Concepts in wheel/rail lubrication: Friction management

摘要

For some railroad wheel/rail interface experts, the concept of lubrication is being superseded by those of friction modification and friction management. Engineers working with advanced formulas for friction modifiers—combined with continued improvement on the delivery-system side—have been developing systems that take a great number of wheel/rail interface factors into consideration. The philosophical difference between a friction-management approach and one that targets only lubricating the interface between the rail and wheel flange is akin to the difference between using an on/off switch versus a dimmer: It's a matter of precision control.