Noise-related roughness of railway wheel treads-full-scale testing of brake blocks

Results from full-scale tread braking experiments on an inertia dynamometer (brake testing machine) are presented. Eighteen prototypes of brake blocks are investigated. Two braking characteristics relating to the influence of the blocks on the wheel tread are studied: generation of hot spots and generation of roughness (corrugation, waviness). Wheel tread temperatures are measured during braking using an infrared (IR) technique. The wheel roughness is measured after each brake cycle when the wheel has cooled down. A roughness indicator, RλCA, relates measured roughness to expected rolling noise as generated by the wheel in operation. A correlation between the spatial distributions of temperatures and roughnesses is normally found: stronger for cast iron blocks and composition blocks and weaker for sinter blocks. The cast iron blocks are found to produce high tread roughness levels, partly owing to material transfer from brake block to wheel tread. The composition blocks are found to result in lower roughness levels than the cast iron blocks. Finally, the sinter metal blocks are found to lead to the lowest roughness levels, a fact which is probably due to the abrasive property of these blocks. Friction coefficients during braking are also measured.