Rail-wheel contact and tribology
Sheffield's longest established area of railway research. Safety critical and taking materials to their limits, optimising rail-wheel interface performance is crucial to the running of a railway.
The contact of steel wheel on steel rail is fundamental to railway operation, but it pushes rail and wheel materials to their limit. It’s safety critical with all traction and braking forces transmitted through it, it controls train dynamics and requires the performance of a precision rolling element bearing, yet it’s open to rain, snow and contamination. Learn about projects tackling these challenges here.
Projects
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Characterisation and understanding rail steel behaviour for in-service life prediction
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Additive manufacturing for railway track component life extension
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Optimising rail grinding practice for premium rail materials
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Improving Prediction of Low Adhesion Friction using Machine Learning Approaches
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Developing validated benchmark tests for assessing friction management products
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Rail Surface Quality Improvements from Utilizing a Novel High Speed Superabrasive Grinding Approach