Economic modelling for preventive grinding to support grinding decisions for heavy haul lines

Rail grinding has become an important maintenance activity over the past three decades and the importance of rail grinding is likely to augment owing to future demands in rail transport sector particularly for heavy haul lines. The preventive grinding strategy is preferred over the corrective grinding strategy by most rail infrastructure owners, as it can maintain the rails economically by targeting the magic wear rate. Grinding decisions on when to grind (Grinding intervals), how much to grind (Material removal) and where to grind do not have a strong economic insight in the current practice. Impact of these grinding decisions on the total rail maintenance cost is not researched extensively. This paper will discuss the various factors that influence the grinding decision. An economical model is proposed which can be used as a support to rail grinding teams for an informed grinding decision

Development of economic model for analyzing lubrication effectiveness in heavy haul lines

Friction management using wayside gauge face and top of rail systems is widely used in the North American heavy haul and other railways. It provides cost effective solutions to manage rail/wheel wear, energy consumption, costs and noise. The research on cost effective friction management solutions for the Australian heavy haul industry has been limited. This paper presents the testing of curve lubrication technologies and various greases in the field to develop economic model for analyzing lubrication effectiveness. The latest wayside equipment and different greases were used in field trials. Data were collected and analyzed for optimal lubrication decisions. The economic models proposed here for the Australian heavy hauls lines are illustrated using numerical examples and would be useful to industries for asset life enhancement, reliability and safety improvement along with reduction of risks and costs

Friction management best practices for Australian heavy haul lines

Friction management using wayside gauge face and top of rail systems is widely used in heavy haul railway industry. Gauge face lubrication practice in the rail/wheel contact area on hi-rail gauge corner is not effective when there is little to no grease in the gauge corner area. Lubrication is effective when the grease is able to withstand the pressure and temperature and carried properly on the gauge corner contact area. There is myth that long bars are not suitable for effective wayside lubrication. Field trial conducted in this research has demonstrated that long bars are effective compared to short bars. This paper presents outcome of extensive field testing of lubrication equipments and lubricants and the implementation of friction management on the Central Queensland coal lines with an aim to develop best practices for Rail Curve Lubrication for Heavy Haul Lines in Australia

Wayside lubricator placement model for heavy haul lines in Australia

Lubrication is applied to the high rail gauge corner to reduce rail/wheel wear, energy consumption and to control noise. For effective lubrication; high technology equipment, proper track placement, effective positioning of the lubricator bars based on height below the top of the rail, optimal settings of grease dispensing rate, minimal wastage of grease, better quality grease with desired properties for traffic and the temperatures during the year are essential considerations. Wayside lubricator placement gudelines have been developed in different rail networks in the last decades. Most of them depend on certain assumptions and the research on Australian heavy haul lines is limited. The work discussed in this paper considers the effectiveness of the lubrication equipment, the length of lubricator bars, the bar location of lubricators in tangent track and the spirals of curved track and the different grease that can be used. Field trails have been carried out and data has been collected for the implementation of a base line model called Lubricator placement Model for the Australian heavy haul industry

Rail grinding quality assurance based on profile correction and RCF control

Rail grinding is used by rail infrastructure owners to remove rail corrugations, rolling contact fatigue (RCF) cracks and for re-profiling the rail. In North America, the standard practice is Preventive and Preventive-Gradual grinding strategy which uses high production rail grinders to complete a single pass on most track locations at high grinding speed. These practices have been proven in field tests to be the most cost effective grinding strategies. To plan rail grinding on Queensland Rail a Rail Inspection Vehicle (RIV) is used to gather data of rail profiles and rail surface photos. This inspection technology generates a Grinding Quality Index. This paper proposes the standards utilised in accepted best practices [13] as a standard for Australian railways and their challenges and drawbacks to implementation as well as a better method of addressing RCF defects. Grinding Quality Index (GQI) is estimated by comparing the measured rail profile with the target rail profile template for the area of material to be removed for a particular grinding pass.Based on the rail surface photos taken by the RIV, the operator decides the additional depth of cut and number of passes based on experience with that track. GQI is currently estimated based on profiles and do not consider RCF. Current GQI does not show any relationship with the RCF cracks and can be very good from a profile perspective, but still can have RCF cracks on the surface. Close monitoring of pre and post grind rail profiles for compliance and inclusion of RCF factor has been proposed as an enhancement to the current GQI for effective assurance on the quality of grinding. This paper is on an appropriate index covering both the rail profiles and RCF control for rail grinding

Best practice in rail curve lubrication and remote performance monitoring in heavy haul lines

Rail curve Lubrication is widely used to enhance below rail and above rail assets life, reduce rail/wheel maintenance and replacement costs. There are various types of applicators and greases used by rail industries. This includes mechanical, hydraulic, electrical actuators/ pumps, short and long bars and various types of grease. There is wide variation of performance of the wear levels for rails and wheels across the industry for similar operational, track and rolling stock characteristics. There is a need for best practice in rail curve lubrication. To establish lubrication best practice extensive field and lab tests of lubricators and greases are essential. Evaluation of latest technology equipment, their placement, optimal settings of grease application rate, reduced wastage, and quality are essential to achieve this. The research on Australian heavy haul lines in this area has been limited. This paper considers the effectiveness of the lubrication equipments, the length of lubricator bars, the bar location of lubricators in tangent track and the spirals of curved track and the different types of grease along with effectiveness of remote performance monitoring in heavy haul lines