Rail and wheel health management

Rail and wheel health management is investigated with focus on deterioration phenomena in the wheel/rail contact interface – plastic deformation, wear, and rolling contact fatigue (RCF). How operational conditions affect deterioration, and how they can be included in wheel/rail health predictions is linked to a more in-depth description of deterioration mechanisms. Here means of measuring, quantifying, and predicting deterioration is in focus. This discussion provides the basis for the outline of a rail and wheel health management framework. As discussed in the paper, the proposed framework is well in line with the requirements in the ISO 55000 standard for asset management.