Numerical simulation of near surface rail cracks subject to thermal contact stress

Boundary element modelling was conducted to investigate rail cracks subject to combined thermal and contact loading such as occurs in 'stud' or 'squat type' defects in which white etching layer lies above shallow cracks formed without evidence of plastic flow. An embedded crack at 0.5. mm below the rail surface was modelled, revealing a thermal mechanism of crack opening. Stress intensity values for a range of contact temperatures were calculated. © 2013 Elsevier B.V

Monitoring of liquid flow through microtubes using a micropressure sensor

The pressure-driven liquid flow through microtubes was studied in a range of very low Reynolds numbers (<0.15) by monitoring the pressure change in situ. Cylindrical microtubes with diameters ranging from 50 ?m to 500 ?m were examined and two types of tube material, namely PEEK polymer and fused silica were compared. A good linear relation for the pressure drop versus flow rate was obtained. Apparent deviations between the measured slopes with those calculated using conventional theory were attributed to uncertainties in the calculated values which are dominated by the uncertainties in the microtube diameters. It was found that a period of stabilisation time was required for reaching a steady flow after the syringe pump was switched on/off or to a different flow rate. The stabilisation time was likely due to the compressibility of the fluid. Insignificant difference between PEEK polymer and fused silica microtubes in terms of flow resistance was observed. The in-situ measurement of pressure drops provides a convenient approach for monitoring fluid flow through microtubes and detecting dimensional changes within microchannels in Lab-on-a-Chip and microreactor systems

Characterisation of blast loading in complex, confined geometries using quarter symmetry experimental methods

Explosions in confined spaces lead to complicated patterns of shock wave reflection and interactions which are best investigated by use of experimental tests or numerical simulations. This paper describes the design and outcome of a series of experiments using a test cell to measure the pressures experienced when structures were placed inside to alter the propagation of shock waves, utilising quarter symmetry to reduce the size of the required test cell and charge. An 80 g charge of PE4 (a conventional RDX-based plastic explosive) was placed at half height in one corner of the test cell, which represents the centre of a rectangular enclosure when symmetry is taken into consideration. Steel cylinders and rectangular baffles were placed within the test cell at various locations. Good reproducibility was found between repeated tests in three different arrangements, in terms of both the recorded pressure data and the calculated cumulative impulse. The presence of baffles within the test cell made a small difference to the pressures and cumulative impulse experienced compared to tests with no baffles present; however, the number and spacing of baffles was seen to make minimal difference to the experienced pressures and no noticeable difference to the cumulative impulse history. The paper presents useful experimental data that may be used for three-dimensional code validation

Benchmarking of premium rail material wear

Railway steel that offers a greater quality and extended life is described by the industry as premium rail. It is mainly used on areas of rail networks where accelerated wear, rolling contact fatigue or other rail related damage phenomena prevail. However, little performance data exists for these materials and where it does it is limited to a narrow set of contact conditions. The aim of this work was therefore to map premium rail performance across a range of Tγ contact conditions to benchmark against standard grade R260 rail. Laboratory tests using a twin disc machine were performed to determine the wear performance of four premium rail grades against R8 wheel material, at various slip conditions of 1–20%. Comparison with Martensitic Stainless Steel (MSS) laser clad material was made as a further benchmark. The results are shown in terms of Tγ and wear rate for both the rail and wheel discs. Material hardness maps were obtained of the full rail and the laboratory small scale specimen materials in order to correlate hardness with their wear behaviour. The purpose of this work is to understand the likelihood and rate of wear in different wheel/rail contact conditions and to produce enough wear information for the premium rail that could be used in prediction tools for comparison with other materials and contact conditions

Creep curve measurement to support wear and adhesion modelling, using a continuously variable creep twin disc machine

Predictive modelling of wear and adhesion at rolling-sliding contacts such as a railway rail and wheel depends on understanding the relationship between slip and shear force at the contact surface, i.e. the creep verses force curve. This paper describes a new approach to creep curve measurement using a twin disc machine running with a continuous programmed variation of creep, enabling an entire creep curve to be defined in a single experiment. The work focuses on very low levels of creep, ranging from zero to 1%, and shows clear correlation between the creep curve gradient and the full slip friction coefficient for dry and lubricated contacts. Comparison of data generated using the new approach with that generated using multiple tests each at a single creep level shows good agreement. Comparison is also made between the twin disc data and results for full size three dimensional rail-wheel contacts to examine how two and three dimensional contact adhesion data are related. The data generated has application in wear and rolling contact fatigue modelling, but the original motivation for the research was generation of creep curves to support prediction of low adhesion conditions at the rail-wheel interface based upon monitored running conditions prior to brake application. The range of contact conditions investigated includes those experienced in service and during driver training, with the correlation found between creep curve gradient (measurable prior to braking) and full slip friction coefficient (not measurable until brakes are applied) representing a key finding

Optimisation of a railway sanding system for optimal grain entrainment into the wheel–rail contact

