With the recent remarkable improvements in the average speeds of contemporary trains, a necessity has arisen for the development of new friction modifiers to improve adhesion characteristics at the wheel-rail interface. The friction modifier must be designed to reduce slippage or sliding of the trains’ wheels on the rails under conditions of rapid acceleration or braking without excessive rolling contact wear. In this study, a novel composite material consisting of metal, ceramic, and polymer is proposed as a friction modifier to improve adhesion between wheels and rails. A blend of Al-6Cu-0.5Mg metallic powder, Al2O3 ceramic powder, and Bakelite-based polymer in various weight-fractions is hot-pressed at 150oC to form a bulk composite material. Variation in the adhesion coefficient is evaluated using a high-speed wheel-rail friction tester, with and without application of the composite friction modifier, under both dry and wet conditions. The effect of varying the weighting fractions of metal and ceramic friction powders is detailed in the paper.
