheel tread surface in the rolling region of the wheel tread [7],
indicating that plastic deformation occurred at a high strain rate on the surface. Furthermore,
It has been reported that the dislocations introduced by deformation form low-angle grain
boundaries by continuous recrystallization in some cases; under these conditions, the
hardness does not change due to the grain refinement strengthening, which offsets the
softening effect of spheroidized cementite [17].
In the present study, the hardness decreased compared to the initial value in the
region that received only frictional heat. This can be simply due to the reduction of dislocation
density, i.e., recovery. In contrast, the hardness showed little change in the rail wheel contact
region in the 60-kN experiment. Considering that stop brake and holding brake tests were
conducted at the same vertical load before testing at 200 °C, the surface hardness that
remains nearly unchanged is attributed to the offset grain-refinement-strengthening
described above. Meanwhile, the hardness decreased in the test at 30 kN, where the
influence of deformation is considered to be relatively small. The thermal softening effect can
exceed the strengthening effect in this instance.
Taking into account the above points, it is proposed that plastic deformation caused
by rolling contact of a wheel tread surface whose temperature has been increased by the
tread brake is a primary factor of the hollow tread wear. The fact that convex shapes are
observed on both sides of the rolling region confirms the occurrence of plastic deformation.
By evaluating the microstructure and the change in surface hardness, it may be possible to
determine the occurrence of load conditions that induce hollow tread wear due to plastic
deformation.

4.2 Temperature dependence of tread wear rate

Based on the temperature at 10 mm below the tread, the temperature dependence
of the tread wear rate is shown in Fig. 12, which is obtained by dividing the wear volume per
travel distance determined from the duration, number of revolutions, and apparent brake
block contact width. For the current wheel material, tread hardness, Hertz pressure, and
temperature measurement position, the tread wear dimensions as a function of distance can
be calculated as the distance integral of the function shown in Fig. 12.
This temperature dependence of tread wear rate can be expressed using
exponential function and shows a good fit with the Arrhenius equation where activation
energy Q is 3.8 × 104 J/(K·mol) as shown in Fig. 13. This evince that the tread wear
discussed in the present work has an aspect of thermally activated process which is typical of
plastic deformation of metals [18].

Fig. 12 Temperature dependence of tread wear rate under rolling contact conditions in the
present work.
Fig. 13 Arrhenius plot of tread wear rate under rolling contact conditions in the present work.

5. Conclusion

Focusing on the hollow wear of a tread surface observed in tread-braked wheels,

reproducible generation of hollow wheel tread wear was achieved by using a full-size railway
dynamometer. The influence of the wheel tread temperature change due to tread braking on
the hollow wear evolution was investigated. The wheel surface temperature, which is difficult
to measure, was estimated by heat conduction simulations for the experimental conditions.
The findings obtained by this study are as follows.

(1) For an actual vehicle subjected to hollow tread wear, wear did not occur under load
conditions simulating stop braking, while under conditions simulating downslope hold braking
of an actual vehicle, wear occurred only in the rolling contact region. The primary difference
between the two cases was the maximum temperature reached during the test, with the latter
reaching 300 °C at 10 mm below the tread.

(2) On the wheel surface, the action of the tread brake was on/off-controlled to maintain the
tread temperature within a certain range; thus, the temperature of the wheel tread was held
constant. For this case, with temperatures of 200, 250, and 300 °C at 10 mm below the tread
surface, wear occurred in the rolling contact region. The extent of wear increased with
increasing temperature. Under these conditions, the tread surface temperature was
estimated at approximately 240, 310, and 380 °C by finite element analysis.

(3) For a tread surface rolled at a constant temperature, the hardness of the rolling contact
region in which wear occurred was larger than that of the non-rolling contact region. The
hardness after the experiment with a lower vertical wheel/rail contact load was unchanged in
the non-rolling contact area but was lower in the rolling contact area. Considering this finding
and the surface temperature of the tread surface, it is proposed that the primary cause of the
wear observed in the rolling contact region is plastic deformation due to rolling of the tread
surface, whose strength decreases with increasing temperature. Hollow shapes were
observed at both ends in the lateral direction of the rolling contact region in the
cross-sectional assessment after the test, indicating the occurrence of plastic deformation.

(4) The temperature dependence of the tread wear rate due to plastic deformation at the time
of the temperature rise was derived for the present test conditions. The tread wear rate
increased sharply with increasing temperature, with a value of approximately 2 mm/104 km at
a tread temperature of 300 °C. The tread wear rate for an actual vehicle was derived by
performing a distance integration of this function. It is believed that tread temperatures that
cause rapid wear of the tread do not occur with normal stop brakes, but occur only under drag
brake conditions, including those induced by downslope holding brakes.

