Long term rail surface damage considering maintenance interventions

A new methodology to estimate costs for wear and Rolling Contact Fatigue (RCF) on rails that cause a major portion of track maintenance costs is presented. It is demonstrated for a standard UIC-Y25 bogie and the FR8RAIL bogie, a softer and cross-braced iteration of the former, based on running conditions for the Swedish iron-ore line. Various non-linearities in the vehicle and track models have been considered. The rail profile evolution and the surface-initiated fatigue on the rail surface for different track radii with progressive tonnage are calculated using iterative multibody simulations. Additionally, the impact of maintenance measures on the long-term rail profile evolution has been considered with optimal preventive rail grinding actions implemented at fixed tonnage intervals based on the recommendations from EN13231-5. The rail profile attributes after 100 Mega Gross Tonnes passage are presented and discussed for both running gears. In doing so, the methodology addresses the long-term 'track-friendliness' of running gears considering wear, RCF and the intermediate track maintenance strategies.