Railway Track & Structures - April 2008 - (Page 19)

TTCI R&D Rail surface performance as influenced by wayside-based top-of-rail friction control Watching wayside-based TOR friction control as it pertains to rail wear and curving performance. or the past five years, the Association of American Railroads, the Transportation Technology Center, Inc., the supply industry and various member railroads have been monitoring the performance of wayside-based top-of-rail (TOR) friction control at a number of field locations. Emphasis has been placed on monitoring rail wear and curving performance. Together with improving rail wear life around 40 percent, controlling TOR friction has shown a reduction in curving force in the range of 30 percent to 40 percent, which can result in reduced rail/wheel wear, lower tie/fastener damage and derailment potential. The most closely controlled test site for wayside-based TOR has been conducted on Union Pacific’s Mojave Subdivision, in the Tehachapi Pass area. While most of this trial has placed emphasis on documenting improved rail wear rates, recent field inspections have suggested that rail surface conditions (in the form of rolling contact fatigue), rail spalling and rail grinding might also benefit from the application of TOR friction control.1 F Figure 1 is the site layout showing test zones. Test site overview Key parameters in the 25-mile area of interest include: • 10-degree test curves on two-percent grades • Nippon Steel Corp. Head Hardened rail, 141AB, installed in August 2005 • Trains traveling at the same speed and general cant deficiency in both zones Wayside-based gauge face (GF) lubrication using lithiumbased grease was optimized over the entire 25-mile area. As shown in Figure 1, two zones were designated within the overall area. Zone 1 is the TOR zone, equipped with the optimized GF lubrication systems and supplemented with www.rtands.com eight wayside Portec Rail TOR applicators, applying KELTRACK® freight friction modifier. Separated by about five miles, Zone 2 is an identical area, but with only the optimized GF lubrication system. In each zone, rail wear was monitored at eight selected curves with similar curvatures (10 degrees) and, where feasible, located away from signals or other train-control points. All test curves selected for wear monitoring were on single-track sections to ensure the same traffic operated over both TOR+GF and GF only curves. For tracking purposes, TOR curves were labeled A through H, and GF only curves were labeled M through U. Within each curve, six sites were selected for monitoring rail wear using a MiniProf rail profilometer and for monitoring rail surface/cracking conditions using dye penetrant techniques. by Richard Reiff, principal investigator, TTCI Railway Track & Structures April 2008 19 http://www.aar.com http://www.rtands.com

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Railway Track & Structures - April 2008 Contents On Track Industry Today Supplier News AREMA News NRC News TTCI R&D Railroads Seeking More Advanced Systems to Handle Materials SKOL Bounces Back From Summer Flood Landmark Railroad Bridges Need Inspection, Too Products and Literature People Calendar Sales Representatives Advertisers Index Website Directory Professional Directory Classified Advertising Chicago Perspective

Railway Track & Structures - April 2008

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