To combat adhesion loss, sand is fired into the wheel–rail contact via a hose using compressed air typically from a storage hopper mounted to the under frame of the train. Many passenger trains in the UK are fitted with stepped braking controllers which range from 1 to 3 with a fourth step being ‘emergency braking’.1 Sand is fired automatically if wheel slip is detected from brake step level 2 upwards.2 Sand is automatically fired when the emergency brakes are applied irrespective of whether low adhesion/wheel slip has been detected.2 For adhesion loss in traction, sand can be applied at the driver’s discretion. Current railway standards2 govern the maximum permissible sand flow rate to protect against wheel/rail isolation of track circuits, but do not address the hose position. This results in a range of hose set-ups across different train types, some of which may not be effective at delivering sand. The work here was carried out using a full-scale laboratory rail–wheel test machine to find the position for the hose and sand flow rates that give optimum sand entrainment to the contact. It was found that ideally the hose should be aimed at the rail or nip and be as close to that contact as safely possible. The use of a 20 mm bore nozzle on the end of a 25 mm bore hose increased sand passing through the contact by up to 70% relative to widely used 25 mm bore hoses without a nozzle. Reduction in sand flow rate below the 2 kg/min threshold significantly reduced the amount of sand entering the contact. It was also shown that relatively small movements in the hose/nozzle from its ideal position and cross winds significantly reduced sand entrainment

Evaporation of particle-stabilised emulsion sunscreen films

We recently showed (Binks et al., ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces, 2016, DOI: 10.1021/acsami.6b02696) how evaporation of sunscreen films consisting of solutions of molecular UV filters leads to loss of UV light absorption and derived sun protection factor (SPF). In the present work, we investigate evaporation-induced effects for sunscreen films consisting of particle-stabilized emulsions containing a dissolved UV filter. The emulsions contained either droplets of propylene glycol (PG) in squalane (SQ), droplets of SQ in PG or droplets of decane in PG. In these different emulsion types, the SQ is involatile and shows no evaporation, the PG is volatile and evaporates relatively slowly, whereas the decane is relatively very volatile and evaporates quickly. We have measured the film mass and area, optical micrographs of the film structure, and the UV absorbance spectra during evaporation. For emulsion films containing the involatile SQ, evaporation of the PG causes collapse of the emulsion structure with some loss of specular UV absorbance due to light scattering. However, for these emulsions with droplets much larger than the wavelength of light, the light is scattered only at small forward angles so does not contribute to the diffuse absorbance and the film SPF. The UV filter remains soluble throughout the evaporation and thus the UV absorption by the filter and the SPF remain approximately constant. Both PG-in-SQ and SQ-in-PG films behave similarly and do not show area shrinkage by dewetting. In contrast, the decane-in-PG film shows rapid evaporative loss of the decane, followed by slower loss of the PG resulting in precipitation of the UV filter and film area shrinkage by dewetting which cause the UV absorbance and derived SPF to decrease. Measured UV spectra during evaporation are in reasonable agreement with spectra calculated using models discussed here

Spectrophotometry of thin films of light absorbing particles

Thin films of dispersions of light absorbing solid particles or emulsions containing a light absorbing solute all have a non-uniform distribution of light absorbing species throughout the sample volume. This results in non-uniform light absorption over the illuminated area which causes the optical absorbance, as measured using a conventional specular UV-vis spectrophotometer, to deviate from the Beer-Lambert relationship. We have developed a theoretical model to account for the absorbance properties of such films which are shown to depend on the size and volume fraction of the light absorbing particles plus other sample variables. We have compared model predictions with measured spectra for samples consisting of emulsions containing a dissolved light absorbing solute. Using no adjustable parameters, the model successfully predicts the behaviour of non-uniform, light absorbing emulsion films with varying values of droplet size, volume fraction and other parameters

Assessment of laser cladding as an option for repairing/enhancing rails

This paper presents results of testing carried out to assess the wear and RCF performance of laser clad rail. Stronger and harder materials can be laser clad on top of the working surfaces of standard (e.g. 260 grade) rail in order to improve wear and RCF life. A twin-disc method has been used to assess the suitability of various candidate cladding materials. The materials were clad on top of 260 grade rail discs and were tested against a disc of standard wheel material. Wear was measured by weighing the discs before and after each test. An Ellotest B1 differential eddy current crack detector was used to detect RCF cracks in the rail disc. Four clad materials were used namely, Hadfield, Stellite 6, Maraging and 316 Stainless Steels. In the tests carried out, wear was not always reduced with the cladding. It is assumed that these tests were not long enough for some of the materials to fully work harden and therefore wear rates would improve with a greater number of test cycles. However, all but the Stainless Steel showed that they did not deform under the cyclic loading applied and would offer a greatly enhanced RCF life

Measuring material plastic response to cyclic loading in modern rail steels from a minimal number of twin-disc tests

Advances in rail materials from conventional rail steels to those with higher yield points and the potential of additively manufactured laser clad coatings to improve the durability of railway track components presents a new challenge in characterisation. Many of these new and novel materials have either limited test samples available or are more resistant to strain and therefore present challenges in characterisation. The method reported here uses twin disc tests to simulate cyclic loading experienced by rail steel in service. A sample from a single test condition is analysed, measuring the shear yield stress and the accumulated shear strain at multiple depths below the contact surface, from which a Shear Yield Stress – Plastic Shear Strain (SYS-PSS) relationship is extracted. Knowledge of the stress history of a rail sample is not required to apply the method and minimal samples are required, providing a technique which can be used on rail steel samples removed from service