Friction and wear in railway ballast stone interfaces. (November 2020) - Suhr, B.
Abstract: Particle friction in railway ballast influences strongly the behaviour of ballasted tracks. New challenges posed on railway infrastructure increase the requirement for simulations, which need the friction coefficient as an input parameter. Measured friction coefficients of ballast stone contacts were found only in two studies, both under constant loads. In this work, two types of ballast were investigated in cyclic friction tests with incremental increase of the applied load after several cycles. Before each load increase, 3D-scans of some ballast stones allowed to calculate the contact area. Estimating the stress in the contact, the stress-dependency of the friction coefficient and wear were investigated. These experimental observations are discussed regarding their impact for friction modelling in the simulation of railway ballast. Graphical abstract: Highlights: Cyclic friction tests of two types of railway ballast under varying load. Coefficient of friction (CoF) for particle–particle contact showed high scatter. Both ballast types behave similar w.r.t.: CoF, contact area, wear volume. CoF of first cycle is low and increases with cycling. CoF (partly) and wear rate depend on contact pressure.