Study of the Main Factors Affecting the Increase in the Friction Coefficient of Interacting Surfaces of Rail Vehicles

As a result of theoretical studies, it was established that the coefficient of friction of the interacting surfaces of rail vehicles is significantly influenced by the roughness of the contacting surfaces, the actual contact area, the temperature in the contact zone of the wheel-rail system, and the speed of mutual sliding (slip) of the contacting surfaces. It has been established that, in order to ensure the strength criterion and reduce wear, it is necessary to limit the temperature in the contact zone of the wheel–rail system within 300°С by controlling the sliding speed of the wheel relative to the rail. It has been revealed that the effective functioning of the wheel–rail system can be realized through the interaction of the machined working surfaces of the wheel and rail with roughness Rz 20–40 µm. Implementation of the proposed technical solutions using tribological research methods will allow for the possibility of increasing the friction coefficient of wheel–rail systems by up to 27%.