Experimental investigation on material removal mechanism during rail grinding at different forward speeds

• Published in: Tribology international 2020-03, Vol.143, p.106040, Article 106040
• Main Authors: Zhou, Kun, Ding, Haohao, Wang, Ruixiang, Yang, Jinyu, Guo, Jun, Liu, Qiyue, Wang, Wenjian
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Abrasion; Abrasive wear; Abrasive wheels; Forward speed of rail grinding train; Grinding wheels; Material removal; Process planning; Rail grinding; Surface hardness; Thickness; Wear mechanism
• ISSN: 0301-679X; 1879-2464
• DOI: 10.1016/j.triboint.2019.106040

The study focuses on the removal behaviours of rail material during grinding at different forward speeds, which provides a better understanding for improving the grinding efficiency and quality. The results indicate that the rise in forward speed leads the grinding efficiency to increase and then decrease, and the grinding process is the most efficient at the forward speed of 3 km/h. On the other hand, with the forward speed increasing, the grinding quality is improved, i.e., surface burn, surface hardness and white layer thickness decline. The wear form of a grinding wheel consists of rail material adhesion, abrasive fracture and abrasion wear. It is suggested that the forward speed should be higher than 4 km/h in the field. •Surface roughness increases at first and then decreases as forward speed increases.•As forward speed increases, grinding efficiency reduces but quality improves.•The oxidation reaction during rail grinding is explored through XRD and XPS.•The wear form consists of material adhesion, abrasive fracture and abrasion wear.