Railway Vehicles run under large lateral forces according to their running performance in negotiating sharp curves. Those lateral forces are one of the main factors for derailment at low speed on sharp curves from the viewpoint of vehicle dynamics, and for the gauge face wear of high rails, wheel flange vertical wear and low rail corrugation, which pose a problem for material integrity. Squeal at sharp curves is also one of the most important environmental issues. By focusing on creep force characteristics, this paper describes the estimation of lubricants which are supplied between wheel tread and rail running surface to reduce the lateral forces between vehicle and track, and compares the characteristics of some lubricants that are commercially available.

Copyright (c) 2001 Railway Technical Research Institute