High speed photography to investigate surface wear and fatigue in railway rail and wheel steels

A novel high speed photography technique is being developed at Sheffield which will give new insight to the very earliest stages of railway rail and wheel surface modification during contact. Asperity level surface modification leading to wear and formation of surface fatigue cracks on tribological interfaces can be studied with this technique. Being able to see damage developing in its earliest stages is key to preventing these damage mechanisms acting. It can aid understanding how and why new rail-wheel materials react to load differently to conventional ones, and in developing maintenance regimes to mitigate the effect of damage. This project will use newly developed testing facilities at Sheffield funded through the UK Rail Research and Innovation Network. There will be the opportunity to develop models of these initiation processes in parallel with the experimental investigation.