Abstract Rail grinding has been widely used for rail maintenance to keep the performance of the rail track at satisfactory levels. However, there is a lack of knowledge on the relationship between different grinding parameters and the effect on the rails and the post-grinding evolution of roughness and wear. Rail undergoes significant levels of stress during grinding to remove any defects that appear during its life-cycle which can cause significant microstructural change. By developing a method of demonstrating rail grinding it will allow further investigation of the process and potentially the exploration of different grinding patterns. Moreover, an analysis of the roughness of wheel and rail is an input parameter in most modern simulation tools that could be associated with the coefficient of friction. This paper reports a laboratory demonstration of rail grinding followed by a series of tests to determine the wear of the rail and if there is a relationship between friction coefficient and roughness. The rail specimens that were ground have undergone a phase transformation and showed White Etching Layer (WEL) on the contact surface. This was found to initially act protectively for the rail disc reducing the wear rates, but then contributed to crack formation. No clear long-term correlation was identified between the coefficient of friction and roughness during the testing, however a relationship could be drawn when test periods were studied individually.

中文翻译：

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钢轨磨削的实验室演示和运行粗糙度和磨损分析

摘要 钢轨磨削已被广泛用于钢轨维修，以保持钢轨的性能处于满意水平。然而，对于不同磨削参数之间的关系以及对钢轨的影响以及磨削后粗糙度和磨损的演变，缺乏相关知识。钢轨在磨削过程中会承受很大的应力，以去除在其生命周期中出现的任何可能导致显着微观结构变化的缺陷。通过开发一种演示钢轨磨削的方法，它将允许进一​​步研究该过程，并可能探索不同的磨削模式。此外，轮轨粗糙度的分析是大多数现代仿真工具中可能与摩擦系数相关的输入参数。本文报告了钢轨磨削的实验室演示，随后进行了一系列测试以确定钢轨的磨损以及摩擦系数和粗糙度之间是否存在关系。磨削过的钢轨样品经历了相变，并在接触面上显示出白色蚀刻层 (WEL)。发现这最初对轨道盘起到了保护作用，降低了磨损率，但随后会导致裂纹形成。在测试过程中，摩擦系数和粗糙度之间没有明确的长期相关性，但是当单独研究测试周期时，可以得出一种关系。磨削过的钢轨样品经历了相变，并在接触面上显示出白色蚀刻层 (WEL)。发现这最初对轨道盘起到了保护作用，降低了磨损率，但随后会导致裂纹形成。在测试过程中，摩擦系数和粗糙度之间没有明确的长期相关性，但是当单独研究测试周期时，可以得出一种关系。磨削过的钢轨样品经历了相变，并在接触面上显示出白色蚀刻层 (WEL)。发现这最初对轨道盘起到了保护作用，降低了磨损率，但随后会导致裂纹形成。在测试过程中，摩擦系数和粗糙度之间没有明确的长期相关性，但是当单独研究测试周期时，可以得出一种关系。