Temperatures and wear at railway tread braking: Field experiments and simulation

Paper i proceeding, 2018

Field tests were carried out for a commuter train in revenue service equipped with cast iron and organic composite brake blocks. Temperatures for wheel tread, wheel web and brake blocks and wear of wheel treads and brake blocks were recorded. The measured temperatures are used for calibrating a thermal model for assessment of wheel and block temperatures. In addition, the results from thermal and wear simulations are presented. Comparisons are made between measured and simulated temperatures and wear. The wear of the cast iron brake blocks estimated using simulated temperatures and a temperature-dependent wear model calibrated from pin-on-disc experiments is in agreement with measured wear results from field tests.