An investigation into the formation of squats in rails: modelling, characterization and testing

Rolling contact fatigue (RCF) is an important form of damage in wheels and rails that typically has surface and subsurface cracks. Squats are one of the major RCF defects that occur in the running band of rails and can create high dynamic forces and cause rail fracture if they are not detected and treated in time. In the current research, three...

Dynamic Wheel/Rail Rolling Contact at Singular Defects with Application to Squats

Squats, as a kind of short wavelength rail surface defects, have become one of the main rolling contact fatigue problems in railways worldwide. The purpose of this work is to better understand the squatting phenomenon, contribute to reduction and even prevention of squat occurrence, and thereby reduce the related costs. To such an end, a new...