(5) The temperature dependence of tread wear rate is in good agreement with the Arrhenius
equation. Wheel tread wear discussed in the present work has an aspect of thermally
activated process which is typical of plastic deformation of metals.
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Fig. 1 Examples of hollow wear of tread braked wheels observed in operation.
Fig. 2 Formation of the full-scale block/wheel/railwheel dynamometer.
Fig. 3 Dimensions of the wheel tread and the brake block; (a) Thermocouple position in the
wheel tread, (b) Side view of the brake block, and (c) Cross sectional microstructure of the
brake block.
Fig. 4 Models employed in the numerical analysis (a) with nominal contact width and (b) with
consideration of localized contact of brake block.
Fig. 5 Change of difference in tread profile from the initial state in the repetitive stop braking
tests.
Fig. 6 Change of difference in tread profile from the initial state in the repetitive holding
braking tests.
Fig. 7 Change over time of wheel temperature during repetitive stop braking and repetitive
holding braking.
Fig. 8 Change of difference in tread profile from the initial state for four locations on the wheel
perimeter in the constant temperature experiment. The depth direction indicates the
accumulated test duration at constant temperatures of 200, 250, and 300 °C with contact load
of 60 kN and of 200 °C with 30 kN, for 60 minutes each. The total duration is 240 minutes.
Fig. 9 Tread wear volume of the rolling contact region after each experiment.
Fig. 10 Variation of surface hardness of tread during the experiment.
Fig. 11 Change over time of the thermocouple temperature in the experiment along with the
temperatures simulated at the thermocouple location and the overlying tread surface for the
(a) 200, (b) 250, and (c) 300 °C constant-temperature experiments.
Fig. 12 Temperature dependence of tread wear rate under rolling contact conditions in the
present work.
Fig. 13 Arrhenius plot of tread wear rate under rolling contact conditions in the present work.

Table 1 Configuration of the experimental apparatus in the present study.

Table 2 Conditions of the Dynamometer tests under practical usage conditions.
Table 3 Conditions of the verification experiments at constant-temperature conditions.
Table 4 Conditions of the finite element temperature analysis.
Dynamometer setup
Wheel grade ISO 1005-6 C64GW
Wheel steel chemical composition Fe-0.67 C-0.27 Si-0.78 Mn-0.01 P-0.008 S (wt. %)
Wheel steel mechanical property (Yield stress) 660 MPa

Wheel diameter 860 mm

Wheel initial profile [5]
Modified arc profile
Moment of inertia (for stop brake) 1458 kgm2 (Railwheel axle), 60 kgm2 (Wheel axle)
Equivalent wheel load (for stop brake) 60 kN
Radius of wheel tread profile at contact point 900 mm

Radius of railwheel head profile at contact point 600 mm

Wheel/Railwheel normal load 60 kN (30 kN for particular case)

Hertz contact stress 780 MPa (620 MPa for 30 kN)
Brake block 1 × Sintered alloy composite block (Fig. 3 (b) (c))
Repetitive stop braking
Velocity 95 km/h → 0 km/h (Power cut)
Block press load 15 kN
Braking interval Next stop braking was applied 150 s after the stop.
Brake shoe pressing load 30 kN
Number of repetition 5 × 20 times,Total 100 times
Wheel temperature Cooled to 60 °C after 20 time’s test
Remarks Simulating level track with 2.8 km between stations.

Repetitive holding braking

Velocity Holding at 60 km/h for 105 s → 0 km/h (Power cut after 105 s)
Block press load 6 kN (for holding and decelerating)
Braking interval Next holding braking was applied 120 s after the stop
Brake shoe pressing load 30 kN
Number of repetition 5 × 10 times,Total 50 times
Wheel temperature Cooled to 60 °C after 10 time’s test
Remarks Simulating 25 ‰ downslope track with 3.2 km between stations.
Experiment at constant temperatures
Velocity 60 km/h
Block press load 6 kN
Brake shoe pressing load 30 kN
Number of repetition 3 × 1200 s (20 min.), Total 60 min.
Wheel temperature Cooled to 60 °C after 20 time’s test
Temperature measurement Thermocouple embedded 10mm below the tread surface,
at 85mm from the wheel back

(1) Experiment at constant temperature of 200 °C

Target temperature 200 °C
Temperature conditions of block braking Applied at 195 °C, Released at 205 °C

(2) Experiment at constant temperature of 250 °C

Target temperature 250 °C
Temperature conditions of block braking Applied at 245 °C, Released at 255 °C

(3) Experiment at constant temperature of 300 °C

Target temperature 300 °C
Temperature conditions of block braking Applied at 295 °C, Released at 305 °C

(4) Experiment at constant temperature with low contact load

Target temperature 200 °C
Temperature conditions of block braking Applied at 195 °C, Released at 205 °C
Wheel/Railwheel normal load 30 kN
Analysis conditions in the FEA
Analysis software ADINA 9.5.1 (ADINA R&D, Inc.)
Type of model 3D
Type of elements HEXA8
Number of elements 75,312
Thermal conductivity Temperature-dependent, 49.8 W/(m·K) @ 25 °C
Specific heat Temperature-dependent, 469 J/(kg·K) @ 25 °C
Density Temperature-dependent, 7.8 g/cm3 @ 25 °C
Heat input rate 100 % of the brake energy according to the measured brake torque
Heat input area 50 % of the apparent contact width of the brake block (70 mm)
Heat release condition Convection boundary and heat emission on external interface
Convection heat transfer
2
coefficient 20 W/(m ·K)
Emissivity 0.2
Ambient air temperature 40 °C
Analysis interval 1s
New aspect of wear of railway wheel as a temperature-dependent phenomenon.
Demonstration by means of full-scale rail/wheel rolling contact experiment and FEA.
Wear of wheel tread increasing exponentially with increasing tread temperature.
Consistency with thermally activated process confirming its nature as plastic
deformation.
Declaration of interests

☒ The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships
that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

☐The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered
as potential competing interests: