ICRI Project: Friction Library
Friction Library
Friction Library
Leaders: Davey Mitchell, LB Foster; Marco Santoro, LB Foster; Kevin Oldknow, Simon Fraser University, Rob Caldwell, NRC Canada
Description: Vehicle Track Interaction (VTI) modelling and simulation typically requires the coefficient of friction (COF) to be specified at each of the wheel tread/top of rail interface and wheel flange/gauge face interface. Commonly the COF at each interface is defined as single, nominal value. Under real-world conditions, however, friction levels are known to vary substantially based on operating and environmental factors, and can change significantly with both space and time from a single point of measurement. The purpose of this project is to establish and populate a “Friction Library”, with data sets collected from a range of operating scenarios and environmental conditions. Examples include friction (or proxy) data gathered from tribometers, lateral/vertical force measurement sites, and instrumented wheelsets, together with information describing the operating conditions (e.g. traffic type and patterns, track type and geometry, vehicle parameters, friction management status) and environmental conditions (e.g. temperature, humidity, precipitation, observed contaminants). It is expected that the resulting Library could serve as a repository for various ICRI members and project groups, providing input data that would help in the selection of representative COF values for various VTI simulation scenarios, as well as longer term efforts to model and incorporate wheel-rail friction levels as stochastic variables. Expected benefits include improvements in VTI modeling and simulation to better understand and predict how changing friction conditions in a given situation might affect parameters of interest to the railway, whether transit or freight.
Status: Bi-weekly meetings are being held to define the specific project goals
If you have experience to offer this effort please contact Davey Mitchell