Rail corrugation growth on curves - measurements, modelling and mitigation

Abstract

The development of rail corrugation (so called rutting corrugation) on a 120 m radius curve on the metro of Stockholm Public Transport was studied by field measurements, laboratory measurements and numerical simulations. The corrugation develops exclusively on the (inner) low rail with wavelengths of about 5 cm and 8 cm. A time-domain model for prediction of long-term roughness growth on small radius curves is developed and validated against measured data. The wavelength-fixing mechanisms of the corrugation are bending eigenmodes of the leading wheelsets. The application of a friction modifier effectively mitigates the problem