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Influence of environmental conditions and oxidation on the coefficient of friction using microalloyed rail steels.

Viesca Rodriguez, J.L., González-Cachón, S., Garcia, A., Gonzalez, R., Bernardo-Sánchez, A. and Hernandez Battez, A., 2020. Influence of environmental conditions and oxidation on the coefficient of friction using microalloyed rail steels. Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part F: Journal of Rail and Rapid Transit.

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DOI: 10.1177/0954409720925682

Abstract

© IMechE 2020. In railway systems, certain atmospheric conditions – mainly related to temperature and relative humidity – lead to the creation of iron oxides which can affect the coefficient of friction between the wheel and the rail. This can result in increased wear of the rail, reducing its service life and thus increasing replacement costs. Pin-on-disc tests were conducted in a climate chamber to study the influence of environmental conditions and iron oxides on the coefficient of friction. The iron oxides generated on the surface of specimens extracted from microalloyed rail steel during wear tests were analysed using X-ray diffraction. The results show that hematite (α-Fe2O3) is the predominant iron oxide among all the oxides generated on the worn surfaces. It was further noted that the oxide layer resulting from the rise in both temperature and relative humidity does not significantly affect the average coefficient of friction for each steel samples tested. High relative humidity combined with high temperature leads to the formation of α-Fe2O3, which tends to increase the coefficient of friction. However, a boundary lubrication effect is observed at higher relative humidity due to a condensed water film, which reduces the coefficient of friction and counteracts the increase of the coefficient of friction expected due to the presence of hematite.

Item Type:Article
ISSN:0954-4097
Uncontrolled Keywords:Microalloyed rail steel, friction, pin-on-disc, iron oxide, X-ray diffraction
Group:Faculty of Science & Technology
ID Code:34092
Deposited By: Symplectic RT2
Deposited On:03 Jun 2020 14:37
Last Modified:14 Mar 2022 14:22

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