CASE STUDY 1: Tor Carry Down (Freight)
The Objective
The freight railway, supplying a power station, was suffering from squeal, wear and damage such as rolling contact fatigue
This was reducing wheel and rail lifespan
A top of rail friction management system, using wayside applicators, was being used to mitigate against these problems
Friction management products are carried down as thin films, almost impossible to visually inspect
Our practices
Investigate top of rail friction management product using tribometer friction measurements
Measurements taken at intervals from applicator to measure carry-down
The PRT300 tribometer lateral position guide used to ensure results were consistently within wheel/rail running band
The results
There was a measured increase in friction with increasing distance from application
