Study of wheel-rail adhesion during braking maneuvers

Abstract The present work aims to better understand the phenomenon of adhesion under degraded conditions during railway braking maneuvers with the aim of optimizing the anti-slip algorithms in order to reduce damage to the profiles of wheels and rails and to minimize the braking distance. The proposed approach is based on the analysis of experimental data acquired during braking tests carried out on track, considering different types of vehicles and different types of contaminants, able to reproduce the typical degraded adhesion conditions occurring during normal operation. The work describes a numerical model that allows to evaluate the dynamics of the vehicle during the braking operation and to correlate the pressures to the brake cylinder, which are related to the braking forces, and the angular velocities measured on the axles of the vehicle, with the adhesion coefficient.